Home Food Dehydrating: Economical "do-it-yourself" methods for Preserving, Storing & Cooking

By Jay and Shirley Bills

This is a wonderful little book.  There are newer versions out on the market today. But mine was published in 1974.

Garden Ways Guide to Food Drying: How to Dehydrate, Store and Use Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs

By Phyllis Hobson. Garden Way Publishing. Charlotte, Vermont. Third Printing 1981

 

 

I found this great little book in our used bookstore.  I did find some on Amazon, so if you’re interested, you might go there to find it.

 

Dehydrating Blueberries

There have been a lot of questions about dehydrating blueberries.  Most of the information says that you need to prick holes in the skin in order to dry them.

This is what The Dehydrator Bible by Jennifer MacKenzie, Jay Nutt and Don Mercer have to say about it:

You use a process called “checking”.

Checking is a technique applied to berries with a waxy coating on their outer skins, such as grapes and blueberries. In the checking process, you are trying to create small disruptions in the waxy layer. These disruptions will appear as small cracks and may have a checkered appearance. Without these small breaks in their skin, many berries will not easily give up their moisture in the drying process.

To “check” berries, place a small batch in a heatproof strainer and dip them into a pot of boiling water for the recommended time.  You must be careful not to heat them long enough to split the skins if you want the berries to maintain their shape and appearance. With a little trial and error, you will be able to determine the proper checking time for particular berries. The times given in this book are meant as guidelines only and are for representative berry samples. Your times may vary depending on the size and nature of the berries you are using.

Linda's Note:  It's kind of like blanching.  Just keep them immersed until the skin cracks, then immediately plunge them into cold water. 
If you find that checking does not work well for you, you may pierce the outer skin of each berry numerous times with a toothpick or the tines of a fork. This approach is particularly effective with grapes, which are large enough to easily pierce with a fork. We did notice some flavor loss in berries that were checked compared with those that were pierced with a toothpick. However, piercing individual berries is time-consuming, so you may decide that the slight flavor loss caused by checking is a minor sacrifice.

Linda's Note:  With grapes, I found the easiest thing to do is simply cut them in half.

LINDA’S NOTE: When I looked up dehydrating blueberries, I could find nothing about a specific length of time to do the “checking” process.  Just watch them carefully and see what happens.

Dehydrating Apricots

Dried Apricots

I have had very little experience with fresh apricots. They are usually too expensive for me.  However, lately we’ve participated in the Bountiful Baskets program and have gotten them on several occasions.  You don’t get a choice, you simply get a laundry basket full of fresh produce. Now, what we don’t eat during the week, I dehydrate on the weekends.

The Savory Wild Mushroom

I recently found this great little book at a used bookstore.  The Savory Wild Mushroom by Margaret McKenny, revised and enlarged by Daniel E. Stuntz covers all sorts of edible wild mushrooms. 

Audubon 'Shrooming Book

Finally, I found The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms at our used bookstore in Riverton.

Foragers Find - The Best Book of All!

Yesterday we were Down Below (Lander and Riverton, two towns 80 miles east of us and some 2,000 feet lower in elevation than where we live) and stopped at Meadowlark Bookstore. They deal in used books. I bought three books. Two on mushrooms and one called Western Edible Wild Plants by H.D. Harrington.

 Didn’t realize it at the time, but this has turned out to be one of the best books I’ve found so far!

Making the Best of Basics

This is an excellent book. If you can only afford one book, this is the one to buy.  I keep my copy of

Making the Best of Basics Family Preparedness Handbook  by James Talmage Stevens on hand at all times..  This is probably the first survivalist book I ever purchased.

How to Dehydrate Foods by Deanna DeLong

For all-around general information on dehydrating, I definitely prefer this book. Deanna is thorough and goes to great detail with many charts and tables and offers a variety of dehydrating methods, slick tricks and tips, and a wealth of information. 

Linda’s note: my copy is a 1979 edition. She has since updated and revised the book.

Lip Smackin' Backpackin'

Here is one of my favorite books for dehydrating:

Lip Smackin’ Backpackin’

By Tim and Christine Conners

Some of the recipes call for processed foods, but you can always substitute the real thing.  It’s focus is on convenience and ease of use in backpacking situations. 

All of the recipes in this book have been tested for accuracy.

These recipes are ideal for backpacking, camping, or traveling across the country. 

This book is what gave me the courage to try dehydrating meats other than jerky. 

Check out the instructions on page 112 for Ground Beef Gravel.  That has been the single-most useful recipe for me!