Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have received a bunch of cookbooks from Rockridge Press in the past couple of months. I put them on my kitchen table and read them one by one over breakfast and lunch. Then I move them to my office where they have been sitting on my desk. The stack has gotten too tall and I have resolved to write reviews this week. Here we go. *** Carole Cancler is a trained food scientist with a degree in nutrition. Along the line she has learned to write in a clear, direct style. In this book Ms Cancler presents an entire course on home food dehydration. I don't think that I have ever seen better. Food dehydration is the most ancient food preservation technology and even today it is practiced around the world. Modern technology, in particular the electric food dehydrator, allows us to control the moisture and temperature at which products are dried, resulting in better, more uniform results. Ms Cancler provides detailed information on how to dry many classes of food including vegetables, fruit, and herbs. She spends a whole lot of time on meat and fish jerky, paying special attention to the discussion of safe preparation and storage. Ms Cancler is as concerned about food poisoning, especially botulism, as I am. She uses strong and clear language when it comes to staying safe, and advocates keeping a record book to document each drying batch so that you can replicate good practices and avoid what failed. When we want to eat our dried foods, Ms Cancler is there with recipes. Chapter 5 is a section on rehydrating dried products into soups and stews, and ways to use powdered dried products as flavorings and thickeners. Chapter 6 presents recipes for foods that are "cooked" by drying. The chapter begins with flavored nuts, fruit leathers and bars, and then passes on to foods I had not considered before: Raw foods "cooked" in the dehydrator. These include raw breads, wraps, tortillas and crackers. Brilliant concept that originated, I imagine, in the raw diet community. The book's aesthetic is also very good. The rosettes of dried vegetables are lovely, and remind me of beautiful English crewel work embroidery . I think this book would be an excellent investment for your library, and a good gift for friends who garden. I received a review copy of "Complete Dehydrator Cookbook: How to Dehydrate Fruit, Vegetables, Meat & More" by Carole Cancler from Rockridge Press.