First, Thanks E. Coli for the information on storage of dry goods. Can anyone tell me what the shelf life of home dehydrated foods are? And, if they should be stored in the same manner as dry goods?

-- Gina Decker (gngdecker@ckt.net), July 27, 1998

Answers

What do you mean by "home dehydrated" food? Did you dehydrate using a home-type dehydrator? An open-air dehydrator? What type of preservative did you use? Was it sulfur? I have found that purchasing dehydrated fruits from company's like Mariani, and Sunsweet have a very long shelf life. For instance, I purchased today, a bag of Mariani mixed dried fruit, with an expiration date of 07/19/00. Unless you have a large orchard of apples, apricots, prunes, peaches, pears, the cost of preservation is at near cost of purchasing it at Costco or Sam's Club (you have to factor in spoilage for home dehydrating). I am fortunate that I live near Sunsweet and Mariani packing houses where I can purchase them really cheap at harvest time. Drying season here has begun. Also, things to factor in on home dehydrating, is what and where will the goods be stored in? The longest shelf life is always a cool, dark, dry spots. I am not a fan of the dehydrated packaged whole meal stuff. You can do better purchasing a well rounded diet using canned goods, beans, rice, pasta, canned whole chickens, flour, etc. Hope this helps. Bardou

-- Playedbythegame (refusetogive@baloney.com), July 27, 1998.