Preserving food items by drying under hot sun.

We can only do that here for a couple of months in the summer because it's just too humid or wet here the rest of the year. I can speed up the process by using a sun oven, though. Usually I just use an electric food dehydrator though.

I wish I could do the same, too. But my husband have lots of pigeons. And it is impossible not to lose all those food under the sun.

I used to. Do you have a cage or something that you could put the food into to keep out of the reach of the pigeons? I would be trying to construct something if you don't. Good luck to you. That would be frustrating.

Hi, Drying food items under the sunlight is one way of getting out the water in it and thus delay damage by bacteria, it is a natural process of dehydration. During summer months here, it is also the time that sardines abound. The silvery fishes rich with Omega 3 eventually gets to be dried under the sun when eating them all day long is no longer a viable option. I like the taste of them dried and fried in hot oil in the coming rainy season when the sea gets too rough and the fish supply runs low.

Here in our country, we do dry the corn and palay for them as a preparation of making it as a rice. Some fish are also dried and it has been serve for breakfast. Dried fish are yummy most especially when it is being dipped into vinegar. In your country your problem in drying your wheat etc. are pigeons, here in the Philippines, chickens are attacking the palay and corn. lol

I have had friends from India that would make home made shell and dry them outside

I have not tried drying food in the sun because there are many risk factors involved. You take chances that your food gets insects in it, is stolen by animals, or you get animal droppings it it. I dehydrate sweet potato slices for my dog as a treat, but would rather try it in a solar cooker to save energy. Have you a clear glass dish with a lid? I would think that might work well drying foods out.

Well in my country, we usually dry our fish. This time of summer wherein the sun's heat is so very intense and no time to rain is the best time to do dried fish. We do not sell it if we are doing it. We just do it so that we can have something to eat in the day's ahead.

No, I don't dry fruits or any other foods that can be dried under the sun. Because I don't have much time doing so. I prefer to cook fruit like mango as jam, -mango jam and also cooked peanut with brown sugar to have a peanut brittle- or maybe peanut butter. I can imagine how difficult it is with those birds around. But I am sure it's a good scenery having so many birds singing especially in the morning.

No we don't. We used to have a food dehydrator that did about the same thing but indoors on trays that you stack inside a machine.

Spring has arrived in my city and temps are reaching 80. My residence is an apartment without a terrace or patio. I usually buy dried foods if I want like raisins, dates banana chips. When you dry fruits in the sun are the vitamins retained. Just would like to know if this method is as healthy as eating raw foods. I'm sorry that the pigeons are attacking the food source, I take it they view it as a chance to eat. If I had a space outdoors to dry fruit around the home I would worry about attracting rodents.

We even see that here in Mexico. Some markets here do this out front of their stores.

You bet I do. ;) I got from my grandfather. He lived in the mountain provinces in his youth and tried to dried everything since they didn't have fridge way back then. But what he usually dry are fruits. Those dried fruits are not be eaten raw but used in flavoring of cooked dishes. One example is "kamias" or bilimbi fruit in English. It's best to dry when it is not ripe yet so it won't darken. However there are also dried fruits that are ready-to-eat, like mangoes and oranges. Dried fish and squid are also popular in the Philippines, especially to those living near the waters.

Hello roshi, Yeah,drying food to preserve is very common here in my country particularly dried fish.We have to dry it under the sun so that we can cook it at anytime we want.I like to eat those foods that have undergone drying.

Even if I know how to plant and harvest crops,I have never tried to dry it in the open air.Some people here dried their harvest like rice and corn grits.Some fisher men also tried to dry their catch,by cleaning it first to take away its bones and internal organs,then wash it in sea water,and dry it in a woven iron wire,stuck in a frame of wood,so that the heat of the sun could penetrate it to dry fast,then they come back in the afternoon to collect it and sealed it in a plastic pack ready to sell to customers waiting for their products to come in the market.It is given utmost care and covered once it is dried in the open air,so that no one could get it like rats,birds,and animals could never get near its site,as their are guards who protects it,even thieves could never get anythings in it.

Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of being able to dry any foods under the hot sun, as we don't have the high temperatures as some countries enjoy, even in the Summer months, the sun can be unpredictable. I was surprised to hear that pigeons attack you, I know we have seagulls that can swoop down and grab food from your hand even when you are not feeding them. Is there nothing you can use to deter the pigeons from stealing the foods

Hi, In lithuania we not use dried food under the sun. Dried pharmacy tea only. And dried in the shade. Maybe sometimes fish. Dry foods, it like cheese. Berries, froze in the freezer and have a freshly winter. As with many other products. Potatoes are stored in the basement, if you live in rural areas. Its always as fresh. And Vegetables will retain a fresh, or canned. Well while eating we prepare, it is food cooked, bake, stewed in a variety of dishes.

Hi friend, good to hear about this, here we too use grains and pappad items. We will dry it during the summer season as you mentioned and use it through out the year.

yes. In our village we do that. But there is no pigeons or just a few. So, nothing to worry. There are hens. But they don't attack and can't fly much. So, that's fine

yes ,even i use sundrying for storing foodgrains,pickels,papad,wafers,chunda,kokam,kokam sharbat etc.it is most healthy way of preserving fooditems.sundried tomatoes n lemons are famous from middle east.if u cover it with thin cotton sari ntuck it from all sides.put some stones at the edges that will take care of the pigeons.freezing is nonhealthy,also u cant store large quantity .