Nesco Food Dehydrator - Manual (Page 31)

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Y ou've all seen a flower so perfect
in form, color, and texture that
you wish you could keep it
forever. With the Snackmaster ® and
Gardenmaster ® dehydrators, it now can
become a reality.
Drying Flowers
Preserve garden and natural favorites
for attractive dried flower arrangements,
Christmas and holiday decorations,
party favors, place cards and corsages.
Help your children dry specimens for
their science class.
Many lovely flowers, foliage, flowering
grasses, seedheads, cones, and non-
flowering plants may be dried simply
by placing on drying trays and drying
at 130° to 145°F (55° to 63°C) until no
moisture is evident. This is wonderful
for those of us who are too busy to
experiment with other techniques, and
also for the beginner who has not
attempted preserving flowers before.
Quite interesting arrangements can be
made with these dried materials.
Materials suitable for drying by this
method are bracts, cultivated and wild
grasses, seedheads, foliage, and everlast-
ing flowers.
For flowers with petals, leaves, ferns,
fungi, and some varieties of mosses,
the best way to preserve them is to use
a desiccant powder. A desiccant is a
substance which absorbs moisture.
It speeds the drying process, especially
when used in a dehydrator, preserving
the vibrant colors and delicate structure
of the flower. The longer the drying
process, the more colors will fade.
Using a desiccant in your dehydrator
will allow flowers to dry in a day
instead of a week or two. There are
several brands of flower desiccants
available from craft stores. They may
seem a little expensive, but can be
reused indefinitely. Silica gel is the
generic name and absorbs up to 50
percent of its own weight in moisture.
Drying
Crafts