| sliced | 3 | 3 |12 to 18 | | | | SALSIFY | Wash; cut into 1/2-inch | 6 | 21/2 to 3 |20 to 24 | slices | | | | SWISS CHARD|Wash thoroughly; can be | | | | sliced | 3 | 3 to 4 |12 to 18 | | | | TOMATOES | Wash; slice after | | | |steaming to loosen skin | 2 to 3 | 21/2 to 3 |12 to 16 | | | | TURNIPS | Pare and slice thin | 5 | 21/2 to 3 |12 to 18 | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------
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[Footnote 1:  Till skin cracks.]

In a properly constructed sun drier vegetables will dry in from 3 to 12 hours under normal summer conditions.  Products dried in a sun drier are superior to those dried in the open without any protection.  Products dry more quickly in high altitudes than at sea level.

CHAPTER XV

EVERY STEP IN BRINING

We have learned how to preserve fruit and vegetables by canning and drying and now we are going to learn another method to preserve foods, in which salt is used.  We use this salt method for vegetables.  It is not adapted to fruits.  We may pickle apples, pears and peaches, but we ferment, brine and dry-salt only vegetables.

This salt method is not a substitute for drying or canning, but just an additional method we may employ.  Every thrifty housewife of to-day wants her shelves of canned foods, her boxes of dried foods and her crocks of salted foods.  Each kind has its proper function to perform in the household.  One cannot take the place of the other.

For women on the farm salting is a salvation.  In busy seasons when canning and drying seem an impossibility, a great many vegetables can be saved by this method in a very short time.  The labor required is very small, as no cooking is necessary.  A good supply of salt is the one necessity.

Besides the saving of time, salting saves jars, which are absolutely necessary in canning.  Old containers can be used if they are thoroughly cleansed.  The vegetables can be put in any container, so long as it holds water and is not made of metal.  Metal containers should not be used.  Old kegs, butter and lard tubs if water-tight, stoneware jars or crocks, chipped preserve jars, glass jars with missing covers and covered enamel buckets can all be utilized.  Avoid using tubs made of pitch or soft pine unless coated with melted paraffin, as they impart a flavor to the vegetables.  Maple is the best.

THREE METHODS OF SALTING FOOD

There are three ways of preserving food by salting:  First, fermentation with dry salting; second, fermentation in brine or brining; and third, salting without fermentation, or dry salting.