At this time of year, my dehydrator is humming almost non-stop, and there are bundles of aromatic herbs drying all along my hallway wall. Although I also can and freeze food for winter (part of how I keep up with my CSA share!), drying food has several advantages: Dried foods last pretty much forever, weigh very little, and don’t take up much space on your shelves.

Do you need a dehydrator or other special equipment? No, but I do recommend a dehydrator if you want to dry foods in quantity—it makes the whole process much easier and more foolproof than air-drying or oven drying.

To dry herbs:

Secure the stem ends of 8-10 sprigs of any leafy herb with a rubber band. Do not use string—the stems shrink as they dry, and then they slip out of the string and fall on your floor. Hang the herbs away from direct light or heat. In a week or two the herbs should be crispy-dry. If your home is very humid, you may need to finish drying the herbs in the oven. To do this, place the bundles of herbs on a cookie sheet in a low (125F-150F degree) oven for 5 minutes. Take the herbs out of the oven. They will crisp up as they cool, just like cookies do. Crumble the leaves off the stems into glass jars (roll a sheet of paper into a funnel shape and place in the jar to make it easier to get the herbs into your jars and not all over your counter). Compost the stems.

The seeds and flowers of herbs can be dried in paper bags.

Fruits, mushrooms, and vegetables need to be dried in the oven or in a dehydrator. Chop or slice them no thicker than ½-inch for drying in a dehydrator, ¼-inch for oven drying. There are two extra steps you can take if you want a superior finished product: 1. Drop your fruit as you chop it into acidified water (a splash of cider vinegar in a big bowl of water will do the trick). 2. Blanch vegetables in boiling water for two minutes and drain before drying, Neither of these steps is absolutely necessary, but the produce will retain its color better if you spend the extra time (for example, celery turns pale tan when dried without blanching—not very appetizing). Vegetables that dry well without blanching include carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and summer and winter squashes.

For both the oven method and the dehydrator, your finished product should have a texture somewhere between leathery (for dried fruit) and crunchy-crisp (for vegetables and mushrooms). Err on the side of too dry if you’re not sure whether the food is dehydrated enough. If there is too much moisture left in the food, it can mold in storage. Properly dried, dehydrated food can be stored in glass jars for years.

The oven method: Arrange your chopped produce in a single layer, making sure none of the pieces are touching, on a cookie sheet or, better, a rack in a 125F-150F oven. If your oven doesn’t have a setting that low (many don’t), prop the oven door open with a dishtowel. You want the food to dry, not cook. If using a cookie sheet, turn the food a few times during the first couple of hours to avoid sticking.

With a dehydrator: Preparation for drying food in a dehydrator is the same as for oven drying: slice no thicker than ½-inch, with the optional steps of blanching for vegetables or putting fruit into acidified water. Leave space between each piece of food so that air can circulate on all sides. 135F is an ideal temperature for drying most fruits and vegetables.

To dry greens: Preheat oven to 250F. Wash and dry the leaves, removing any thick midribs. Tear into approximately 2-inch pieces. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15-30 minutes depending on how thick the leaves are (kale may need the full 30, spinach only 15). The leaves will be deep green and crispy when they come out, but not burnt. You can use the crispy green “chips” as a garnish, or store them to reconstitute later for soups and dips. Kale is by far the best green for drying.

To reconstitute dried veggies and mushrooms, pour boiling water over them and soak for 15-20 minutes. Save the soaking water to add to soups and sauces. (I keep a container labeled “soup juice” in my freezer that contains soaking water from various dehydrated vegetables. When it is full, I add it to whatever soup I’m making).