Preserving Food by Drying

Primitive peoples discovered a long time ago that the withdrawal of water preserves food. Because of this, it was possible keep food in stock even before the invention of the freezer.

The most common methods of withdrawing water:

1. Drying by air: This technique was already used thousand of years ago. The food (vegetables, meat, fish....) is cut into thin slices and hung up. Today, this method is used for several specialties. The famous Parma ham, for example, is salted down and slowly dried for about seven months in big halls

 

2. Drying with heat: The meat is slowly dried (in an oven) with increased temperature. This procedure takes less time, of course, but on the other hand, many valuable ingredients are destroyed.

 

3. Smoke-drying: Cold or hot smoke removes the water from the meat within a few days or weeks. This method is used for the production of sausages, for example.

 

4. Freeze-drying: This method is very modern, but requires complex techniques. First, the food to be dried has to be frozen as quickly as possible. Afterwards, a vacuum is applied (all the air is removed from the container) and the food is kept under the vacuum for several hours. By this technique, the water is removed very gently and the food remains almost unchanged. The big advantage is that many vitamins and enzymes are preserved and that the food almost tastes like fresh food again when water is added. Surely the best example is instant coffee.

Some foods can only be dried with special tricks or special ovens (e. g. bananas go brown and soft), but others can be preserved easily and without any danger.

1. In the oven: Apple parings can be dried with low heat (50-80°C) within short time. (Don’t dry them too long, the parings shouldn’t be hard as stone! They are perfect when you can’t quite break them yet!) When packed airtight, these apple parings can be stored for a very long time and taste delicious as a snack!
2. In the air: In the shade, herbs like peppermint dry completely within 2-4 days and they can be kept for many months afterwards without loosing their lovely aroma!