Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Dehydrating
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and Smoking
One of the oldest methods of preserving food was to smoke and dry the plants and meat for long-
term storage. Before electricity, humans were sun-drying herbs while they were in season, so they
could be used later in the year. Smoking was another method of preserving meat and is still used
today to enhance flavor.
These forms of food storage and preparation all involve removing moisture from the foods—whether
it is meat, herbs, vegetables, or fruit. Historically this involved smoking meat in smokehouses, laying
herbs in the sun to dry, and dehydrating fruit like grapes to be stored as raisins.
Technology makes it easier now. We also have a resurgence of some traditional methods like the
solar oven, which allows us to harvest the passive energy of the sun instead of using electricity.
Dehy-drated foods such as dried herbs and beef jerky only need to be stored out of the air and
moisture, which means any shelf out of the sun will do. Having food that doesn ' t rely on refrigera-
tion can be a benefit in emergency situations.
Drying Herbs
Probably the dehydrated food that people are most familiar with is dried plant matter—most of the
spices in your kitchen are herbs that have been dried and chopped into small pieces or ground into
powder. But spices are pricy, and often by the time they reach your kitchen pantry they have lost
much of their flavor and nutrients.
The simplest way to dry herbs is to simply hang them upside down in a cool, dry place. If the herb
is an annual, sown anew each year, you can harvest the entire plant and hang it upside down. If
you're harvesting perennials, just prune the stems you need and hang them in bunches. The ideal
place to hang your herbs is somewhere with good airflow but out of any direct sunlight.
 
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