Remove a small handful of food and cool for a few minutes before testing for dryness. When warm or hot, foods seem more soft, moist and pliable than they actually are. See Table 2 for dryness tests for individual foods. Post-Drying Treatment Conditioning. When drying is complete, some pieces will be more moist than others due to size and location during drying.
Conditioning distributes residual moisture evenly in dried food.
In doing so, it reduces the chance of spoilage. Because vegetables dry to a nearly waterless state, conditioning them is not always necessary. Foods that have been exposed to Insects before or during the drying process should be pasteurized to destroy insect eggs and larvae. See fact sheet 9.309, Drying Fruits , for instructions on conditioning and pasteurizing. Metal cans may be used if food is first placed in a freezer bag.