Dry it- You'll like it!

(A big thank you to Hannah M. for sending this post in for this blog! If any of you have some great tips and ideas please send it to our email: krissyandsusi@gmail.com)

Drying foods when they are in season is nothing new.  Drying, using techniques passed from generation to generation, is probably the oldest method of food preservation.

Drying as a way of preserving foods is more economical than canning or freezing, saves space, and provides more nutrition.  You don't need canning jars, and there aren't utility bills all winter for running a freezer.  Compared to canned and frozen foods, dried foods are lightweight and condensed, so they take up a fraction of the space.  The loss of nutritive value during drying is small in comparison to the loss during cooking because precious digestive enzymes remain intact and the lower heat destroys fewer vitamins.

If you buy the right dehydrator, it will easily pay for itself during the first season.  And since dried foods become naturally sweeter as they dry, they serve as a good "sweet tooth" replacement for sugary, unhealthy foods.

Will your own dried foods be as good as those dried commercially? Emphatically, yes!  You have the advantage of using tree-ripened fruit and just-picked fresh vegetables from your own garden, roadside stands, or local farmers' markets.  Even if you don't plant a garden, you can realize a savings in your food budget by avoiding waste.  Most leftovers can be chopped and then tossed into a handy kitchen- counter dryer and enjoyed another time.  Bananas flecked with brown can be peeled and placed whole on a rack for a chewy, long-lasting banana "candy bar" high in potassium.  If you have gourmet friends who love to cook, fill small jars with dried herbs or flower blossoms from your garden for a potpourri.  Create a label, tied on with ribbon or raffia, for gift giving.


"MaryJane's idea book, cookbook and lifebook: for the farmgirl in all of us"

Hannah M.