The almonds from Farmer Brown were soaked overnight in salt solution and have been in the food drier for about 18 hrs. Word is they might need to remain in the drier for another day in order to achieve the desired crispness. The food drier, which I purchased only yesterday, can also be used for making yogurt, which I would like to do using some of the delicious milk we purchased from Farmer Brown this week. I enjoyed some of the skimmed off cream in my coffee this morning - excellent flavor and texture.
The first food drier I ever owned was hand made of wood. The outside was painted barn red, and the contraption sat on the floor. It was about 18" square in diameter and three feet tall. The base was about 8" tall and had a heating element near the floor with a sheet of metal between the heating element and the floor. Then came several stacking trays of mesh screens with wooden frames. The top section of the drier had a fan with a vent opening to draw out the moisture from the drying food. The most difficult part of the operation was cleaning the rather flimsy screens of all food particles after each drying project. The recently purchased drier is small and sits on the counter. The vents are on the sides.
Later in the season I hope to dry ripe fresh fruit, as I did on my ancient food drier. It is a particularly good way to preserve fruit that is almost over-ripe, and making your own dried fruit, you can avoid sulfur that is usually added to dried fruit to preserve the color.
I need to finish this and start my next post. Happy Day to you!
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