Ever used a food dehydrator?

Dehydration is an easy way to store food especially if you are a prolific grower in Summer and then nothing grows in Winter. Fresh foods like fruit and vegetables have a high water activity making them highly heat-sensitive and easily degradable. That’s why dehydration is one of the most common and easy methods to use at home to preserve food.

I can hear you ask if the nutrients are still there when you preserve this beautiful fruit and vegetables. Research has shown that the dehydration process with green leafy vegetables that were steamed for 5 minutes before being dried, still maintained the majority of their nutrients. But that was commercial dehydration, of course, not our own kitchen.

Image from Pixabay.

If you ferment your vegetables they will become more nutrient-dense so this is another option for preserving foods. But sometimes it’s great to dehydrate some beautiful herbs, mushrooms and excess fruit and the loss of some nutrients will happen. If they are stored right they will be safe to eat and all will be good. Vacuum sealed of airtight containers/bags are all good options for storing.

For more hints check out the backpacking Chef: https://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-food.html