Reap the Garden & Market Bounty: How to Dry Food
(Page 3 of 5)
August/September 2008
By Barbara Pleasant
Most vegetables are dried to a crisp, but fruits are done when they become leathery. Bell points out, however, that there is plenty of room in between, for example, savory chunks of half-dried tomatoes. If you want to try drying using only a sunny windowsill during the day and a warm (from the pilot light) oven at night, start with veggies that can be dried raw — garlic, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and peppers — and fresh greens such as kale or chard. First wash greens in cool water, then pat dry between towels.
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Onions, okra, horseradish and many herbs are dried raw, too, but don’t wait until your onions get soft. Instead, select onions for drying that may not store well.
As I harvest garlic, I set aside the best bulbs for replanting, and then dry some of the rest. When the fresh garlic runs out (usually in February), the dried garlic fills in until the new crop is ready.
The high sugar and acid content of apples, pears and peaches make them great candidates for dip-and-dry treatments, in which cut pieces are dipped in an acidic solution to stop the oxidation process that darkens them. Orange, pineapple or cranberry juice work well, and you can drink the leftover juice when you’re finished. You may like the flavor enhancement from using pineapple juice, or the colors you get from letting apple slices soak in cranberry juice for an hour before drying. Some vegetables also darken when dried, but that’s easy to prevent by soaking the pieces in a mixture of one part lemon juice to four parts water.
Check Your Berries
If you want to replace the organic trail mixes you’ve been buying with a homemade version, go for it! Blueberries, cherries, cranberries, seedless grapes and figs do require extra steps to get great results, but if you can boil water, you can dry them.
After they’ve been washed, drained (and pitted if necessary) “check” the fruits by dipping them in rapidly boiling water for two seconds, or pour boiling water over them for a count of four. After the water drains away, spread the fruits on cookie sheets, pat dry, and pop them in the freezer for one to two hours. Then take them out and dry them right away. The boiling water cracks the skins and the brief freezing breaks down cell walls, transforming the fruits into incredibly tasty nuggets for snacks, cereals or baking. Try drying them halfway, to the chewiness of raisins, which will require refrigerated storage because of their high moisture content. Fruit dried until near-crisp can be stored in any cool, dark place. To rehydrate, just soak them in water for an hour before eating.
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