Survival Skills: How to Make Your Own Dried Food

If you have recently shopped for freeze-dried meals or dried fruit, you may have noticed that these long lasting foods are not getting any cheaper. Their extended shelf life and light weight are going to cost you. There is another option, however: You could dry your own food for a lot less money. Electric home dehydrator units are a great way to preserve many foods, while cutting down the food’s weight. This is handy whether you are preparing food for a long hunt, a backpacking trip or a Bug Out Bag. But what happens if you don’t have electricity or a fancy dehydrator unit? A less expensive option is to make your own dehydrator from something you probably already have—plastic window screens. You can pop the screens off your home windows, set them up on a few cinder blocks to allow air to flow underneath, and dehydrate many types of food in dry, sunny weather. Just avoid galvanized wire and other metal wire screens, as these can leach into your food creating off flavors, possibly breaking down some vitamins and probably introducing toxins into the food (especially from the galvanized screens). To get started drying fruits, slice them thin. About ¼-inch thickness is good. Then apply a common grocery store product called Fruit Fresh or dip them in lemon juice. These treatments provide acid, which makes the fruit less inviting to bacteria and it helps to preserve some of the fruit’s nutrition. Dry the fruits in the sun for a day or more, until they become leathery. Bring the screens in every night to avoid dampness and animal thieves. Apples and pears are the best fruits to dry this way, although most fruits can be dried with good results. The types of vegetables that are usually dried are leafy things like herbs; solid veggies like carrots, squash and zucchini; and fleshy things like tomatoes. The leaves can be dried as-is on the window screens, while the other foods should be cut thin like the fruit. The fleshier vegetables can be sprinkled with a little salt to help pull out the water and act as a preservative. Most vegetables are dried until brittle, except for tomatoes which will be leathery no matter what. To dry meat, use only fresh raw meat. Cooked meat will go bad in a few days if you try to dry it, because the cell walls have burst in the cooking process thereby opening them up to bacteria. Red meat and most fish do very well for making dried meat; although the meat from any mammal, bird, fish, or larger reptile will work with this technique. Salt, sugar and spices are optional, but are very helpful if you have them. Cut the meat thin and across the grain. Trim off all visible fat, and sprinkle on a little salt, sugar and/or spices like pepper, ginger, cumin, chili powder, etc. These additives are optional, but using salt will create a less hospitable environment for bacteria. Dry it out thoroughly over one day or several days, depending on the humidity. Flip it a few times during the drying process. Don't leave it out overnight. When it becomes slightly brittle, it is done. Keep it in a breathable container like a cloth bag or paper sack. In glass, metal, or plastic, the jerky will sweat and go bad more quickly. Reference: http://survival.outdoorlife.com/blogs/survivalist/2012/12/survival-skills-how-make-your-own-dried-food PDF Version
25 year shelf life food, 30 day food storage, 30 day supply emergency food, 30 days food supply, about food safety, about gmo, about monsanto, AdventureReady, ApocalypseReady, augason farms, BackpackingGear, BePrepared, Blackouts, BombCyclonePrep, BombCycloneReady, bucket food, bug out bag, bug out bag supplies, bugout bag supplies food, bugout bag survival kit, bugout gear, bulk emergency food, bulk food survival, BushcraftSkills, Camping food, canned food, Category_News, ClimateChangePreparedness, CommunityStrength, CommunitySurvivalStrategies, dangers of gmo, datrex emergency food, disaster food, disaster food kits, disaster kit, disaster kit food, disaster preparedness, disaster preparedness food, Disaster Readiness, disaster supplies, DisasterPreparedness, DisasterReadiness, DisasterReady, DisasterResponse, DisasterSafetyTips, doomsday food, dry food, dry food emergency, earthquake food, earthquake food supplies, earthquake kit, earthquake kit food, Earthquake Preparedness, earthquake survival food kit, earthquake survival kit, earthquake survival kit food, EarthquakePreparation, EarthquakePreparedness, EarthquakeReadiness, EarthquakeSafety, emergency, emergency bars, emergency food, emergency food 30 day, emergency food augason farms, emergency food bar, emergency food bucket, emergency food gluten free, emergency food kit, emergency food kits, emergency food ration, emergency food storage, emergency food supply, emergency food supply 30 day, emergency food supply family, emergency food supply gluten free, emergency food supply wise company, emergency food survival, emergency food tablets, emergency food tabs, emergency food wise, emergency food wise company, emergency foods, emergency foods supply, emergency gluten free food, emergency kit, emergency kit food, Emergency Kits, emergency meal, emergency meals, emergency preparedness, emergency preparedness food, emergency preparedness kit, emergency ration, emergency ration bars, emergency ration food, emergency rations, emergency rations long shelf life, emergency ready eat meals, emergency supplies, emergency supplies food, emergency supply, emergency survival food supply, emergency survival kit, emergency survival rations, emergency tabs, emergency vegan food