Food drying & food storage

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PTO: Passing This On Food Drying Drying is the oldest method of preserving food. Through- out history, the sun, the wind, and a smokey fire were used to remove water from fruits, meats, grains, and herbs. By definition, food dehydration is the process of removing water from food by circulating hot air through it, which prohibits the growth of enzymes and bacteria. Benefits of Dried Food Dried foods are tasty, nutritious, lightweight, easy-to-prepare, and easy-to-store and use. The energy input is less than what is needed to freeze or can, and the storage space is minimal compared with that needed for canning jars and freezer containers. The nutritional value of food is only minimally affected by drying. Vitamin A is retained during drying, however, because vitamin A is light sensitive, food containing it should be stored in dark places. Yellow and dark green vegetables, such as peppers, carrots, winter squash, and sweet potatoes, have high vitamin A content. Vitamin C is destroyed by exposure to heat, although pretreating foods with lemon, orange, or pineapple juice increases vitamin C content. Dried foods are high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat, making them healthy food choices. Dried foods that are not completely dried are susceptible to mold. Microorganisms are effectively killed when the internal temperature of food reaches 145 degrees Farenheit (F). Equipment Needed for Drying To be certain of the final quality and consistent drying of foods, a dehydrator is recommended, especially with unpredictable Ohio weather. Sharp knives and a food processor or blender will also make the drying task easier. Many guidelines call for blanching, steaming, or pretreating foods. Equipment for these processes include a deep kettle with a lid and a wire basket, a colander, or an open mesh cloth bag to hold produce. A non-metal bowl is best for pretreating fruits and vegetables to prevent discoloring. Preparing Food for Drying Select ripe fruit for drying. Bruised fruit can be used if you trim away any bruised spots. Do not use molding food for drying. Slicing foods allows the dry air to circulate and dry the surface area of the food first. Cut foods into 1/8-inch to 1/2-inch slices. The higher the water content, the larger you should make the slice size. Small slices of high-moisture foods, such as watermelon, would disappear when all the moisture has evaporated. Peel fruits and vegetables, including bananas, melons, winter squash, and other foods. Pretreatment Pretreatments are techniques used to make quality products. Pretreatments include dipping, blanching, cooking, or candying. Dipping prevents oxidation or color changes in fruits and vegetables. Dip fruits in pineapple or orange juice. Dip vegetables in diluted bottled lemon juice (dilute 1/4 cup of lemon juice in 2 cups water, then dip vegetables and some fruits for 2 to 3 minutes). Commercial fresh fruit stabilizers can also be used (dilute 1/2 Tablespoon of stabilizer in 2 cups water). Sodium sulfite is another commercial product for pretreating foods. To make a homemade stabilizer, mix 1 Tablespoon of salt or vinegar with 8 cups of water or dissolve one 500 mg tablet of vitamin C per 1 cup of water. Blanching is recommended for asparagus, green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and peas. Blanch for a very short period to cause checking of skins. Making Fruit Leathers Leathers from Fresh Fruit Select ripe or slightly overripe fruit. Wash fresh fruit or berries in cool water. Remove peel, seeds, and stem. Cut fruit into chunks. Use 2 cups of fruit for each 13-inch by 15-inch fruit leather. Purse fruit until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or 1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid (375 mg.) for each 2 cups of light-colored fruit to prevent darkening. If you choose to sweeten the leather, add corn syrup, honey, or sugar. Corn syrup or honey is best for longer storage because they do not crystallize. Sugar is fine for immediate use or short storage. Use 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups sugar, corn syrup, or honey for each 2 cups of fruit. Saccharin-based sweeteners could also be used to reduce tartness without adding calories. Aspartame sweeteners may lose sweetness during drying. Leathers from Canned or Frozen Fruit Home-preserved or store-bought canned or frozen fruit may also be used to make leathers. Drain fruit and save liquid. Use 1 pint of fruit for each 13-inch by 15-inch leather. Purse fruit until smooth--if too thick, add liquid. Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or 1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid (375 mg.) for each 2 cups of light-colored fruit to prevent darkening. Applesauce can be dried alone or added to any fresh fruit purse as an extender. It decreases tartness and makes the leather smoother and more pliable. Preparing the Trays For drying in the oven, a 13-inch by 15-inch cookie pan with edges works well. Line pan with plastic wrap, being careful to smooth out wrinkles. Do not use waxed paper or aluminum foil. To dry in a dehydrator, purchase specially designed plastic sheets or line plastic trays with plastic wrap. Pouring the Leather Fruit leathers can be poured into a single large sheet (13-inch by 15-inch) or into several smaller sizes pieces. Spread puree evenly. About 1/8-inch thick, onto drying tray. Avoid pouring purse too close to the edge of the cookie sheet. The larger fruit leathers take longer to dry. Approximate drying times are 6 to 8 hours in a dehydratorup to 18 hours in an ovenand 1 to 2 days in the sun. Drying the Leather Dry fruit leathers at l40 degrees F. Leather dries from the outside edge toward the center. Test for dryness by touching center of leatherno indention should be evident. While warm, peel leather from plastic and roll. Then, allow the leather to cool and rewrap the roll in plastic. Chances are the fruit leather won't last long enough for storage. If it doesit will keep up to 1 month at room temperature. For storage up to 1 yearplace tightly wrapped rolls in the freezer. Adapted from BellMary. Complete Dehydrator CookbookNew York: William Morrow and CompanyInc.1994. ----The Seven Major Mistakes in Food Storage A month or two ago I met a cute little gal who was talking to me about her newly begun food storage. You know, she began, I've dreaded doing my storage for years, it seems so blah, but the way national events are going my husband and I decided we couldn't put it off anymore. And, do you know, it really hasn't been so hard. We just bought 20 bags of wheat, my husband found a place to get 60 pound cans of honey, and now all we have to do is get a couple of cases of powdered milk. Could you tell me where to get the milk? After I suggested several distributors, I asked, Do you know how to cook with your Wheat? Oh, she laughed, if we ever need it Ill learn how. My kids only like white bread and I don't have a wheat grinder. She had just made every major mistake in storing food (other than not storing anything at all). But she's not alone, through 14 years of helping people prepare, I found most peoples storage starts out looking just like hers. So whets wrong with this storage plan? There are seven serious problems that may occur trying to live on these basics: 1. Variety - Most people don't have enough variety in their storage. 