[pct-l] dehydrating

[HkrTrash@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/6/99 1:24:34 PM Central Standard Time,
rebecca_pct@usa.net writes:

<< I've never dehydrated anything. I've never
 even seen a food dehydrator. If I wanted to make beef jerky ...
 1. is is better to do it in a dyhydrator or is an oven ok?
 2. how long in advance of when you'll eat it can you dehydrate it?
 3. what do you do with it in the mean time? how do you store it between when
 you make it & when you take it on a trip? >>

Rebecca,
You can dehydrate in the oven or a dehydrator.  Both work equally well,
although the dehydrator is a little easier and will give you better control of
drying times, etc.  Dehydrated foods will last for months in a freezer.  This
is where I store mine, inside ziplock freezer bags, when I won't be using them
for a while.  Normally, I just dehydrate what I will need for a two week trip.
When I return, I dehydrate another two weeks worth and into the freezer it
goes.  This way, I always have dehydrated foods ready to go at a moments
notice.
American Harvester makes good dehydraters with temperature controls, and can
be purchased for around $30 at Walmart or Target.

Try this site out.  It covers how to dehydrate in a dehydrator, the oven or
even using the sun.  There are instructions and recipes for dehydrating most
everything that a  human can eat.  
 <A HREF="http://www.foodsafety.org/gadry.htm">National Food Safety Database:
Drying Foods Safely</A> 
http://www.foodsafety.org/gadry.htm

Good Hiking,
Jim
"Earth gives life and seeks the man who walks gently upon it."
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