How can we prolong or extend the shelf life of our foods?
There is a method of food preservation that consists of dehydrating food by using heat. This method has been used for hundreds; for thousands of years. It was and can be done in a primitive way, by laying things down in direct sun light for several days. Which does not ensure that animals, birds and insects dive into our food. Fortunately for us with the use of a small appliance dehydrator we can achieve the same results in less time and inside our house. Dehydrator prices fluctuate between $30 dollars to approximately $300. There are more expensive options but I find it to be unnecessary to spend any more than this.
Here are diffrent types of dehydrators at various prices (Amazon affiliate links) included:
Dehydrator Cosori (The one I use) $139.99 – https://amzn.to/3O24Rgy Dehydrator Chefman $39.99 – https://amzn.to/3NFItcY Dehydrator Elechomes $68.97 – https://amzn.to/3tqz4hD Dehydrator Homed $89.99 – https://amzn.to/3aFxBgC Dehydrator STX International $349.80 – https://amzn.to/3O2lx7F
Inexpensive dehydrators have plastic parts that can break over time. That’s why I chose the Cosori whose components are in metal and the cost is intermediate compared to the others on the market with a cost of $139 on Amazon at the time of writing this article.
You can dehydrate a number of foods (fruits, vegetables, and even meats). But I recommend starting with spices as they are the easiest foods to process. The key element when dehydrating is that the food you dehydrate can’t be chewy or soft at the end of the process. It should be crispy and hard; they should snap and break when you try to bend it. This will give us the indication that the food has not retained moisture.
When dealing with species we should pulverize them. If it is a fruit, or a vegetable, or meat that you want to keep in its solid state (still crunchy) in an air tight or vacuum sealed container; or a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber.
Ok so now that we know a little bit about dehydration; let’s dehydrate some oregano 🌿
- Wash the leaves and drain them removing any excess of water
- Lay the leaves in the trays flat singularly (not one on top of the other.) Util you fill all your trays.
- Adjust the Cosori (or your dehydrator) to 160 degrees and set the timer to 8 hours.
- Once the time has concluded ⏱ take out the dry leaves and pulverize them. Either manually by crushing them; or you can use a magic bullet, a food processor, or a blender for a faster processing time.
- Lastly, we store it preferably in a glass container.
Keep in mind that spices 🌿 when processed in this manner can last for many, many years without expiring. They may loose a little bit of the flavor or the potency, but they will not go bad.
To watch the video associated with this article click the link below 👇 ⬇️