what is dehydration ? in what way is this technique useful?
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In chemistry, a hydration reaction is a chemical reaction in which a substance combines with water. In organic chemistry, water is added to an unsaturated substrate, which is usually an alkene or an alkyne. This type of reaction is employed industrially to produce ethanol, isopropanol, and 2-butanol
Dehydration is a condition that results when the body loses more water than it takes in. This imbalance disrupts the usual levels of salts and sugars present in the blood, which can interfere with the way the body functions.
it is useful because
1. Does Not Require Electricity.
Most of us are familiar with electric dehydrators seen on infomercials and in stores. But long before any of us came up with those devices people were drying food for the winter. Native Americans dried strips of meat over campfires to take with on hunting trips. Herbs have been put in bunches and hung upside down to dry for centuries in Europe and all over the world. We have been using an electric dehydrator this year, but my husband hopes to build a solar dehydrator similar to David’s someday.
2. Is Less Time Consuming.
I find canning to be quite the process with all of the washing, sterilization, boiling water, and preparing of jars, lids and food. It doesn’t help that I’m a novice, but I do find that drying requires less hands-on time and less preparation. Simply chop, blanch if necessary and place on the trays of your dehydrator and let the sun (or electricity) do the work. Cleaning the trays afterward is the only seemingly big job.
3. Makes Winter Meals Easier.
Now that I am seeing bags and jars of dehydrated foods I am imagining all of the soups, stews, chilis and other meals that will come of them. How much simpler can it be to throw together a meal when the vegetables are already chopped for you?
Aug 12 2009 654
4. Requires Less Storage Space.
I like to store the dried food in either glass jars (my preference) or resealable bags. When you dehydrate you remove the water content, which for a tomato can be upwards of 95%. So you are storing the same amount of food, minus the water content that you will replace later, only using much less space.
5. Is Child Friendly.
So far I have been unable to come up with a way to incorporate my 3 year old into canning. He usually helps me with all sorts of kitchen and household duties, but with all of the boiling water and hot jars it just doesn’t seem feasible to me at this age. Dehydration, on the other hand, is fun to do with him. Once his hands are washed he is able to place cut up fruits and vegetables on the trays and then remove them and place them in jars or bags when they are done. He loves helping with it and I love that he is working beside me the whole time.
hope it helps you