Preserve it Naturally [antikvár]

Welcome to the wonderful world of dehydration! You are about to discover one of the oldest methods of preserving food lnown to civilization. Primitive people dehydrated or dried grasses, herbs, roots, berries, and meats by setting them out in the sun. They learned that dehydrated, or dried supplies, helped them survive during the long, bitter winters when food was scarce or literally nonexistent. The light weight and high nutritional value of dried food also enabled people to travel greater distances to hunt and explore.Nearly all people were dehydrating or drying food to some degree from the dawn of civilization. Actually, the earliest written record we know stated that the Phoenicians and other fishing people of the IVIediterranean area used to dry their catches in the open air. The early Chinese would often times sundry their tea leaves. When certain ancient Egyptian tombs were excavated recently, scientists found a variety of dehydrated foods, including wheat grain. These foods were meant to sustain the spirit of the deceased during his journey in the afterlife. As an experiment, some of the centuries-old grains were later rehydrated. Miraculously, they sprouted, proving that dehydration is truly a viable, long-term, natural means of food preservation.During the ages of exploration in the IS"" and 16"' centuries, most sailors on long sea voyages ate a variety of dried food for survival. When Columbus discovered the New World, dehydrated food played an important part in sustaining his crew and in preventing any outbreak of diseases like scurvy and beriberi. As you may imagine, much of this food was excessively salted and would not be very appetizing to modern tastes. However, to these early explorers, the dehydrated food provided the sustenance to make perilous sea voyages possible.Centuries ago in our country - long before the rise of canning and freezing - American Indians preserved their produce by drying it in the sun. Fruits like apples, pears, and peaches; vegetables like corn; and meats like elk, deer, bear, and buffalo were all dehydrated and stored for the leaner seasons. When the pilgrims came, the Indians not only greeted them with "How," but they also showed them how to dry food.The first pioneers also relied heavily on drying. Dehydrated food enabled them to endure the harsh conditions as they journeyed hundreds of miles westward across the plains. When Horace Greeley used the now famous statement: "Go west, young man, and grow up with the country" in a New York Tribune editorial, he should have added: "And take along agood supply of dried food." Leathery morsels of dried meat (or jerky) also acted as staples for Jedediah Strong Smith and other far roaming "mountain men" who braved the Sierra Nevada IVIountains and the unexplored Pacific coast.By 1795, the French had developed the first dehydrator - a device designed to regulate the drying conditions and generally speed up the food-saving process. Although crude in comparison to today's models, the French unit successfully dried fruits and vegetables at a controlled heat temperature of approximately 130°F or 54°C with a continuous circulating airflow - the necessary conditions for any dehydration operation. It was many years before the first true dehydrators were introduced in the United States.Dehydrated Food in the and 21 ^^ Century.Dehydrated food became a major source of the American diet during World War I. When our country actively entered the War in 1917 - sending troops and a steady stream of supplies to Europe - dried food made up a good portion of nutritional supplies that were shipped abroad. Billboards of the time shouted the slogan: "Food will win the War." Dehydrated food did its share!As the Roaring '20s, "the era of nonsense," rolled in with its flappers and speakeasies, interest in drying food dropped off. It rekindled as the 1930s Great Depression crashed down upon the nation. People couldn't afford or find the supplies needed for canning so many returned to drying to preserve what food they had.The urgent requirements of war supplies and materials set off another surge of drying during World War II. Food was rationed and every bit preserved as a step toward victory. With the rationing of sugar and the disappearance of canning supplies, homemakers relied heavily on drying as their main method of food preservation. The federal government developed a self-help program which made solar dehydrator plans available to citizens so they could dry their "Victory Garden" goods. Many commercial drying plants opened in this country to provide the necessary food for the free world. Dehydrated produce was a practical way to supply overseas troops; it was lightweight, easy to transport, and did not spoil. In fact, dried food continues to be used today by the armed forces and the space program.Introduction to Defiydration