Drying and Dehydrating

Drying and dehydrating food has become a favorite way for hikers to cut down on weight and space in the last few years. If you sit back and think about it drying food is really a proven and tested method that has been around for many hears. Heck, even the Cowboys and Indians did it and it was around long before that. They used salt and the sun to dry their food or even in an open room or in the oven, go figure.

The people before them passed on these methods until the first dehydrator was born in 1795. Now every hiker should take serious look at dehydrating food at home. Not only do you save weight and space but look at the money you can save. Heck for two of us eating 1-2 Mountain House meals per day plus snacks figures out to roughly $30-$35 per day. Figure that for a 5 day hike and you're looking at $150-$175 just for a hike. Why pay that when you can buy a dehydrator for the cost of one hike or less depending on what model you get. Not only do you save money but you get to make your own meals and don't have to pick out what is on the shelf.

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Drying and dehydrating works by removing the moisture in the food. Dehydrating equipment eliminates the moisture content in food so the mold, bacteria and yeast can't grow, the stuff that ruins the food. Not only does it stop all that, it slows down the enzymes in the food but it doesn't stop the enzymes. That way when you reconstitute it, add water back in, it returns to its original shape and texture.

Food can be dried by using the right combination of temperature, low humidity and circulating air. There are a couple of different drying methods that you can use to dry your food. They are Sun Drying, Food Dehydrators, Oven Drying and Room Drying. (Clicking on each will take you to an article about that process.) That is a lot of options, but they all accomplish the same task. Some do better than others but you will need to decide which one will work for you.

Note: There is a new process out now called Dehydrofreezing that I do not have much information on yet. All that is known as of now is that foods are only dehydrated 50-70% and then frozen. This process is supposed to provide better flavor and color. It will also reconstitute up to 50% quicker than conventional drying. When I get more information I will post it in an article and also announce it in my newsletter.

Dehydrating Fruits

Dehydrating Vegetables

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