the methods of regarding clean of food grains
Answers
i) Winnowing of grain and pulses is a common practice in every home in Himachal. It is performed using a container made of tin, called Stoop or Chhaj. The grains are placed in the Chhaj and slow winnowing leads to separation of dirt and husk from the grain. Almost all types of dry grain like wheat, maize, paddy, pulses etc. can be cleaned in this manner
ii) Bulk cleaning of grain is done using a container made up of bamboo sticks called Panaudi (Fig. 7.3). The dry grain, placed in the Panaudi, are allowed to fall from a height of about 4-5 ft in a thin vertical flow in the path of a cross wind. The lighter dirt particles and husk are blown away and the heavier grain is thus separated as it falls straight to the ground. The use of a fan (mechanical or electrical) greatly accelerates this process of cleaning. This method of cleaning is based on the differences in density of the materials to be separated. The use of modern air separators/cyclone separators for grain cleaning is based on this principle.
Fig. 7.3 Panaudi for cleaning grains as well for separating husk from grain
Packaging of food commodities
Fresh products
Different types of containers are used for packaging food commodities.
In lower areas of Himachal/containers made of bamboo sticks called Ddalh are used in the fields for packing grain, maize cobs, potato, ginger, turmeric etc. and also for carrying the material from the field to the house.
For packing clean grain, pulses and flour etc. the Ddalh is internally lined with cow dung. The Ddalh has a capacity to hold 25-30 kg material. A Similar container, small in size, is called Tokroo.
In the higher regions of the state, such containers are called Kiltas, however, the shape of this container is different from that of the Ddalh and has a greater storage capacity Fig. 9.10; Chapter 9).
The Ddalh is carried on the head while Kilta is carried on the back and is also provided with two large ropes meant for securing it onto the shoulders much like a bagspack. Raw materials carried in kiltas includes fresh apples, pears, potatoes etc. and even farm yard manure (FYM). Kiltas are internally lined with gunny bags to provide a cushion so as to prevent injury to the fresh fruit.
For transportation of culled apples, and vegetables like peas, beans, capsicum, potatoes, ginger etc. to distant places gunny bags are used as the packing material.
Packaging of perishables/delicate crop, like tomatoes, is accomplished in bamboo boxes called Tokra, which are then covered with thin gunny bags on the top
The shape of the container Ddalh, Kilta or Tokra provides easy carriage of material on human head or back. The structure is easy to clean and dries soon even after washing it with water. The wide spread use of such containers was probably due to easy availability of bamboo and wood in these areas.