Frugal Family: Preserving Fruits, Vegetables

By dehydrating foods, you remove most of their moisture, thus making the foods less likely to spoil over time, and you reduce their volume so they take up less storage space.

I have nine tomato plants that survived the heat, humidity and rains of the summer, and slowly they’re ripening. What can be done with the weekly crop besides using them in salads and sandwiches.

With a dehydrator you can make your own sun-dried tomatoes, and it’s simple!

1. Get a fresh batch of Roma tomatoes from your garden. They’re meatier and do very well when sun-dried.
2. Cut them into quarters and remove the middle ‘stem’ part. You can also remove the seeds if you like, but I never do. Try to keep the pieces uniform in shape so they dry at the same rate.
3. Place the pieces on the screen of the dehydrator, leaving room around them so the air circulates. I sprinkle them with a bit of sea salt and fresh basil from the garden.
4. Start the dehydrator and wait for your kitchen to smell amazing. For me it took about eight hours for all of the pieces to completely dry.  
5. To store, keep them in a container in your pantry, the refrigerator or freezer. When you’re ready to use them, let them soak in olive oil for 24 hours (keep the oil for use on pasta and salads) or soak them in boiling water for a half hour.

Zucchini’s can grow to amazing proportions in home gardens and with a dehydrator you can make tasty and healthy zucchini chips. Cut them into thin slices, sprinkle with salt and dry.

There are quite a few brands and styles of dehydrators available.  and  both sell the one that I own (less than $50).

Green beans, onions and even mushrooms can be dried out and stored for later use. Simply rehydrate them before use in your family’s meals; let them soak in water for a half hour or add them directly to soups and stews.

Peaches are in season at and and can be dried for use in kid's lunches. Apple chips are another treat. Dip the slices of apple in lemon juice to keep them from browning and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar for a healthy snack alternative. 

Some tips when dehydrating:

• Make sure the slices of food are the same size so that everything dries out evenly. 
• Store the dehydrated foods in a dark, cool place in your home in airtight jars or Ziplock bags. 
• The first few times you use a dehydrator, you may be unsure, so check on the foods every half hour to an hour to see how they’re progressing. Foods should be pliable like leather. 
• Once you’re comfortable with drying foods in your dehydrator, you can set things up and go to bed. You’ll wake up to the foods done (or almost done), and depending on what you’re drying, to a great smelling kitchen. 

For more information on dehydrating food and recipes, check out the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Agriculture website as well as Pickyourown.org.