A Word About Dehydration

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 at 9:00 am.  Tulips need to be planted.

 October 28…Tulip Planting Ceremony at McGannon Park @ 10am.

 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.