Food drying

High school (ages 12+)
Food & Cooking

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/food-drying

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific principle?Reduction of water activity (aw) below 0.6 to inhibit microbial growth
2. What is the key technological advancements?Electric dehydrators and freeze-drying (lyophilization)
3. What is food drying and why does it help keep food from spoiling?Food drying removes water from food, stopping bacteria, yeasts, and molds from growing. It lowers the food’s water activity, making it unsafe for microbes.
4. How did people dry food a long time ago?They used the sun, wind, or smoke. Sun drying used sunlight to evaporate moisture, wind drying used air currents, and smoking added flavor and extra protection.

Water Activity (a_w): A measure of the unbound water in food available for microbial growth and chemical reactions.
Sublimation: The process where a solid changes directly into a gas without passing through the liquid phase, as in freeze-drying.
Mass Transfer: The net movement of anything (e.g., heat, mass, chemical species) from one location to another, fundamental to drying processes.