supply, emergency water, emergency water pouches, EmergencyDiet, EmergencyFoodSupply, EmergencyKit, EmergencyNutrition, EmergencyPreparation, EmergencyPreparedness, EmergencyPrepWithConfidence, EmergencyReadiness, EmergencyReady, eSportsNutrition, ExtremeWeatherPrep, FaithFriendlySurvival, family survival food, FamilyEmergencyKit, FamilyEmergencyPrep, FamilyPrep, FamilyPreparedness, FamilySafety, FamilySafetyFirst, FamilySafetyHacks, fda gmo, FloodRecovery, food 30 day supply, food bars emergency, food bars survival, food emergency kit, food emergency supply, food gmo, food ration, Food Shortage, food storage 30 day, food storage supply, food supply 1 year, food supply 30 day, food supply emergency, food supply survival, food survival, food tablets, food tablets survival, food tabs, foods with gmo, foodsupply, freeze dried food, freeze dried food survival, freeze-dried foods have some drawbacks. For instance, freeze-dried meals, GamerFuel, GamingMarathon, genetic engineering, genetic roulette, genetically, genetically altered foods, genetically modified food, genetically modified food crops, genetically modified soy, gluten free emergency food, gluten free emergency food supply, gluten free mre meals, gluten free survival food, GlutenFreeEmergencyFood, GlutenFreeEmergencyKit, GlutenFreeLifeSaver, GlutenFreePreparedness, GlutenFreeReadiness, GlutenFreeSurvival, GlutenFreeSurvivalKit, GlutenFreeSurvivalTabs, GlutenFreeTabs, gmo, gmo canola, gmo corn, gmo cotton, gmo cottonseed, gmo feed, gmo food in america, gmo food products, gmo food safety, gmo health, gmo in food, gmo soy, gmo soybeans, gmo studies, gmo sugarbeets, gmo testing, gmos environment, gmos food, gmos in food, health and safety, health risks of gmos, healthy diet, healthy eating, HealthyEmergencyFood, high calorie food bars emergency, high calorie survival bars, Hiking food, HikingEssentials, hurricane food preparedness, hurricane food storage, hurricane season 2024, Jeffrey M. Smith, Jeffrey Smith, JewishEmergencyKit, JewishFamilies, JewishFamiliesPrepare, JewishFamilyPreparedness, KoreanJapaneseReadiness, KosherEmergencyFood, KosherPreparedness, label gmos, life straw, lifeboat rations, long shelf life food, long term food, long term food storage, long term food supply, long term storage food, LongShelfLife, LongShelfLifeFood, LongTermFoodStorage, mainstay emergency food, meal bars survival, meal ready to eat, mercola, military food, military meal, military ration, military rations, military surplus food 2020 emergency meal complete camping prep tablets year supply foods american replacement tab mre pack date buy tablet army bulk ration gluten packs vegan, monsanto, mountain food, mountain house, mountain house food, mountain house meals, Mpox, mre, mre gluten free, mre meal, mre meals, mre meals vegan, mre's meals ready eat, mre's meals ready to eat, mres, natural news, NaturalDisasterPrep, NaturalDisasterPreparation, NatureLovers, no gmos, non gmo ingredients, non perishable food, non-gmo, non-gmo shopping guide, NonGMOEmergencyFood, NonGMOEmergencyTabs, NonGMOProtection, NonGMOSafety, NonGMOSurvivalFood, nonperishable food for tropical storm, Nutritional Security, NutritionInCrisis, Okinawa Earthquake, one month food supply, OutdoorAdventure, OutdoorSafety, patriot food survival, PostCollapseCommunity, prepper food, prepper food supplies, preppers food, preppers food supplies, ration, ration bars, ration bars emergency, ration food, ration survival, rations 30 day, rations mre, ready-to-eat meals, Resilience, risks of gmo, roundup ready, safety in food, safety of genetically modified foods, SafetyFirst, SafetyMeasures, Seeds of Deception, SeismicSafety, SevereWeatherPrep, SevereWeatherReadiness, SevereWeatherReady, SevereWeatherSafety, SevereWeatherSurvival, shelf-stable foods, shop non-gmo, solar flare protection, sos emergency ration, storm survival food, StormPreparedness, StormReady, StormSafety, StormSafetyTips, such as a 25-year shelf life (depending on the food) and low cost. However, survival, survival backpack, survival backpacks, survival bars, survival dry food, survival emergency food, survival food, survival food 25 year, survival food 25 year shelf life, survival food bars, survival food kit, survival food ration, survival food tablets, survival food tabs, survival foods, survival gear, survival gear and equipment, survival kit, survival kit food, survival kits, survival meals, survival ration, survival rations, survival storage food, survival tab, survival tablets, survival tabs, survival tabs 25 year shelf life, survival tabs 60 day, survival tabs emergency food, survival water, SurvivalGuide, survivalhacks, SurvivalNutrition, SurvivalPrep, SurvivalTablets, survivaltabs, SurvivalTabs GlutenFreeSurvival, SurvivalTabsAdvantage, SurvivalTabsEssentials, SurvivalTabsReady, SurvivalTabsUnity, SurvivalTabsUses, SurvivalTactics, SurvivalTips, SustainableSurvival, TendonStormPrep, TexasFlooding, TexasStrong, The survival food market is currently dominated by freeze-dried foods. These foods have gained popularity due to advantages, the survival tabs, the survival tabs emergency food, TheSurvivalTabs, tipping point network, TogetherWeSurvive, TornadoRecovery, Tropical storm food list, Tsunami Safety, vegan emergency food, vegan food rations, vegetarian emergency food, vegetarian emergency food supply, water for emergencies, water purification tablets, WeatherEmergencyPrep, what are gmo, what is gmo, why gmo, WildernessSurvival, wise company emergency food, wise company food, wise food, wise foods emergency food, year supply food, ZombieOutbreakTips