Abstract
THE Industrial Electronics Division of the Federal Telephone and Radio Corporation, co-operating with the Office of the Quartermaster-General of the United States Army, has developed a process of dehydrating food by means of radio-frequency energy. The process is described briefly by Vernon W. Sherman in a recent article (Elec. comm., 21, No. 2 ; 1943). The electronic dehydration method not only makes it possible to remove 99 percent of the moisture content but it. also permits this high degree of dehydration after the vegetables have been compressed into a small block or briquette 6 in. x 3 in. x ¾ in. Compression of vegetables prior to total dehydration is an unprecedented procedure, other processes requiring exposure of as much of the vegetable surface as possible to facilitate evaporation. With all but one percent of the moisture removed, it is possible to pack all types of dehydrated vegetables in sealed containers and transport them to any part of the world without danger of decomposition. The length of time vegetables may bo kept in good condition increases very greatly as the moisture content approaches one per cent. Evidence now indicates that vegetables dehydrated by the electronic method will not deteriorate over a period of one to two years even in hot, humid climates.
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Dehydration of Food by Radio-Frequency Energy. Nature 152, 560–561 (1943). https://doi.org/10.1038/152560c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/152560c0