[Sca-cooks] Drying stuff

[Stefan li Rous]

Gunthar commented:
 >>>
Just last night I was watching "Good Eats" (In Alton we trust) about
making jerky and he discussed that the best environment for drying
meats would be in someplace like the high mountain deserts of
Peru. Basically very cold, very windy and very dry.
<<<

Yes, and I think in this case, another important factor is the high  
altitude with it's corresponding low atmospheric pressure.

The natives of the area, if I remember right, used these factors to  
"freeze-dry" potatoes for storage. I don't remember if they had to be  
sliced or peeled or not. But basically they were set out until they  
freeze-dried. Freeze-drying depends upon have a low enough  
atmospheric pressure that the water in the item subsumes directly  
from liquid to gaseous form. This avoids bursting the cell membranes  
and other things which happen if you simply freeze a food. I don't  
remember why you lower the temperature to freezing right now, rather  
than just refrigeration temperatures. Commercially it is done in  
large vacuum chambers, which is one reason such food tends to be  
rather costly.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
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