Whenever I tell anyone what I do as a job they always reply in a similar vein ‘Oh my Grandmother made jam,’ or ‘all that sugar’.
Well, for once, we are not going to talk about the merits of sugar and the misunderstood dangerous results of reducing the sugar content of preserves to follow a modern trend.
One of the earliest known means of preserving food, dating from Stoneage times, was to simply dehydrate. You may or may not know that the first step of successful preservation is to reduce the moisture content before storing, or adding a preservative ( sugar, salt or vinegar, or a combination of ) then storing. Moisture at the correct levels is what all organisms need to thrive, including human beings. Yeast, mould and to some extent, bacterial growth, can be reduced or even eradicated by reducing the moisture content. Think dried herbs, biltong, dried fruits, for instance.
The process came about by observation and it continues to this day to be a simple way for food to be preserved and in the case of things like biltong, transported for nourishment and reconstituted safely in remote areas. Although often enjoyed in its dry state, added to liquid and cooked with foraged roots and leaves it could make a tasty campfire supper.
Bringing it into my realm involves a dehydrator — a very useful piece of kit and one which allows for efficiency, economy and versatility in the storage of food. You can achieve acceptable results in an oven or very warm airing cupboard if your needs are very modest, but I much prefer to use the technology and create uniformity and consistency that I can rely on.
I regularly dry mushrooms in slices, some of which are processed into mushroom powder for quick addition to soups, risotto and the like. There are fruit leathers, salsa, hummous, all manner of whole fruits, sliced apples — even tomato skins! If you have a quantity of these from another process then the skins can be dried, ground into powder which provides a gluten-free starch thickener. Apple skins can be dried, ground and mixed with cinnamon and sugar as a topping for crumbles, on cereal, stirred into yoghurt, whatever takes your fancy. There are a myriad of ideas once you get started.
If you an artisan looking for an edge to increase sales and demonstrate your preserving dexterity then this is a very good area to get into. If you are stocking a store cupboard and have a good supply of produce then this means of storage provides variety and ease of use for a great many ingredients that will stand you in good stead. Why not give it a try?
