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Drying
Food
Drying is an excellent
way to preserve foods and it is one of the oldest methods of food
preservation
for later use. It is simple, easy to learn, safe, and requires only
basic
equipment. It is not difficult, but it does take time and a lot of
attention.
With the renewed interest in gardening and natural foods, drying foods
at home is becoming popular again. Many kinds of fresh vegetables,
fruits, herbs, meat, and fish can be dried.
Drying method of
food preservation removes the moisture from the food so that bacteria,
yeasts and molds cannot grow and spoil the food. Because the moisture
is
removed, the food becomes smaller and lighter in weight, take up little
space (they take much less storage space than canned or frozen foods)
and
do not require refrigeration. Because of that dried products provide
delicious
and healthy, nutritious snacks and are ideal for easy storage,
travel,
camping and backpacking.
Dried foods can very easy add variety to our
meals,
but it is important to know that the quality of the flavor of dried
fruits
and vegetables will be different from their fresh, canned or frozen
counterparts.
Dried product can be no better than that of the raw material from which
it is made.
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Did You Know?
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Fruit preserved by jellying is
known as jelly, marmalade, or fruit preserves. In this case, the
jellying agent is usually pectin, either added during cooking or
arising naturally from the fruit. Most preserved fruit is also sugared
in jars. Heating, packaging and acid and sugar provide the preservation.
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Salting
or curing draws moisture from the meat through a process of osmosis.
Meat is cured with salt or sugar, or a combination of the two. Nitrates
and nitrites are also often used to cure meat and contribute the
characteristic pink color, as well as inhibition of Clostridium
botulinum.
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