Nothing screams legitimacy like a good initialism, e.g. PVD.
In this instance, PVD stands for Passive Vehicular Dehydration (and is not under any circumstances to be confused with Peripheral Vascular Disease or the international airport in Providence, RI).
Long before we acquired our first dehydrator, and for a long time after we discovered the shelves inside the device were not dishwasher safe, we used passive vehicular technology to dry herbs from the garden in large batches. Our technique is described below.
Be Aware: PVD is a highly technical process, and involves a thorough understanding of radiant energy dynamics and the greenhouse effect - all of which can be learned in ten seconds or less by sitting in a hot car in the summertime. The technique is also dependent on a specific set of technologically advanced hardware: One must have on hand sheets of newspaper (or equivalent), towels, and/or a cardboard box. We find cardboard vegetable crates from the grocer or box lids from cases of copier paper to be ideal.
The most difficult part of the exacting, multiphasic PVD process to master is memorizing the steps, and keeping them in proper order. Step 1: Fill the boxes with greenery. Step 2: Place filled boxes on the car seats or dashboard during the day. 3. Check on the status of the dehydration process periodically, shuffling the herbs from bottom to top to encourage even drying.
DO NOT CONFUSE THE ORDER OF THESE STEPS. Hot, empty boxes do nothing to fill your spice rack or larder, and filled boxes not placed in a warm, dry environment take way too long to desiccate. Further, shuffling herbs that are not yet warm is energy better expended elsewhere.
{{Graduate Level Notes}}: You may consider cracking a window or two to allow for better air circulation, especially on particularly hot days. If you have progressed to this step, also keep an eye out for rain. Great knowledge brings even greater responsibility.
Caution: Your vehicle may smell like pizza for days after any dehydration cycle. Good luck, and good drying.
WIld-onions.jpg
Wild onions, ready for PVD drying
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Our 23 year old Vehicular Dehydrator, still in use today
Ha, I've done this with rosemary and thyme on a hot day, works surprisingly well. The car gets up to proper dehydrating temperatures pretty fast in summer. Only issue is everything smells like herbs for a week after.
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I've often mentioned this very idea as a comment to people who are building (or buying!) elaborate solar (or otherwise) dehydrators. I once spent weeks building one of these, and it successfully dehydrated nothing! In addition to a vehicle...the attic space of many houses, and any unused greenhouse or cold frame in the summer are viable alternatives. The old greenhouse at the farm I used to live at, shut up and with a fan running on the screens, is how I know that a whole goat, boned out and sliced into small slivers, will fit into six quart jars when dried down! Now, I regularly get sliced tomatoes snap dry in my attic...
1. some places are naturally very humid. PVD can result in large amounts of condensation on the windows when the temp drops at sunset.
2. Being in one of those humid spots, I empty my dehydrator onto metal trays and tuck them in the fridge to cool quickly in as low humidity as I have easy access to. After 15 minutes of cooling, I jar the dried food up quickly in glass and use a metal lid. Plastic allows humidity in. Some people have secure metal containers which also work so long as they seal thoroughly.
3. generally, driers suggest that food is safer dehydrated *not* in direct sunlight - thus seats maybe better than dashboard when possible.
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