Food Drying with an Attitude: A Fun and Fabulous Guide to Creating Snacks, Meals, and Crafts Paperback – Illustrated, April 17, 2008

When we got our Covid-19 stimulus money, I decided to spend it on American-made food prep/survival items plus storage items like canning jars and Tattler lids. I splurged for an RPG rocket stove and an All-American Sun Oven (the oven can be used to dehydrate foods as well as to cook outside), just in case everything crashes and we have no way of cooking all these dried beans and rice I've vac-sealed into jars. We aren't allowed to burn anything here, so I knew a campfire was out!While convincing myself that I did, indeed, want to buy that oven, I had the idea that, maybe, I could make it a routine to pick veggies and fruits out of my garden each day and get in the habit of just rinsing them, cutting them up, and tossing them into the Sun Oven to dehydrate (I've got three stacking trays for it) instead of bringing it all in and letting it all go bad in the refrigerator because I'm such an old, lazy, unimaginative cook. I figured this could be a way of ensuring I visit my garden each day, checking for bugs, doing minor weeding along the way, and harvesting whatever bits and pieces are ready to go. Nothing has come in yet, of course, so I started looking for some kind of book that would give me ideas for things I already have in my pantry that might work for my first dehydration experiments.MAN ALIVE! I don't think I've ever been so excited by reading a food book! This book confirms for me that, yes, I can do things in my piecemeal fashion, and I can also consider doing leathers or dog treats or all sorts of things with whatever I get out of my garden. The only thing that wasn't included in this book were recipes for using up kombucha scobys, which I have in such abundance I'm overwhelmed. And because my garden is fungi-based, I don't want to alter the balance too much by incorporating all those scobys into my garden. Now I'm off to try mixing applesauce and pureed scobys to see what happens. If the dogs accept this as a treat, it will save a ton of money we have to spend on dog treats to keep our two rotten little dogs happy.Anyway, all this is to say, GET THIS BOOK! It's fantastic! I got the Kindle edition, and it's well formatted and easy to work with. A quick read, but loaded with information and ideas. You won't be sorry!

I have a dehydrator but it still sits in the box and never used. I think about it from time to time. I saw this book offered at Amazon and thought I would buy it. I absolutely never knew that so many different foods can be dehydrated. This book is loaded with information, ideas, and recipes. I'm not sure I am up for the jerky but I am up to fruit and this book gives lots of advice as to preparation and dehydrating time including how the product should look. Great book for all thing dehydrated and I do mean all things from flowers to home made dog treats!

Mary T. Bell presents her considerable knowledge in a great, fun format. The new ideas and her own experiments in drying various foods make this book a useful and reliable guide for those who wish to begin dehydrating as a food storage option.

Very helpful

I guess I was expecting a bit more. I was more impressed with the book that came with the Excalibur dehydrator. Anything in this one you can find online or in other books. I have a dehydrating book from Mary Bell that was written in the 80s and I find it useful because it gives details on drying specific items. The other thing I found a little frustrating was that the blurb on Amazon mentioned tofu and cheese and yeah it mentions cheese but as an ingredient, nothing about drying it. I know drying dairy is tricky that is why I thought maybe there was some miracle method presented in this book. It was a decent price and an okay addition to the food preservation library I seem to be building, but definitely not my favorite.

Since I already have Mary Bell's "Complete Dehydrator Cookbook", which showed so much more than I'd ever known before, the title of this book really got my attention. And the recipes!!! YUMMY!!!! I packed several items when I had to make a trip to my specialist (3 hours each way) and I saved money, ate delicious, nutritious foods and didn't have to do the "fast food" stops like before. Will be doing more before I take a flight to see my family soon so I don't have to deal with the expense and questionable nutritional value of airline food.Also, I have a very small apartment and drying makes more sense than canning. For instance, 10 pounds of blueberries dried fill 2 quart jars and 15 pounds of Bing cherries fill 2 and one half quarts, plus there is so little risk of spoilage. It's so much fun and the dried foods can be used in so many fantastic ways. Try the Strawberry Meringue cookies!!!This book is a fun, educational read and the pictures just makes one's mouth water.

This is my first and only book about dehydrating food. It sure opened my eyes to all the possibilities you can make with your plant based foods including, crackers, and powdering dried foods for rich tasting soups and spices. There are just as many recipes with veggies as there are for meat. You will find that once you've Digested all the goodies this book has to offer, you will become a creative expert yourself. I am on a plant based diet, but so what. I'm sure I can improvise a lot of the meat recipes. Potpourri, how to make wreaths, and making your own paper opens the door for your creativity. Every topic is accompanied by watchful good tips so that you can be confident in what you are trying to accomplish. You will enjoy this book!

I am new to the dehydrator game; I haven't bought one yet. I bought this book to help me 1) see if this was something that I would really use, and 2) see if I could narrow down the features I would use (or not). It was very helpful in both respects. Definately something a newbie could use; I think an experienced user would enjoy it too. Mary Bell has written other books as well and I would definately look into buying those as well. Her enthusiasm is infectious.