A variety of dried vegetables. Ana Antaki photo.

Ana in her orchard.

The Antakis use an electric Nesco/American Harvest Gardenmaster dehydrator to dry many foods, including spinach, shown here. Ana Antaki photo.

The half-gallon jar of potatoes at the far right is filled with shredded dehydrated potatoes equal to just under 9 pounds of fresh potatoes. The jar on the left holds sliced dehydrated potatoes, cut into larger slices. The middle jar holds dried leeks. Ana Antaki photo

Thursday, January 31, 2013; 7 p.m.

Location: Camden Public Library, 55 Main St., Camden, Maine

Contact: Ken Gross ; 207-236-3440

CAMDEN, Maine — Ana Antaki of Montville will present “Preserving the Harvest with Dehydration” at 7 p.m. Jan. 31, at Camden Public Library as part of the library’s History Month series. Antaki said in a press release that she aspires to “live gently on the land, and grow a garden and an orchard to fill our dietary needs. In that vein we learned not just how to grow our food, but equally as important, how to preserve it. Dissatisfaction with conventional canning and preservation techniques led us to explore ancient methods of successful food preservation.” Her research led to the ancient techniques of dehydration and fermentation.