Dry it, you'll like it

Drying is the oldest method to preserve food. Ancient peoples didn't have a refrigerator/freezer, pressure canners or canning jars.

They simply used the sun.

The results were dried berries and meat jerky, and other items that could be easily transported or stored.

Today, drying still has advantages. If you have a garden full of tomatoes or a tree loaded with fruit, you can shrink down most of that inventory into a few containers. As the food dries, its natural sugars become concentrated and the flavors are often more intense.

Kim Irvine of Ogden says adding chopped dried tomatoes to her spaghetti sauce is a shortcut to slow-simmered flavor.

"My grandmother used to cook it all day to get it to cook down," she said. "The dried tomatoes absorb some of the moisture and adds a richer flavor dimension. It cuts off a lot of time."

Although today's dehydrating techniques have become more sophisticated, the basics remain the same.

You need:

1. Controlled heat that's high enough to force moisture from the food.

2. Dry air to absorb the moisture as it's released.

3. Air circulation to carry the moisture away.

When food is dehydrated, 80 percent to 95 percent of the moisture is removed, so bacteria and other spoilage micro-organisms can't grow. But drying doesn't kill the micro-organisms already present. The food can still spoil if not enough moisture is removed.

There are several ways to dry foods:

The sun. You can go low-cost by using the sun, but you need bright, hot sunshine, low humidity and low air pollution. The "Ball Blue Book of Preserving" (Jarden Home Brands, $5.95) advises daytime temperatures of at least 90 degrees. The hotter the weather, the faster, and more safely, your foods will dry. Also, you need a screen or netting to protect the food from insects.

Yes, there are people who dry food in a hot car with the windows rolled down. But one slam on the brakes, and there goes the upholstery.

Oven. The energy costs are higher in an oven, and it takes longer because there's less air circulation. You'll want to put your oven on the lowest setting (usually 145), and leave the door open a few inches for air circulation. Obviously, this isn't a good method if you've got young children around who could get burned. It also heats up your kitchen, something you don't want when it's already hot outside.