1. Preserving the Harvest
Drying the Dinner!
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

2. What we will be talking about
Why bother?
Drying techniques
Pre-treating
General drying tips
Drying fruit, vegies and meat
Testing for dryness
Other uses for your dehydrator
Storing and using your dried produce
What we will be talking about
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

3. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Preserve excess home grown produce
Preserve cheap, in season bought produce
Reduce storage weight and volume
No added chemicals when home produced
Low energy/no energy
Concentrate flavours
Improver portability
Why bother?
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

4. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Commercial/home made electric dehydrator
Oven (gas or electric)
Microwave
Air drying
Mesh bag on clothesline
Solar – Direct
Solar – indirect
Automobile
Drying Techniques
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

5. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Blanching (steam or water boil)
Sat water dip
Honey dip
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) dip
Sulphuring
Pro
Last longer, retain colour and flavour
Con
Adds chemicals, another step, not needed
Pre-treating
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

6. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Best in = Best out
Prepare food to be dried correctly
Place in one layer, not touching
Make sure it gets as long as it needs
Store dried food correctly
Be diligent about labelling
General Drying Tips
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

7. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Cut the fruit in half and remove pit if present.
Dip in a solution of one table spoon of vitamin C to 4 litres of water for 2 min
Place in the dehydrator
Most fruit has finished drying when still pliable but leathery.
Fruit leathers – strain ripe or cooked fruit, add juice or water to thin down, spread on plastic or waxed paper 6mm thick & dry until it peels off the backing
Drying fruit
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

8. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Wash & dry the vegetables
Remove any tops and/or roots
Slice 3-4mm thick as uniformly as possible to ensure even drying.
Where appropriate blanch vegetables
Leave the vegetables in the drier until crisp or brittle in texture
Pack off immediately to prevent any re- absorption of moisture.
Drying vegetables
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

9. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Jerky or biltong not cooked prior to drying and is eaten “as is”
Meat to be rehydrated in soups or stews etc and this is cooked before dehydrating.
In either case remove all fat before drying
Meat for cooked dishes, cook until done but still tender, slice & dry until crisp.
Freeze jerky meat, slice thinly across the grain, marinate overnight & dry until brittle
Drying Meat
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

10. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Well dried foods will vary from 5% moisture (leafy veg like spinach) to 25% for juicy acid fruits (apricots)
Cool before testing
Weigh before starting, then weigh regularly until no more weight is lost
Use tests in previous sections
If in doubt, dry some more!
Testing for Dryness
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

11. Other Uses for Dehydrator
Rising bread
Making yogurt
Ripening milk for cheese
Re-crisping cracker biscuits and cereal
Drying seeds (carefully! Less than 40°C)
De-crystallising honey
Drying crafts (dough art, flowers etc)
Other Uses for Dehydrator
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

12. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Store after produce has cooled
Store in small batches in airtight, insect proof containers
Cool, dry and dark place
Storing Dried Produce
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

13. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Rehydrate vegetables - soak 1 cup of dried vegetables in 2 cups hot water for 30 min then cook until tender or add to soups/stews before cooking
Rehydrate fruit – soak a cup of dried fruit in a cup of warm water until the fruit is soft or eat as is
Add dehydrated meat to soup or stew at the start of the cooking process or eat as is for jerky.
Using Dried Produce
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

14. For more details check our website
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
For more details check our website