8. Use stored foods on a regular basis to maintain quality and minimize waste. Maintain a food inventory and replace items as they are used.

FOOD PRESERVATION METHODS
•Drying: one of the oldest food preservative techniques that reduces water activity to prevent bacteria growth
•Vacuum Packing: The storage of food in a vacuum sealed bag or jar.
•Curing/Salting: draws out moisture in meat through a process called osmosis. The meat is cured with salt or sugar or both.
•Sugaring: Used to preserve fruits
•Smoking: Used by exposing meat to smoke off of materials such as wood
•Pickling: Pickling is a method of preserving food in an edible anti-microbial liquid. Typical pickling agents include brine (high in salt), vinegar, alcohol, and vegetable oil, especially olive oil but also many other oils.
•Canning and Bottling: Canning involves cooking food, sealing it in sterile cans or jars, and boiling the containers to kill or weaken any remaining bacteria as a form of sterilization.
•Jellying: Food may be preserved by cooking in a material that solidifies to form a gel. Such materials include gelatine, agar, maize flour and arrowroot flour.
•Potting: A traditional British way of preserving meat (particularly shrimp) is by setting it in a pot and sealing it with a layer of fat. Also common is potted chicken liver; compare pâté.
•De-Hydration: Removing of moisture from food
•Freeze Drying: To preserve food by rapid freezing and vacuum drying.

DEHYDRATING FOOD
In this article I have chosen to discuss food dehydration as a source of preserving your foods.

Dehydrating:
There are many different benefits to food dehydration. Dehydrating is another low cost way to preserve foods that you can't or don't want to jar. Or perhaps you have an over abundance of a fruit or vegetables and no way to can them, then this might be the way to go for you! This way is very good for a person who doesn't have a lot of space to store foods and is also a worry free way to save your foods and not be concerned with botulism.

Selection and Preparation:
•Select your fruits or vegetables carefully. You don't want any that are bruised. You want fruits that are ripe and ready to eat.
•Cut your food selections into pieces as you would serve them. For example, you would slice bananas, but with apples you could slice them or cut them into rings. Keep food evenly sliced is size and in thickness. Slices cut at about 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch usually dry more quickly than thicker cut slices.
•To prevent browning, try to stem your foods or coat light colored fruits and vegetables with acids such as lemon juice or a product called Fruit Fresh before drying.
•Most fruits need some sort of preparation before drying. Most fruits do not need to be peeled before drying, but things such as cherries or tomatoes have a waxy peel so would need to be cracked also known as blanched. Blanching means to scald or parboil in water or steam in order to remove the skin. Apples are peeled, cored and sliced. Peaches would be cut in half and pitted. Here is a good place to get an idea of how to prepare different sorts of fruits.

Drying Process:
•Dehydration Equipment: Selecting the right equipment that is good for you is important. The three most common ways to dehydrate are using a conventional oven, a store bought dehydrator or using the sun. If you purchase one please make sure to read the directions. Drying times with each method will vary.
•You want to maintain a temperature of 130F-140F degrees. The important thing to have is air circulation. The circulating air removes the moisture from your foods to prevent spoilage. The drying temps of 130F-140F allow for fast removal of moisture to seal in flavor and nutritional values. If you don't have proper air circulation or the temperatures are not correct, that will allow unwanted changes in your food you might not like, such as texture, color or flavor changes.
•If dried correctly, your food should be leathery, hard or brittle.

Conditioning Your Fruit:
This process is done after you dry your fruit.
•Conditioning is a process used to equalize the moisture to reduce the risk of mold growth.
•When you remove your fruit from your dehydrator, it might still contain some moisture due to its positioning or thickness in the machine.
•After being dried, allow the fruit to condition for about 8-10 days. To condition the fruit, take the fruit that has cooled completely and pack it *loosely* in plastic or glass jars. Seal the container and let it condition. The excess moisture will be absorbed by the drier pieces.
•Gently shake the jars daily to loosen the fruit so it doesn't become compacted.
•Check the moisture in the jar. If you begin to see condensation in your jar, remove the fruit and return it to your dehydrator.
•After conditioning you may then package and store your fruit.

Packaging Your Fruits and Vegetables:
•The amount of food you package in one container is completely up to you. We like to package ours in amounts we think we might eat, because once your food is re-exposed to air and moisture, the quality of the food and its nutrients will lower.
•Choosing how you package your food can depend on what you are packaging. Metal cans, glass jars or plastic containers are all acceptable ways for storing dried foods. Plastic bags are acceptable as well, but are not mouse, bugs or pet proof. Foods that have been sulfured should not touch metal cans so make sure and place it in a bag first and then in the metal container.

Storing Your Finished Products:
•Store in a cool, dark, dry place and use within 6-12 months after packaging. Most dried fruit will last about a year if stored at 60F and 6 months at 80F. I would not recommend storing in the garage.

•Storing your foods in glass jars or containers is ideal so you can check your foods moisture frequently. If you see any condensation but no spoilage then eat immediately or re-dry. Anything with mold or that smells bad should be thrown away.

Sealing food in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers is one of the best ways to store your emergency foods. A Mylar bag is a vapor barrier bag that blocks oxygen, moisture and light, the three big enemies of food storage. Think of it as a flexible metal can. Many preppers get by just fine with using only food grade buckets and oxygen absorbers. Most foods will keep for years stored that way.