95% of the people I've worked with have only stored the 4 basic items we mentioned earlier: wheat, milk, honey, and salt. Statistics show most of us wont survive on such a diet for several reasons. A) Many people are allergic to wheat and may not be aware of it until they are eating it meal after meal. B) Wheat is too harsh for young children. They can tolerate it in small amounts but not as their main staple. C) We get tired of eating the same foods over and over and many times prefer to not eat, then to sample that particular food again. This is called appetite fatigue. Young children and older people are particularly susceptible to it. Store less wheat than is generally suggested and put the difference into a variety of other grains, particular ones your family likes to eat. Also store a variety of beans. This will add variety of color texture and flavor. Variety is the key to a successful storage program. It is essential that you store flavorings such as tomato, bouillon, cheese, and onion. Also, include a good supply of the spices you like to cook with. These flavorings and spices allow you to do many creative things with your grains and beans. Without them you are severely limited. One of the best suggestions I can give you is buy a good food storage cookbook, go through it, and see what your family would really eat. Notice the ingredients as you do it. This will help you more than anything else to know what items to store. 2. Extended Staples - Few people get beyond storing the four basic items but its extremely important that you do so. Never put all your eggs in one basket. Store dehydrated and/or freeze dried foods as well as home canned and store bought canned goods. Make sure you add cooking oil, shortening, baking powder, soda, yeast and powdered eggs. You cant cook even the most basic recipes without these items. Because of limited space I wont list all the items that should be included in a well-balanced storage program. They are included in the The New Cooking With Home Storage cookbook, as well as information on how much to store, and where to purchase it. 3. Vitamins - Vitamins are important, especially if you have children, since children do not store body reserves of nutrients as adults do. A good quality multi-vitamin and vitamin C are the most vital. Others might be added as your budget permits. 4. Quick and Easy and Psychological Foods - Quick and easy foods help you through times when you are psychologically or physically unable to prepare your basic storage items. No cook foods such as freeze-dried are wonderful since they require little preparation, MRE's (Meal Ready to Eat)such as many preparedness outlets carry, canned goods, etc. Are also very good. Psychological Foods are the goodies - Jell-O, pudding, candy, etc. - you should add to your storage. These may sound frivolous, but through the years I've talked with many people who have lived entirely on their storage for extended periods of time. Nearly all of them say these were the most helpful items in their storage to normalize their situations and make it more bearable. These are especially important if you have children. 5. Balance - Time and time again I've seen families buy all of their wheat, then buy all of another item and so on. Don't do that. Its important to keep well-balanced as you build your storage. Buy several items, rather than a large quantity of one item. If something happens and you have to live on your present storage you'll fare much better having a one month supply of a variety of items than a years supply of two to three items. 6. Containers - Always store your bulk foods in food storage containers. I have seen literally tons and tons of food thrown away because they were left in sacks, where they became highly susceptible to moisture, insects, and rodents. If you are using plastic buckets make sure they are lined with a food grade plastic liner available from companies that carry packaging supplies. Never use trash can liners as these are treated with pesticides. Don't stack them too high. In an earthquake they may topplethe lids pop openor they may crack. A better container is the #10 tin can which most preparedness companies use when they package their foods. 7. Use Your Storage - In all the years I've worked with preparedness one of the biggest problems I've seen is people storing food and not knowing what to do with it. Its vital that you and your family become familiar with the things you are storing. You need to know how to prepare these foods. This is not something you want to have to learn under stress. Your family needs to be used to eating these foods. A stressful period is not a good time to totally change your diet. Get a good food storage cookbook and learn to use these foods! Its easy to solve these food storage problems once you know what they are. The lady I talked about at the first of the article left realizing what she had stored was a good beginning but not enough. As she saidIts better to find out the mistakes I've made now while there's still time to make corrections. This makes a lot more sense. If you're one who needs to make some adjustments, that's OK. Look at these suggestions and add the things you're missing. Its easy to take a basic storage and add the essentials to make it livablebut it needs to be done. As I did the research for my cookbookI wanted to include recipes that gave help to families no matter what they had stored. As I put the material together it was fascinating to discover what the pioneers ate is the type of things we store. But if you have stored only the 4 basics, there's very, very little you can do with it. By adding even just a few things it greatly increases your options, and the prospect of your family surviving on it. As I studied how the pioneers lived and atemy whole feeling for food storage changed. I realized our storage is what most of the world has always lived on. If its put together the right way well be returning to good basic living with a few goodies thrown in.«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»Paranormal_Research - Scientific Data, Health Conspiracies & Anything Strange Paranormal_ResearchSubscribe:... Paranormal_Research- GREAT VACATION RENTAL ON THE LAKE: www.vacationhomerentals.com/39833