Dehydrate Aber
1/3rd of all food produced is wasted; we see dehydrating food as an under-used preservation technique, which warrants experimentation and promotion.
For the time being we are utilising our domestic grade dehydrator, but in order to be able to effectively roll this out to the wider community, we are fundraising for a commercial grade dehydrator and other equipment, as well as food safety training and certification for our volunteer team.
Giant marrow to veggie crisps (1st attempt)
Also first (and maybe only!) attempt at raw fruit chews
We are working to: Reduce food waste, offer diverse community food experiences, encourage behaviour change, and increase the perceived value of surplus food.
Why we are excited about using our dehydrator:
- Utilising gluts - of supermarket foods and locally grown foods
- A world of possibility - making leathers/chews; crisps; powders; teas and soup mixes
- Facing the particular challenge of the “use-by” items; we often receive these late in the evening, and aren’t allowed to share them after the use-by date. We do our best to share and/or freeze what we can, but this isn’t always possible or appropriate
- Hiding healthy ingredients in tasty snacks, and intensifying flavours
We are excited to share our experiences with various dehydrating methods and processes both on social media, and in the form of the food we preserve - follow us on Instagram and Facebook
“We are approaching this activity from a food waste prevention and skillshare perspective; that said, with many struggling financially, exploring shelf-stable food feels important from both an environmental and financial perspective”