Neanderthal Food Drying

by Pete Lynah

Preserving food by drying it was practiced in this country centuries before Columbus. The methods are easy, dependable, and do not require on intensive heat source. The nutrition of the food is preserved and NO chemicals are needed.

All you need are heat and a free air flow. The summer sun and woven racks of dry wood will do. The heat can be focused and intensified using flat, dry, dark materials such as slate. The food racks should be two inches above the slate.

Slice all food thinly: 1/8"-1/4". As it dries, turn it. Teas will become dry and crumbly; fruits tough and chewy. Examples:

A. Teas and Coffees
	1. All mints 2. Sliced rose hips 3. New Jersey tea 4. Chicory 5. Dandelion root 6. Clover 7. Yarrow 8. Catnip 9. Spicebush 10. Goldenrod
B. Fruits
	1. All domestic fruit 2. Mayapples 3. Huckle-, cran-, elder-, bramble-type berries 4. Wintergreen fruit 5. Persimmons 6. Any edible fruit, sliced thin
C. Other
	1. Fish
	2. Meat: jerky
		a. Slice lean meat into 1/8" strips (Note: with the grain-chewy against the grain-crumbly) b. Rub both sides slightly with salt c. Lightly pound between two rocks d. Dry for 1 or 2 days in sun (Note: maintain careful guard or your jerky will be "critterized")

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From The Tracker magazine, May 1982, published by the Tracker School.
For more articles from The Tracker magazine, visit the Tracker Trail website