Aagaard Farms asked our Facebook community for any advice on books or websites on dehydrating. We love requests like this – it makes coming up with ideas for new posts that much easier. And we do love to share…
Before reviewing a few of the books we have on the topic, I have to emphasize that dehydrating is a far simpler science than many other types of preserving. Don`t run out and buy a bunch of books – the book that comes with your dehydrator is often more than enough to get you started – and once you`ve started you`ll figure out a lot of this on your own (the exceptions being when you are working with meat or dairy which take more guidance.
The three essentials of dehydrating:
- Control of temperature and knowing which temperatures to use. If you dry herbs too hot they`ll brown – do fruit too cool and it`s won`t dry (or will take a very long time).
- Precise thickness. I use a mandoline. A 3 mm slice of berry will dry 50% after a 2mm slice. Using a hand slicer saves a bunch of time checking each product individually.
- Space between the product for air circulation (if I`m using a slicer I cheat this and it adds time but does not interferes with completing the process)
With all that being said, here`s 3 books we have (and occasionally refer to):
Preserve it Naturally (3rd Edition) – The Complete Guide to Food Dehydration – Excaliber
This came as a `gift`with our dehydrator. I particularly like that the photos and references match my dehydrated (although it could easily be used by others). There`s a coding system that shows dehydration times and temperatures that took a while for me to learn but once I found the legend, it became very useful. There is nothing glamorous or romantic about this book and it looks like it`s from 1970 – but it`s a workhorse and it`s lack of fluff makes this a solid guide to find what you need as you need it. It`s a great resource.
How to Dry Foods – Deanna DeLong
A very thorough guide that will take you from beginner to expert by the time you reach the end of the book. I appreciate that it`s well organized by ingredient and includes more updated recipes than what may be in the resource above – but this extra benefit can make finding core information (like temperatures) more difficult to find. A good tool if you lack the confidence or want to be handed recipes that will yield dependable results.
The Dehydrator Bible – Jennifer MacKenzie, Jay Nutt, Don Mercer
This one`s an encyclopedia. It`s a good resource for `recipes on the spot`but may be overwhelming if you`re starting out. I like to have it on the shelf in case I`m looking to expand ideas but it`s recipes are so literal (an advantage to many) that I prefer to use this to brainstorm my own ideas from rather than to use it each piece. This could apply to all levels of home preservers but I like it best as an on-demand reference as opposed to a manual.
We`ll also get a better list of recipes and articles here in the future – in the meantime here`s a link to a Google search of a bunch of our articles on dehydrating.
What are other great sites and books out there about dehydrating that you`d like to share?
Whenever I have a dehydrating question, I head on over to http://www.dehydrate2store.com …her videos are fabulous and chances are, if it can be dehydrated, there’s instructions on how to do it. No books required.
Awesome info, thank you! My dehydrator came with a very basic little ‘pamphlet’ so I’m looking for other ideas, recipes, combos. I’ll also check your other articles, of course! You’re becoming my go-to source!
I too refer to http://dehydrate2store.com/ whenever I have dehydration questions. Fantastic website and videos…
The Ball Blue Book, which my dad picked up at a farmers market in the nineties. It’s okay, but not especially helpful for working in New Jersey, where all summer, there is no such thing as a cool, dry place. I would love some advice that is specific to dehydrating in a humid environment.