Drying food at home

• Select fresh, good quality fruits and vegetables.

• Peel and trim away seeds, core or damaged portions.

• Cut into halves, strips, or slices about 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick that dry readily.

• Blanch vegetables by heating them enough to neutralize enzymes. If you omit this step, or inadequately blanch vegetables, they will have poor flavor and color. Blanch in steam or in hot water. Water blanching is quicker, but may leach out color and nutrients compared to steam blanching. Follow the same times as used when freezing vegetables. It is not necessary to chill blanched vegetables. Drain them well and spread onto drying rack in oven or food dehydrator.

• Pretreat most fruits by dipping them to slow down browning. Use 1/2 teaspoon Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) per quart of cold water. Dip fruit for 1 minute, then drain and put on rack to begin drying.

Drying food is a slow process:

• In a dehydrator, it takes at least 6 hours to dry foods.

• In the oven, it takes at least 8 hours.

Drying time depends on:

• The type of food.

• The thickness of the cut.

• The moisture content of the food.

• The drying method.

Don't speed up the drying time by turning up the oven.

You will cook the food on the outside before it dries on the inside. This is called "case hardening." The food may appear dry on the outside but is wet on the inside. It will mold later on in storage.

Check for dryness and cool before storing

Vegetables are dry when they are brittle, fruits when they feel like leather. After foods are dried, allow 30-60 minutes cooling time. Too long a cooling period allows moisture from the air to re-enter the food.

Choose the right storage container

Proper storage prevents insects and rodents from eating the food. It also keeps moisture out and saves nutrients.

• Use glass jars, metal cans or boxes with tight-fitting lids or vapor-proof freezer cartons.

• Screw lids or covers on glass jars to prevent insect contamination, but it is not necessary to heat-process the jars.

• Heavy-duty plastic bags with press-together seals are acceptable, but are not insect- or rodent-proof.

• Check containers within 7-10 days to see if moisture is present. If you see moisture, remove food and redry. If food is moldy, discard it, throw away the plastic freezer bag or sterilize the jar.

Shelf life of dried food

Dried foods keep 4-12 months depending on storage conditions.

• Store in cool, dry, dark areas.

• For best quality, store under 60 F. Although it is not necessary to store dried food in a refrigerator or freezer, except for meat jerky, low temperatures extend the shelf life.

Using dried fruits

• Dried fruits can be eaten as nutritious snacks or soaked for 1-2 hours and used in favorite recipes.

• Fruits that dry well for snacks are apples, apricots, bananas and pears.

• Fruit leathers made from overripe fruit make nutritious snacks.

Using dried vegetables

Dried vegetables are usually reconstituted and are best used as ingredients for hot dishes, sauces or stuffing. However, if adding dried vegetables to a soup or stew, no need to rehydrate, just toss them in. 

To reconstitute or rehydrate, cook leafy or tender vegetables (e.g. spinach, kale, cabbage, tomatoes), cover with hot water and simmer to desired tenderness. Soak root and seed vegetables (e.g. carrots, green beans, peas, corn) before cooking. Cover with cold water and soak 30-90 minutes, or cover with boiling water and soak 20-60 minutes. After soaking, simmer until tender.

CAUTION: If soaking takes more than 2 hours, refrigerate the product for the remainder of the time to prevent bacterial growth. 

One cup of dried vegetables equals about 2 cups of reconstituted vegetables. Once reconstituted, dried fruits or vegetables are treated as fresh. 

You can use the dried vegetables directly:

• Dried sliced vegetables can be eaten as tasty vegetable chips for dips.

• Vegetables can be added directly to soups or stews drawing on the liquid in the soup or stew for rehydration during cooking.

• Chop and dry green pepper, onion, celery and chives for use instantly all year.

• Make your own onion powder by drying onion slices until crisp and powder in the blender.

• Grate carrots for use in salads, carrot cake, soups, stews or casseroles.

• Save money. You will be able to reap the rewards of your own garden, but it will also allow you to take advantage of supermarket specials.

• Less waste. Keep in mind that food drying is a one-time cost. Canned foods, once opened, must be used promptly, but containers of dried foods can be repeatedly opened, ingredients removed or added, and closed again with no ill effects on the contents.

• Convenient food. Dried food is super-convenient because it can be eaten just the way it is.

• Store a larger quantity. You are able to store more food in far less space than canned or frozen food.

• Better flavor. Gives you natural snacks with "extreme" flavor.

• Nutritional quality. Retains more nutritional quality than canned or frozen food.

• Easy! Dried foods are tasty, nutritious, lightweight, easy to prepare, easy to carry, and easy to use.