Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which prevents the growth of microorganisms and decay. Drying food using the sun and wind to prevent spoilage has been known since ancient times. Water is usually removed by evaporation (air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying) but, in the case of freeze-drying, food is first frozen and then water is removed by sublimation. Various preserved foods Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, density, texture and flavor. ... Impact of a drop of water Water is a chemical substance that is essential to all known forms of life[1]. It covers 71% of Earths surface. ... A cluster of Escherichia coli bacteria magnified 10,000 times. ... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... In a typical phase diagram, the boundary between gas and liquid runs from the triple point to the critical point. ... Frozen food is food preserved under the process of freezing. ... Sublimation of an element or substance is a conversion between the solid and the gaseous phases of matter, with no intermediate liquid stage. ...

Many different foods are prepared by drying. Good examples are meat such as prosciutto, aka Parma ham, bresaola, and beef jerky. Fruits that, when fresh, have a high water content, change their character completely when dried: the plum becomes a prune, the grape a raisin; figs and dates are also transformed. Prosciutto Prosciutto (IPA: ) is the Italian word for ham, used in English to refer to dry-cured ham (prosciutto crudo). ... Prosciutto is a dry-cured ham from central and northern Italy and from Slovenia (Kras), where it is called pršut. ... Bresaola is air-dried salted beef fillet that has been aged about 2-3 months until it becomes hard and a dark red, almost purple colour. ... The name Jerky comes from the Quechua term charki, meaning dried meat. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... Prune refers to any of more than 125 varieties of fruit, most grown for drying. ... Raisins Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... Species About 800, including: Ficus altissima Ficus americana Ficus aurea Ficus benghalensis- Indian Banyan Ficus benjamina- Weeping Fig Ficus broadwayi Ficus carica- Common Fig Ficus citrifolia Ficus coronata Ficus drupacea Ficus elastica Ficus godeffroyi Ficus grenadensis Ficus hartii Ficus lyrata Ficus macbrideii Ficus macrophylla- Moreton Bay Fig Ficus microcarpa- Chinese... Binomial name Phoenix dactylifera L. The Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera is a palm, extensively cultivated for its edible fruit. ...

For centuries, much of the European diet depended on dried cod, known as salt cod or bacalhau (with salt) or stockfish (without). It formed the main protein source for the slaves on the West Indian plantations and was a major economic force within the triangular trade. the world is coming to the end!!!!! cod is going to eat up alive and do us hard up the emmm. ... Cod can be preserved by salting, drying, or both. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Stockfish is air-dried cod. ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ...

Dried and salted reindeer meat is a traditional Lappish food. First the meat is soused. It is kept in saltwater for a couple of days to guarantee the conservation of the meat. Then the meat is dried in the sun in spring when the air temperature is below zero. The dried meat can be further processed to make soup. Binomial name Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758) Reindeer map The reindeer, known as caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer (Rangifer tarandus). ... National anthem Sámi soga lávlla Languages Sami, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian Area ca. ... Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients, such as meat, vegetables and beans in stock or hot water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth. ...

In the United States, home food dehydration has been practiced for years by various interest groups, including religious fundamentalists, survivalists, recreational enthusiasts, as well as farmers and gardeners.

There are many different methods for drying, each with their own advantages for particular applications; these include:

• Bed dryers
• Fluidized bed dryers
• Shelf dryers
• Spray drying
• Sunlight

Spray drying is the process of mixing and drying a slurry (a kind of suspension) to form a homogeneous mixture of powders. ... Prism splitting light High Resolution Solar Spectrum Sunlight in the broad sense is the total spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. ...

Other home food preservation methods

• Smoking (food)
• Pickling
• Canning

Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Smoking Smoking is the process of preserving, cooking, or flavoring food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. ... Cucumbers gathered for pickling. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Dried fruit
• Meat extract
• Bouillon cube
• Instant soup
• Instant noodles

Dried fruit is fruit that has been dried, either naturally or through use of a machine, such as a dehydrator. ... French Advertising for Liebig Extract of Meat, bevore 1900 Italian Advertising for Liebig Extract of Meat, bevore 1900 The Liebig Extract of Meat Company (Lemco) was the originator of Liebig and Oxo meat extracts and later Oxo beef stock cubes. ... A bouillon cube (US) or stock cube (UK), attributed to Nicolas François Appert, is dehydrated broth (bouillon in French) or stock formed into a small cube (about 15 mm on a side). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• National Center for Home Food Preservation - How do I...Dry
• Articles on Dehydration of Food
• Food Dehydration Equipment
• Food Dehydration Equipment -- Shelf Dryers
• Wilderness Cooking and Dehydration Course
• Clemson University Extension School's Instructions on Food Dehydrating