Local
Tweed resident, Dorothy Hunt shared her dehydrating skills at the October
meeting of the Tweed and District
Horticultural Society. Since Dorothy has a HUGE garden, she traditionally used
canning and freezing as a means to preserve her fruits and vegetables. However,
as the garden grew and storage space became limited, Dorothy needed to find
another means to preserve her crops. She turned to the dehydrating process and
according to Dorothy, “It is a lot of fun and I am always trying new foods!”
The
internet offers a wealth of information about dehydrating. She also relies on
the manual she received with her machine as a guide for the process. Her
machine was purchased at Canadian Tire for about $60.00…worth every penny,
according to Dorothy!
Dehydrating
is the process of removing water and moisture from fruits, vegetables, herbs,
bread and even meats. It is an economical way to preserve food when your garden
has a great growing season. It inhibits the growth of bacteria. Food
preparation is faster when using the dehydrated food for soups and stews.
Dorothy
stated the importance of checking the trays in the machine frequently during
the drying process. She has discovered that often the drying process takes
longer that what the guide booklet recommends.
It is important to dry meats, fruits and vegetables separately.
Dorothy
uses glass sealers, ziplock baggies and Food Saver containers to store her
dried food.
Dried
food is great for hikers and campers as no refrigeration is required. The dried
food can be used in soups, stews and casseroles or simply used as a snack like
kale chips!
One
great benefit of the dehydrating process is that it takes very little hydro
making it a very economical.
COMING
UP….
October 15….Clean up of town beds. Meet at Moira Gardens
October 28…Tulip Planting Ceremony at McGannon Park
November 1…Local natural craft enthusiast,
Wanita DeVries will share her ideas to create Christmas decorative pieces using
found and used previously items. The Annual General Meeting will also be held.
The Financial Report for 2016 will be presented for approval.
Volunteer
hours from December 2015-November 2016 are due. Deadline is November 15. For
more info, please call 613-478-5535 or email hours to info@tweedhort.ca
November 5…District 3 Fall meeting in Bancroft.
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