The Beginner’s Guide to Making and Using Dried Foods Preserve Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, and Meat with a Dehydrator, a Kitchen Oven, or the Sun Teresa Marrone The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment. EDITED BY Margaret Sutherland ART DIRECTION AND BOOK DESIGN BY Carolyn Eckert TEXT PRODUCTION BY Tina Henderson FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPHY AND ILLUSTRATION © Dietlind Wolf BACK COVER AND INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS © Holly Exley, except for diagrams pages 56–61 courtesy of the author INDEXED BY Nancy D. Wood © 2 0 1 4 B Y T E R E S A M A R R O N E Portions of this book have been adapted from a previously published book, Making & Using Dried Foods by Phyllis Hobson (Storey Publishing, 1994). All rights reserved. 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Donnelley 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Marrone, Teresa. The beginner’s guide to making and using dried foods / by Teresa Marrone. pages cm Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61212-179-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-60342-927-6 (ebook) 1. Food—Drying. 2. Dried foods. I. Title. TX609.M29 2014 641.4’4—dc23 2014011269 Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the inspiration and information from Phyllis Hobson’s ground-breaking book Making & Using Dried Foods (originally published way back in 1983 as Garden Way Publishing’s Guide to Food Drying). Ms. Hobson’s work has taught several generations of home cooks how to dehydrate foods, enabling them to preserve the bounty from their gardens and orchards. Contents C H A P T E R 1 C H A P T E R 4 Drying Foods Fruits at Home: Drying Fruits: From Apples to An Introduction Watermelon 71 Why Dry Foods at Home? 8 Preparing Candied Fruit 116 Recipes Using Dried Fruits 125 C H A P T E R 2 The Basics C H A P T E R 5 of Drying Foods Vegetables Temperatures Used for Dehydrating 17 Drying Vegetables: From Asparagus to Food Selection and Preparation 18 Zucchini 152 Pretreating 20 Recipes Using Dried Vegetables 198 Testing for Dryness, and Other Final Steps 26 C H A P T E R 6 Storing Dried Foods 29 Herbs and Spices How to Use Dried Foods 32 Drying Herbs 224 C H A P T E R 3 Drying Spices 232 Equipment Recipes Featuring Herbs and Spices 236 Manufactured Dehydrators 36 Sun-Drying 41 Oven-Drying 46 Home-Built Dehydrators 52 C H A P T E R 7 C H A P T E R 1 0 Meat and Poultry Dried-Food (Including Jerky) Mixes for Pantry, Dehydrating Meat and Poultry 246 Gifts, and Jerky 250 Camping Recipes for Jerky Marinades and Mixes for Your Pantry or to Give as Gifts 308 Seasoning Blends 258 Mixes for Camping and Backpacking 315 Recipes Using Dried Meat and Poultry 261 C H A P T E R 1 1 C H A P T E R 8 Other Uses Leathers, for Dehydrating Baby Food, and Equipment Prepared Foods Drying Small Batches of Grains and Corn 332 Fruit and Vegetable Leathers 268 Drying Breadcrumbs 333 Recipes for Fruit and Vegetable Leathers 275 Miscellaneous Culinary Uses 334 Homemade Baby Food 280 Drying Flowers for Potpourri 336 Dehydrating Prepared Foods 282 Miscellaneous Non-Culinary Uses 341 C H A P T E R 9 I N D E X 343 Snacks, Cereal, and Specialties Snacks 286 Breakfast Cereals 298 “Sun” Jam 301 Homemade Pasta 303 Veggie Burgers 304 C H A P TE R 1 Drying Foods at Home: An Introduction DRY I N G F O O D S is a natural alternative to canning and freezing and benefts the family on a tight budget. This time-honored method of food preparation and preservation benefts the hiker, the camper, or the angler looking for a compact food supply light enough to carry in a backpack. It benefts the homemaker looking for delicious, healthful snacks to offer the family, and it benefts vacationers with two homes because drying is a safe way to store food over the winter. Drying is also an ideal way of storing foods for those who live in isolated locations where electricity to operate a freezer may be undependable or nonexistent, and it is a good way to stockpile an emergency food supply in a small storage area. 7 The goal of dehydrating is to remove excess moisture, reducing the water content to between 10 and 20 percent for most foods, so bacteria that cause decay cannot survive. Since dried foods are only one-half to one- twelfth the weight and bulk of the original food, a small, dry, cool closet can provide all the storage space needed for a winter’s supply of food. Because drying is a more natural method of preservation than can- ning and freezing, many