On Saturday March 20 the Master Food Preservers of San Joaquin County presented an inspiring zoom workshop on Dehydration. Whether experienced or a novice, everyone learned new and creative ways to use dehydration to make unique spice mixes, quick meals and tasty snacks. You can find the recorded class here.
Over 70 people attended. Many were California locals but there were also attendees from other places in California as well as Fargo ND, Great Falls MT and Alberta, Canada.
MFP Kathy Anderson, started the workshop with a short talk on food safety and cleaning and sanitizing surfaces. This is an area we heavily emphasize in our MFP workshops and public outreach. For more information visit the CDC Fightbac website.
Kathy then spoke about the basics of dehydration with emphasis on leathers, barks and powders. In addition to covering
the basics of how to prepare and dehydrate these types of foods, she provided many inspiring and creative ways to use the finished products. For both those new to dehydration as well as the more experienced, Kathy taught a number of tips and lessons that will help people get consistent and successful results.
Workshop attendees were treated to many pictures of samples that Kathy made and how to use them to enhance soups, salads, spicing up meals and as well as quick meals, snacks and drinks. Of particular personal interest were the desert toppings made with dehydrated fruit powders and chocolate dipped orange slices.
If you are looking for many recipes covering all types of dehydrated foods visit the links below:
National Center for Home Food Preservation - Drying
Dehydrating Fruits and Vegetables – Pacific Northwest Extension Publication
Recipes from the Excalibur Dehydrator Website
Recipes from the Nesco Dehydrator Website
Our next zoom workshop will be on April 17 at 10:00 am and the topic will be pressure canning and freezing. We look forward to your attendance and look for the registration link on the San Joaquin Master Food Preserver homepage or on our Facebook page in early April.
