Food Preserving Off-Grid Method
Although I own different types of electric dehydrators, at the present time I am using a huge 8-tier hanging mesh air dehydrator to dehydrate over 10 heads of cabbage and 8 pounds of jalapeno peppers.
Several weeks ago, I started out using my electric dehydrators, but it was taking me forever to dry the cabbage that way. Plus, it was also heating the inside of my house during triple-digit temperatures, and the electric dehydrators were using a ton of excess energy.
The mesh dehydrator doesn't heat up my home, nor does it use electricity. In fact, it takes up no indoor space at all. That's because it's hung up outdoors in a shaded location where it receives an ample amount of fresh air, and it's also underneath a roof. So should there be a downpour, the food will still be safe.
Considering humidity and the hours of sunlight that your location receives during the day is important when it comes to preserving food using hanging mesh air dehydrators, drying racks, and drying screens. But I have found that some foods lose their flavor if they're out directly under the scorching sun. So I prefer to use the wind to my advantage. (Air dehydrating food underneath a breezeway is perfect.)
Air-dehydrating food in shaded areas can be an efficient, cost-effective, and health-friendly choice. Plus, if it's windy, your food will dry a lot faster because wind plays a crucial role in food dehydration.
How do you air-dry food in the winter without having to use electricity?
Using any off-grid method to dehydrate food is fairly simple, regardless of what season it is. Below are five different but effective ways to dehydrate food without using electricity.
Hanging a mesh air dehydrator indoors and using a USB portable generator with a small USB fan on and facing it.
Using the back dash of your car on baking trays.
Dehydrating screens placed near a heat source inside your home.
Using an outdoor solar dehydrator.
Using an enclosed porch and placing vegetables and fruit on trays in window frames.
Reasons to consider air-dehydrating food
It requires zero electricity. So, it helps conserve energy, and conserving energy is cheaper for your wallet. So that's cost-efficient.
It's healthy for you. Plus, it's simple to do.
There's no refrigeration involved in storing your food. So again, there's no electricity required.
Once your food is finished dehydrating, it will require less space in your home to store it.
Food storage is a crucial part of emergency preparedness, and in a bad scenario such as an ice storm, power outages, wartime, etc., dehydrated food is safe to eat without having to do much, if anything, to it.