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The
Drying
of
Fruit
when
first
placed
in
the
machine.
As
soon
as
the
plums
commence
to
shrivel
all
danger
of
bursting
is
past,
and
they
may
then
remain
in
the
evaporator
until
dry.
The
time
required
for
plums
is
from
six
to
ten
hours,
and
the
temperature
requisite
240°
to
300°
F.
Plums
may
be
steamed
for
a
few
minutes
and
then
split
in
half,
thus
entirely
dis-
pensing
with
the
cooling
process,
and
considerably
reducing
the
length
of
time
required
in
drying.
100
pounds
of
fresh
plums
will
give
about
30
pounds
of
dried.
Apricots
are
simply
cut
in
two,
the
stones
being
taken
out,
and
the
fruit
then
dried
just
like
apples,
at
from
240""
to
250''
F.
They
take
from
two
to
three
hours
to
dry.
From
100
pounds
of
the
fresh
fruit,
10
to
12
pounds
of
dried
will
result.
Pears
for
drying
purposes
ought
not
to
be
quite
ripe.
They
are
peeled,
and
either
dried
whole,
or,
more
generally,
are
divided,
and
the
seed-vessels
cut
out,
the
stems
being
left
on.
They
then
require
steaming
for
eight
or
ten
minutes,
and
are
filled
in
from
the
bottom
upwards.
The
tem-
perature
used
is
212°
to
240°
F.,
and
the
pears
will
take
five
to
seven
hours
to
dry
if
divided,
or
seven
to
nine hours
if
whole.
From
100
pounds
of
fresh
pears
12
to
16
pounds
of
dried
ones
will
be
obtained.
When
preparing
the
pears
before
dry-
ing,
the
flavour
will
be
improved
if
a
little
sugar
be
added
to
the
water
in
which
they
are
cooked,
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