Origins, Growth and Potential of Dehydration ORIGINS The origins of dehydration go back into antiquity. The preservation of food by drying has been an art for centuries but it is only in the middle of the Present century that the art has been translated into terms of technology. The old methods of utilising the sun and wind to evaporate water from foodstuffs, however, still prevail in many parts of the world, and are likely to do so for years to come, for the centuries-old crafts are not easily lost, even in the age of technol In the coastal villages of West Africa, fishermen still salt down their catch and hang it in the sun to dry, making what is locally, and somewhat understandably, known as'stink fish. To Europeans, this designation is perhaps an understatement, and most would regard it as the highest built-in ptomaine poison risk imaginable. In spite of this, stink fish is highly prized by the African and, added to cassava root meal or rice, it provides a protein constituent in what would otherwise be an unbalanced carbohydrate diet The conditions of preparation would appear to Western eyes to be devoid of the simplest requirements of hygiene and process control, yet the author has never heard of any untoward effects arising from its consumption In the cattle raising territories of South America the ranchers have been sun-drying beef in a similar fashion for years. Probably this was a technique originated by the Indians, and, as recently as the early part of the present century, it was not uncommon to see a side of dried beef hanging1 Origins, Growth and Potential of Dehydration ORIGINS The origins of dehydration go back into antiquity The preservation of food by drying has been an art for centuries but it is only in the middle of the present century that the art has been translated into terms of technology The old methods of utilising the sun and wind to evaporate water from foodstuffs, however, still prevail in many parts of the world, and are likely to do so for years to come, for the centuries-old crafts are not easily lost, even in the age of technology. In the coastal villages of West Africa, fishermen still salt down their catch and hang it in the sun to dry, making what is locally, and somewhat understandably, known as 'stink fish'. To Europeans, this designation is perhaps an understatement, and most would regard it as the highest built-in ptomaine poison risk imaginable. In spite of this, stink fish is highly prized by the African and, added to cassava mot meal or rice, it provides a protein constituent in what would otherwise be an unbalanced carbohydrate diet. The conditions of preparation would appear to Western eyes to be devoid of the simplest requirements of hygiene and process control, yet the author has never heard of any untoward effects arising from its consumption. In the cattle raising territories of South America the ranchers have been sun-drying beef in a similar fashion for years. Probably this was a technique originated by the Indians, and, as recently as the early part of the present century, it was not uncommon to see a side of dried beef hanging 5