Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — "The ABC's of Home Food Dehydration" was published by a Bountiful press called Horizon Publishers 50 years ago.
"The freezer is bulging! The shelves are overflowing! There isn't room to store another thing! Does that sound familiar? There is no need for such exclamations with dehydrated foods," wrote author Barbara Densley, whose enthusiasm over a wizened fruit crisp is contagious.
"It is fascinating to watch the vegetables and fruits shrivel, shrink, and deform," she gushes. "It is amazing to reconstitute them and watch them plump up and return to their original form."
Densely was born at the beginning of the Great Depression in Riverton, in 1929. She sadly passed away in 2020, but her books on dehydrated foods have been for sale continuously since publication, according to her obituary, "and she became a leading authority in the field of food dehydration."
The at-home food dehydrator really kicked off a renaissance in dry food at the time of this book. It turns out that you can dry food anywhere, anytime — on the plant, in a cloth bag, from strings hanging in the attic.
"Drill a hole in cobs of corn, thread them on a string, and hang them in the attic. This corn is excellent when it is parched," according to the author.
Some of the manual reads like a chemistry textbook, with graphs of pH values, pretreatments of vitamins, discussions of enzyme action and sulfuring and acid treatment.
Other sections, like the helpful hint chapter, provide reminders for ignorant wet-eaters like myself. Number 17 — "Always label dehydrated foods. A lot of calories can be consumed trying to find a roll of apricot leather(by taste test) to make a chiffon pie." It turns out avocados, with 16% oil content, are not recommended for dehydrating.
"What is comfrey?" you ask. Densley has the answer. "The only land plant discovered that contains Vitamin B12. The root is white, fleshy, and juicy. The leaves are large, oval and hairy."
She claims it can be roasted, ground and used as a coffee substitute, but WebMD says "it contains chemicals that are poisonous." Maybe avoid that recipe.
Did you know most papayas come by air from Hawaii? At least 50 years ago they did. A quick Google search suggests papayas now come from Mexico, Guatemala, and Brazil. Fun fact — they can still be dried.
The world has changed a lot since 1975. The New Orleans Jazz are now in Utah. The government isn't testing nuclear bombs in Nevada anymore. People can't smoke cigarettes in government buildings. Admission to the Hogle Zoo isn't $1.00. But one thing remains. Food can be dried out.
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