exploring low tech food dehydration to increase profits on small farms experience with year one of a...
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Exploring Low Tech Food Dehydration to Increase Profits on Small Farms
Experience with year one of a SARE Farmer Grant, at Jug Bay Market Garden in Maryland
Jug Bay Market Garden
We grow mixed vegetables, cut flowers and herbs on about seven acres in southern Prince George’s County. We market primarily though a CSA delivering to Washington, DC. We have been growing since 2001.
Our Farm is Facing: 1) increasing competition & changing market 2) fresh produce and flowers going to waste due to seasonal time crunch3) Insane increase in deer pressure
The idea for this project emerged from:
1. Seeing the need to reduce waste on our farm and increase profits with value added products.
2. Pricing out commercial dehydrators and experiencing sticker shock at the jump from $30 home units to $20k for quality commercial dryers!
3. Research demonstrated that there are promising existing low cost designs available that have not been tested in our region.
4. Kale Chips are all the rage.
The Two Dryers
We built and tested two very different dryers with several farm products.
1) an extremely low cost low tech passive solar dryer designed by UC Davis Professors James Thomson and Michael Reid.
2) A homemade version of a commercial scale electric cabinet dryer designed by a UC Davis Grad Student.
Construction Costs
• Materials for Cabinet Dryer $500
• Materials for Solar Dryer $100
• Trays $300 or less
• Labor for Building $1000
Cabinet Dryer
$500 in materials
Includes fan, heater and side vent.
Large capacity for 18 2 by 2 trays
Dried tomatoes in 48 hours, kale in 12.
Dried Herbs from the Cabinet Dryer, August 2013
Inside view of Cabinet Dryer with tomatoes and mint
Click icon to add picture
Summary of Cabinet DryerPROS CONS
- Great for tomatoes and eggplant and peppers
- Can run overnight- No loss of color in product
- Less flexibility for larger items- Can overheat- Costs money to run- Higher Construction Costs- Requires weather protection (we
used a hoophouse)
Solar Dryer• Very low cost, can be built for under $100
• Uses the chimney effect to increase air flow over product and speed drying times
• Dryer has been tested in many countries around the world for mangoes, tomatoes etc.
• We found it very effective for greens but did not dry tomatoes and other high moisture crops fast enough.
Solar Dryer
preheat section 2’x2’ trays separated by about 3”
Slide Credit: James Thompson, UC Davis.
Solar Dryer
The chimney without plastic, solar dryer
Solar dryer bermUnder construction
Solar Dryer in use
A Word on Drying Trays (Donut Screens)Why stainless?
$286 for shared set of trays ($15 each for 18 with shopping around)?
Modified designs to use them interchangeably
Could go down to 18 by 18 to fit in a dishwasher
Trays inside cabinet dryer, same trays used in solar dryer
Summary of Solar DryerPROS CONS
- Excelled at greens, herbs and flowers
- Variable space very helpful- Almost Free to build - Free to Run, Passive Solar
- Tomatoes did not dry well- Had moisture problems we are
working to correct- Some products lost color
Results
Flowers
Basil/herbs
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes Kale Chips
Peppers
We focused our testing on these six crops
• We collected data on weight of products before and after drying.
• We compared results between the two dryers
• We recorded impressions from a team of tasters including chefs who support our farm.
• This project will continue through 2014 and the grant will be complete early 2015.
Sample of Tasting Results: Kale Chips
appearance taste color texture overall comments
Kale Chip w salt and olive oil 5 3 5 4
5 3 5 3 4(oil tastes a little strong, needs salt)
5 3 5 5 3(vinegar and salt would be good)
4 3 5 4 4(a little like cellaphane, breaks up)
4 3 5 4 4
5 5 5 3 5exellent
Chef Tom 4 5 5 5 5stems should be removed, glass packagaing?
4 2.5 4 4 needs more salt
AVERAGE 4.5 3.4 4.9 4.0 4.2
We held a taste testing with 7 participants in December. We tested products on a 1-5 scale for appearance, taste, texture and overall impressions.
Data Collection SheetDate Dryer Prep Hours
bachelor button 19-Jun solar removed heads 24 hours
cabbage 20-Jun solar outer leaves 5 hours
herbs/mix 19-Jun solar single layer 5 hours
tomatoes 7-Jul solar sliced, seeds removed 5 hours
calendula 15-Jul flower heads removed 12 hours
spearmint 20-Jul solar on stems 12 hrs
okra
Tomatoes 30-Jul electric sliced, seeds removed 48hrs
Basil 30-Jul electric leaves removed from stem 24 hrs
Eggplant 2-Jul electric sliced 1/2 inch 48hrs
Eggplant 2 30-Jul electric sliced 1/2 inch 24hrs
Tomatoes2 1-Aug electric sliced, seeds removed 48hrs
Tomatoes3 10-Aug electric sliced, seeds removed 48hrs
Tomatoes3 12-Aug electric sliced, seeds removed 24hrs
Basil2 30-Aug electric leaves removed from stem 24hrs
Basil3 10-Sep electric leaves removed from stem 24hrs
boc choy 10-Sep electric in tray 24 hrs
sweet potatoes 0ct 17 electric sliced, food processor 12 hrs
Kale with olive oil 2-Nov electric in tray 12 hrs
Kale with olive oil 2-Nov electric in tray 12 hrs
Product PotentialDried tomatoes and tomato basil mix received great reviews.
Kale Chips: Packaged in plastic or sold “fresh” at market in paper bags have great potential and are very popular.
Sweet potato chips need another round of effort, texture was off but lots of potential, great flavor.
Dried Flowers to add to Farmers Market sales are a good add-on.
Packaging Note
We used a basic kitchen scale and a Foodsaver vacuum sealer to pack the products in plastic bags and mason jars.
We plan to develop a label and test different packaging this season.
We received feedback that people would prefer glass or paper and want to work on that piece in 2014.
Sample package
Upcoming Needs and Plans
• Get the farm certified as a “farm kitchen” to legally sell value added products in Maryland
• Address moisture issues in solar dryer by putting it up on a platform or table.
• Perfect and finalize recipes in consultation with food safety and chefs
• Finish packaging, learn to use glass
A Few Resources:
ATTRAUSDAUNCUC Davis
I have lots of resources to share that I will post links on my website, thelettuceedge.com
[email protected]@tanyatolchin
Special Thanks to: o All the rock stars at NE SARE
o The Great Farmer Scott Hertzberg for growing everything we dried
o My Tasting Team esp. Chef Tom Mueller, Pineapple Alley Catering
o Jim Thompson for all the advice from California
o Ross Williams, fish biologist turned dryer builder
o Maryland Organic Farmers, CASA and Acres USA for helping to share the findings