Home dehydrators for food preservation

A method for drying and storing foods for home use is described. A study of convection and forced-air dehydrators disclosed that the forced-air type has the ability to dry faster and is the more efficient dryer at little extra cost. Safe food storage is assured with the use of humidity-indicating cards. These cards, which contain a variety of absorbed cobalt chloride solutions, indicate a varied range of relative humidities (8-80%). Card readings were successfully correlated with water activity. (rkm)