People have been preserving food as long as they have been eating – drying, fermenting, pickling, smoking – but in the last few decades people have abandoned all these in favour of one device: the refrigerator. Fridges and freezers remain handy, of course, but they have limited space, require constant electricity and cost money, so we might find it worth our while to remember how to preserve food in other ways if necessary.
You can dry all kinds of food, for example -- vegetables, fruits, meat, fish – and keep it for months, years or even decades. Many people think that dehydrated food is found only in Army field rations or survivalist kits, but in fact we encounter dried food every day. All grains are dehydrated, for example – rice, oats, popcorn – along with powdered grains like flour or cornmeal, and most beans and lentils. Most people also are familiar with raisins, sultanas, sun-dried tomatoes, dried herbs and, of course, tea.
Drying, however, can go much further than that. In a few months, most people will have a glut of excess fruits and berries around them, most of which will go to waste. Dehydrated, however, and they can last the rest of the year – apple rings, blueberry raisins or whatever you like. Most fruit, like apples, can be dried over a fire or in the oven; with a dehydrator, you can also dry mashed fruit into fruit roll-ups. Either result makes a nutritious source of vitamins through the winter, and a dessert-like snack for children.
Vegetables can also be dried, even those part we don’t ordinarily eat fresh. Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, kale – all these can be dried and saved indefinitely as ready-to-go soup ingredients. The dried vegetables can also be ground into powder and mixed into soup or bread, adding to its nutrition. Meat is difficult to dry in this climate without a dehydrator, but if you have one you can make jerky, a source of protein that can last for months at room temperature.
Herbs can be dried, of course – basil, oregano, thyme and dozens of others. Other plants can be dried for teas – nettles, dandelions, mint, and chamomile.
Many foods could simply be dried by hanging them in a ventilated area, like herbs, although this is easier in California than in Ireland. Many fruits can be dried over a fire or in an oven set on low, with the door open slightly. If you need a dehydrator, there are some available online for around 50 euros and up, and if you use it regularly it should pay for itself in short order.
Photo: Our kitchen table, with bowls of lemonbalm, elderflower, lavender, mushrooms, corn, peas and redbush.
3 comments:
I love to jar fruits and pickles. At the end of the growing season the sight of all those lovely hars filling my pantry makes me feel prosperous. Plus I think the jellies and jams even look a bit jewel like. Once the cold and snowy New Jersey winters arrive - home made soda bread with home made jam, a cup of tea, sit in front of the fire and let it snow!
I haven't tried drying beans. I do cherry tomatoes - salt and dried oregano a little olive oil - in the oven and oh my - the flavor gets so concentrated.
One more item to jar this season - concord grape jelly. Once you have tasted home made and preserved concord grape jelly you will never want store bought again.
Every year we have strange excesses of lavender and sage from our herb garden and have used the "hang and dry" method with much success. Another option is to add the herbs to olive or grapeseed oil and allow them to infuse the oil with their flavor.
Just found your blog from a jump off of the New York Times book review and I want to say thanks for the enlightening words on "drying" foods. Even canning takes a certain amount of time and energy. Reading your comments on drying foods gives me new courage to come to terms with the bounty of my garden. It can be overwhelming at times and such, I lose produce due to my inability to process all the beets, turnips, potatoes,tomatoes... etc. I'll look for info on drying processes and see how that works! Thanks from Pam, a mother of 14 month old twins and a gardener in Montana.
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