Food Preservation Process For Drying Veggies

Many people find it hard to believe that vegetables like celery and cauliflower can be preserved by drying them. Well, believe it or not, vegetables can undergo the food preservation process of drying without being useless afterwards.

What's good with drying vegetables is that, unlike fruits, they can be dried until only 10 percent of their water content only remains--in which case the possibility of molds and other bacterial growth is minimized. Through careful preparation of the vegetables, almost anyone can dry them even at home.

First, wash the vegetables in cool running water to remove soil, dirt, and traces of fertilizer and chemicals. Then remove the bruised and rotting parts as well as the core and tough, sinewy portions of the vegetable. Trim and skin shoots and roots, if needed.

After washing and cleaning them, you will have to blanch the vegetables. Blanching means heating the vegetable to boiling temperature within a controlled time frame, and then abruptly putting them into cold water. It is done to stop the vegetable's enzymes from decreasing the color and taste of the vegetable while being processed. It's said to hasten the drying and rehydration process at the heat opens the vegetable's tissue walls so water can get in and out of the vegetable quickly.

Blanching can be done in two methods: water and steam blanching. The first method is done by submerging the vegetables in boiling water for as short as 1.5 minutes and as long as 8 minutes, depending on the vegetable. Brocolli, green beans, celery and tomatoes require only a 1.5- to 2-minute dip in boiling water, while potatoes and artichokes require 5 to 8 minutes of blanching in water.

On the other hand, steam blanching is, as its name suggests, done by steaming the vegetables for about a minute longer than if you'd water blanch them. You just place the vegetables in colander or wire basket over a pot of boiling water, making sure the water doesn't touch the vegetables.

One thing to remember, however, is that not all vegetables should be blanched. Washing should be enough for some such as mushrooms, onions, horseradish, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes.

After you've blanched the vegetables, remove as much excess water from them as possible then arrange them neatly in single layer on their drying tray. Put the tray in the oven or dehydrator. Because vegetables may become really crisp and dry towards the end of the drying process, you should keep a close watch on them as they might be burned at the edges or even burst into flames.

To eat dried vegetables, soak them first in water to reconstitute them. Be careful though that they don't become soaked for long; they might turn mushy and tasteless. If you're going to use the dried vegetables for soups and stews, you need not soak them of course. Just put them when your stew is simmering and almost ready--pretty much like when you're adding dehydrated veggies to your instant cup noodles. Yes, one of the wonders of food preservation.
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