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.

 

This book was first published in 1980. In over thirty years, some procedures have been improved. However, there is basic information here that is excellent and stands the test of time. 

I especially liked the fact that she gives lots of information on how to dehydrate meats and dairy. Many sources are afraid to touch those topics because of the risk of someone becoming ill from improperly stored foods. 

Chapter Headings:

• Drying Foods Can Save You Money
• Drying Foods for Hiking and Camping
• Recommended menus and the quantities to prepare for two adults and two children for a weekend
• Recipes conducive for camping convenience
• Dried Food Snacks
• Recipes and suggestions using dehydrated ingredients
• How to Dry Foods
• Using an electric dehydrator
• Solar dehydrating
• Oven or home made unit
• If you’re Thinking About Buying a Dehydrator
• Pros and cons of different types of dehydrating
• Comparisons of different brands of dehydrators (30 years ago)
• Building an Electric Food Dehydrator
• Clear diagrams and instructions on how to do this
• To Pretreat or Not to Pretreat
• For pretreating
• Against pretreating
• Pretreating methods
• Testing and Storing Dried Foods
• Drying Fruits
• How to dry various fruits
• Candied fruits
• Recipes for using each
• Drying Vegetables
• How to dry various vegetables
• Candied fruits
• Recipes for using each
• Drying Meats
• How to dry various meats
• Beef & venison
• Ham
• Poultry
• Lamb
• Fish
• Jerky
• Recipes for using each
• Drying Dairy Products
• How to dry various dairy products
• Recipes for using each
• Drying Grains
• How to dry various grains
• How to dry various grain products
• Recipes for using each
• Drying Herbs
• How to dry various herbs
• How to use dried herbs
• Leathers
• Dried Soup Mixes
• Drying Flower Blossoms
• Other Uses for Drying Equipment
• Index

For instructions on dehydrating each item she gives information for the following:

·         electric dehydrator

·         solar dehydrator

·         oven or home made dehydrator

·         how to rehydrate / use it