It occurs to me that I’ve written tips on storing dehydrated food in different articles over the years but I’ve never really published a consolidated list of tips.
Storing dehydrated food is easy; here are my 6 tips for best results:
- Make sure the food is actually dry. In order to check the texture, I remove the product from the dehydrator for at least 5 minutes before assessing (it will get harder as it cools). For a guide on desired textures check out the last page of this pamphlet from the Colorado State University Extension Office (via the National Center for Home Food Preservation).
- Ensure that the container that you’re storing your food in is absolutely dry (and clean). Residual moisture will be absorbed by food and leads to spoilage.
- Place a lid or cover your jar (this prevents dust).
- Store the container in a cool location with low humidity (over your stove where you boil pasta isn’t a great location).
- Keep the container in a dark area (towards the back of a shelf is often fine).
- Store food in large chunks (powder will lose flavor faster due to increased surface area/ air exposure).