Interesting Way to Dry Fruit

[Porthos]

Many years ago when we went camping in the High Sierras, I would wrap a roast and whole vegetables (potatoes and carrots, etc) in three layers of foil, put it on a wire grid over the manifold (big Chrysler engine) and by the time we got to Convict Lake it was done and the inside of the wagon smelled so good everyone was drooling.

Because it was so cool in the mountains, I would put yeast dough in a plastic bucket in the wagon so it would work like a proof box when it was sunny (most of the time) and I made wild strawberry jam in a baking pan on the dashboard (metal dash before the days of padding).  Worked like a charm.

 

Convict Lake is a beautiful place. I would have loved to have your engine-roasted meal there.

[andiesenji]

"----- there were several outbuildings with galvanized metal roofs on which fruits were dried. ----"

 

An outbuilding is not the same as an outhouse. For those who are not completely familiar with the English language.

 

dcarch

It was a very big farm - there were five barns besides the horse and pony stables and around the "kitchen garden" there were at least ten sheds for storing chicken feed, garden tools, the "outdoor" laundry stuff, the cookers and "pans" for the sorghum processing, my uncle Willard's woodworking shed and etc. 

There were "outhouses" near the barns - a long way from the water wells - for the outside workers to use or us kids if we were too dirty to be allowed to tramp through the kitchen - which happened often because we had to muck out after our own ponies and horses.  We usually got hosed off where the horses were bathed and we actually thought that was "fun" except during the winter when it was damned cold. 

[FauxPas]

El Charro Café in Tucson air-dries their Carne Seca on the roof of the original restaurant. 

 

Extract from El Charro Café Cookbook on Google Books.