Inflation, concerns of war, and drought are all reasons to be concerned about food security. All of these issues can lead to shortages in food, while the threat of war brings back memories of the ration systems we saw in WWII. It’s time, in fact past time, to boost food storage activities. One way to preserve food is dehydration. If you have a dehydrator, start using it on a regular basis. If you don’t have one, it’s time to get one.
Dehydrated food lasts about 3 years when properly stored. The biggest advantage, in my view, is the amount of space that can be saved. I regularly dehydrate frozen vegetables from the grocery store and fit a 5 lb bag of veggies into a 1 litre mason jar. Space is always a concern for preppers.
There are a number of brands and designs of food dehydrators available. Personally, I use the Excalibur 9 tray, but despite a few picky details in product reviews, pretty much any one of the units offered will get the job done. The most common variable seems to be capacity. The bigger the better in this case is important as you want to be able to maximize production.
While jerky is a great treat, meat in general is not a great food item to dehydrate. It simply won’t store for any amount of time and goes bad quickly, even when properly done. Produce is great for the dehydrator. Most fruits and vegetables dehydrate well, with only a very few exceptions. Herbs also do well, but may be a waste of time and energy as they air dry quite well. Remember, the goal is to maximize production.
It is important to note that there are some tricks and tips for dehydrating food items. Some need blanching, some benefit from acid treating, while others do best on treated and unblanched. To figure all this out, you will need someone experienced on call, or a handy book. The Excalibur comes with a pretty good guide for it’s use, but there are other books available. Try this one from Amazon!
It’s never been more important to stock up on food. Get that dehydrator up and running!