Before moving to my current five-plus acre hobby farm, I had been an on-and-off vegetable gardener for more than 20 years. Because my cooking skills were less than stellar, I also needed a simpler way to preserve my various harvesting successes. I never gardened a lot during any one year, so I never learned any of the more complicated and time-consuming traditions such as canning. I eventually discovered dehydrating as a way to help preserve fruits and vegetables.
Over the years, I have tailored my drying routines and have done some dehydrating with just about everything I have grown, as well as used the dehydrator on store-bought produce when the occasion to do so strikes (such as after a big sale at the grocery store). I will soon be tackling new recipes for dried meats and jerky, as well as doing more experimentation with cheeses.
This book is a collection of my own personal dehydrating knowledge along with a great deal of research to create a valuable handbook for the novice or even for someone who already has some food-drying experience.
Dehydrating food is a simple task, but you do need to know a few things about the process and technique in order to dry your food successfully.
There are many reasons why you might choose dehydrating, such as the ease of storing food once it is dry, the low cost of dehydrating, and the quality of the results compared to some other storage methods. You also can save money by dehydrating at home as well. It is a simple process that will not require a steep learning curve, and you can get started without having to spend any money on equipment if you wish.
This book has been broken down to explain the general ideas of dehydrating food for storage and then by the particular types of food (herbs, fruit, vegetables, meat etc.). Each chapter has a list of common foods of that type with specific treatment and drying time information. You can find some recipes for using your dehydrated foods in each chapter, too. There is no sense in drying it if you cannot use it afterward. A chapter on dehydrators will fill you in on all the details for when you decide to invest a little bit in a proper machine for your food drying.
Interest in drying food has been growing, as more people are looking for wholesome, organic, and natural foods again. This is leading more families to go back to doing their own gardening and looking for easy ways to preserve what they are growing. Dehydrating foods fits the bill.