Oven-Drying

In this lesson I want to introduce you to the intense flavor and texture that can be developed by partially drying fruits and vegetables. It’s a simple technique that I think should be in everyone’s bag of culinary tools. Drying is one of the oldest methods for food preservation. For thousands of years, fruits, vegetables, meats, and herbs have been preserved by drying. When most of the moisture (80 to 90 percent) has been removed from almost any food, bacteria, molds, and yeasts that cause spoilage can’t grow. Air and sun were the drying methods of choice throughout most of history. With the advent of electricity, the oven became a workable tool for the purpose, and now electric dehydrators of all sorts are available.