Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 232, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1917 — Cooking Dried Foods. [ARTICLE]

Cooking Dried Foods.

The palatability of dried foods depends largely upon the manner in which they are prepared for serving. In the process of drying fruits and vegetables most of the water is removed. This water must be supplied in the process of preparation. The best way. to accomplish this is by soaking the products several hours, such as over night, before they are cooked. The product should always be cooked In the water in which it has been soaked, otherwise much food material wili be lost. In cooking dried fruits and vegetables the slower and longer the process the better the results. The long, slow cooking not only makes a much more plump and attractive-looking product but lends a better flavor. Directions for cooking .dried fruits and vegetables are summarized by Miss Addie D. Root of the University of Missouri college of agriculture, as follows: 1. Wash the product. 2. Soak several hours, to replace the water which has been dried out." 3. Cook sfewly several hours. 4. For fruits use as little water as possible and only a little sugar. 5. If it is a fruit which has a flat taste, add a little lemon juice or a little cream of tartar. 6. Chopped nuts may be sprinkled in stewed fruit for variety, and to Increase the food value.