Drying Foods at Home

Resources for Today So Easy to Preserve (Univ of Georgia- 1999)So Easy to Preserve (Univ of Georgia- 1999) Wisconsin’s Wild Game: Enjoying the Harvest (B3573)Wisconsin’s Wild Game: Enjoying the Harvest (B3573) How to Dry FoodsHow to Dry Foods

Drying Foods at Home Quick and easyQuick and easy Adds diversity to snacking and mealsAdds diversity to snacking and meals Economical and energy efficientEconomical and energy efficient

How Drying Preserves Food Moisture is removed so bacteria, yeast and mold can’t growMoisture is removed so bacteria, yeast and mold can’t grow Enzyme action is slowedEnzyme action is slowed

3 Requirements 1.Heat – 120° to 150°F 2.Low Humidity 3.Air movement

Drying Food Out-of- Doors Sun-dried fruits and vine- dried beansSun-dried fruits and vine- dried beans Hot (86° F), dry, breezy days are bestHot (86° F), dry, breezy days are best Use appropriate materialsUse appropriate materials Pasteurize afterwardsPasteurize afterwards

Drying Food Indoors Oven dryingOven drying Room dryingRoom drying Food dehydratorsFood dehydrators

Styles of food dehydrators…. Vertical air flow e.g. GardenMasterVertical air flow e.g. GardenMaster Horizontal air flow e.g. ExcaliberHorizontal air flow e.g. Excaliber

Question time??

Drying Fruits Check suitabilityCheck suitability Prepare uniform pieces or slicesPrepare uniform pieces or slices Pre-treat fruitPre-treat fruit

Drying Fruits Dry at 150°F for 2 hrs, then at 125°until doneDry at 150°F for 2 hrs, then at 125°until done Determining donenessDetermining doneness Conditioning fruitsConditioning fruits

Fruit Leathers Select ripe fruitSelect ripe fruit Blend or pureeBlend or puree Try fun combinationsTry fun combinations Dry at 140°FDry at 140°F

Drying Vegetables Check suitabilityCheck suitability Prepare uniform piecesPrepare uniform pieces Blanch, if necessaryBlanch, if necessary Dry until brittleDry until brittle

Drying Jerky Choose lean meat for dryingChoose lean meat for drying Handle raw meat carefullyHandle raw meat carefully Partially freeze meat for easy slicingPartially freeze meat for easy slicing Dry at 145°FDry at 145°F

What if…… Dried vegetables fail to rehydrateDried vegetables fail to rehydrate There are black spots on my sun-dried applesThere are black spots on my sun-dried apples Air-dried herbs moldAir-dried herbs mold

Question time??

Next Time: Canning low acid vegetables – safe ways to can green beans, carrots and other vegetables