The importance of storing food has been recognized for centuries. It was not long ago when the freezer and the canner did not exist. Drying, previously one of the sole methods of preserving food, is the most inexpensive and the least time consuming of all food-preserving methods. Also, drying food takes up little space or storage. For instance, 25 lbs. (11kg) of carrots can be reduced, when dried, to three lbs. (1-2/5 kg) of dehydrated carrots. The heat evaporates the water form the produce and, with good circulation, absorbs the vapor. When you dry the produce, the appearance changes considerably, but few nutrients are lost.