people believe drying foods preserves more of the nutritional values present in raw foods, and a USDA study backs up this belief. While it is true that vitamins are lost in blanching, a pretreatment recommended for some vegetables before drying, this nutritional loss can be kept to a minimum if the foods are steam-blanched for no more than the specifed time. Almost any food can be dried by following the instructions in this book, which are aimed at preserving as much of the nutrients and favor of the food as possible. Will your dried food be as good as what you can buy on the market? Commercial manufacturers have the advantage of expensive freeze-drying equipment, but you have the advantage of sweet, tree-ripened fruit and just-picked, garden-fresh vegetables. Your own homegrown fruits and veg- etables, or those bought at local farmers’ markets or roadside stands, should be more delicious and nutritious than those the food processors have. Why Dry Foods at Home? In addition to the benefts described above, home-dried foods are a great option in many situations. Here are some of the reasons home-dried foods are prepared and used by so many people. To Save Money Drying is a safe, easy way to preserve foods. It can also save money when compared to other food preservation methods. You don’t have to buy can- ning jars (or replace them when they break), and even if you do store your dried foods in canning jars, the lids can be washed and reused many times. You can store dried foods also in jars that are not suitable for can- ning, such as well-cleaned glass jars that originally held peanut butter, mayonnaise, and other prepared foods. Most dried foods can be stored at room temperature, a signifcant energy saving over frozen storage. And if you live in an area that has plenty of clear, dry, sunny weather, you can dry foods outdoors in the sun, which provides more free energy. 8 DRYiNG FOODS AT HOMe: AN iNTRODUCTiON You will save the most money, of course, by drying fruits and veg- etables from your own garden. Even if you don’t plant a garden, though, you can still economize by drying foods at home. During the harvest sea- son, fruits and vegetables can be purchased cheaply at farmers’ markets, orchards, and roadside stands. Shares in a CSA (community-supported agriculture) program usually provide a bounty of dawn-fresh, locally grown vegetables and fruits throughout the growing season, at reasonable prices. Produce and meats are surprisingly inexpensive when bought in bulk quantities at co-ops and warehouse clubs. Choose only top-quality fresh produce and meats, and keep an eye on the place of origin if you’re concerned about purchasing foods that have been shipped long distances. Watch also for specials on supermarket produce. Bananas fecked with brown, which often sell for half price, make excellent fruit leathers. Often, produce is marked down when a new shipment is due; this bargain-priced produce will work fne for drying as long as it is still wholesome. Drying can also save you money by avoiding waste. Finely chop left- over cooked meat or vegetables and dry until crumbly; use another time to enrich soups, casseroles, or stews. Spread leftover sauces or thick soups on a solid liner sheet and dry until leathery, then rehydrate later for a quick meal when time is short. Purée excess cooked fruits in the blender, then make delicious homemade leathers as described in chapter 8. Specialty grain products such as fax crackers, favored pasta, and whole-grain cereals are expensive to buy, but you can make your own for far less — and control the ingredients as well. Unlike fruits and vegetables, four, fax seeds, and cornmeal are available all year, so making homemade grain products is a good winter project that will pay handsome rewards later. To get some ideas of the possibilities, see chapter 9. To Preserve the Harvest When your garden is overfowing with tomatoes, the apples are piling up in the orchard, and the neighbors are leaving zucchini on your porch, get out your dehydrator and roll up your sleeves. Even if you plan to can or freeze some of your bounty, you’ll fnd that drying offers an additional option that produces some very useful foodstuffs. Plum tomatoes and other small varieties can be cut in half and dried, then used in place of purchased (and expensive) sun-dried tomatoes; larger tomatoes can be sliced and dried, then used in the same way. Dried apple slices make great lunchbox treats, and your home-dried apples won’t be loaded DRYiNG FOODS AT HOMe: AN iNTRODUCTiON 9