Self Reliance: Dehydrating

Dehydration is a method of food preservation in which moisture (primarily water) is removed. Dehydration inhibits the growth of microorganisms and often reduces the bulk of food.

Dehydrating and Food Storage

Dehydrating is a good alternative or supplement to canning for produce preservation. Since the foods compact down in size and weight, you may find it easier to store in large quantities. Dehydrated foods also make great additions to 72 hour kits since they can pack a lot of calories and nutrition into a small space. When dried at low enough temperatures, the foods are considered “raw” still and therefore retain most of their nutrients (great news in emergency situations).

While you can purchase dehydrated foods in #10 cans from many different sources, it is so simple and easy to dehydrate your own that it is typically not worth the expense of buying them. We love the dehydrated foods we bought and can’t wait to make more of them on our own.

Benefits of Dehydrating

• Enables you to store fruits and vegetables on the shelf for many years
• Takes up less space than canned or frozen produce
• Makes delicious snacks for camping, on the run, or any time
• Helps you stock up when produce is on sale or ripe in your garden
• Saves you time in the kitchen by not having to chop up veggies for recipes

More Information on Dehydrating