The Beginner’s Guide to Making and Using Dried Foods: Preserve Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, and Meat with a Dehydrator, a Kitchen Oven, or the Sun

By the time I finished browsing this one, I was in a tear to pull the dehydrator out from storage and throw everything in the fridge on it. This book is that compelling.

The Beginner’s Guide to Making and Using Dried Foods: Preserve Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, and Meat with a Dehydrator, a Kitchen Oven, or the Sun doesn’t only just explain what’s awesome about home drying food for preservation, but includes ways to use them. (From experience, it’s easy to dry food and harder to use it, so this is a fantastic feature of this book.)

Also wonderful are the guidelines for using a commercial dehydrator, as well as making your own dehydrator DIY-style. Or, if you’re not ready for the kind of commitment or energy use, how to utilize your oven, or even solar power, for preserving the year’s bounty. This book is organized by food type (fruit, veg, meat, spice) and alphabetically, making it super user friendly. Teresa Marrone has compiled a wonderful resource with Dried Foods and the home food preserver will find this invaluable.