I’ve wanted a dehydrator for such a long time that we decided to treat ourselves this Christmas. It’s just a cheap one, without a timer, but I think I’ll be able to solve that problem with a plug socket for a lamp with a timer. It will be so useful for the allotment, but also to make use of supermarket bargains to have a selection of fruit and vegetables to use should the worst happen with a hard Brexit.

At the moment I’m learning about jars, oxygen packs and timings.

My dehydrator arrived at about 2.30 p.m. so I immediately set it to work with some apples.Many hours later we had this.I don’t think they are completely dry but I needed to go to bed.They taste good though. I’ve bagged them up and popped them in the fridge to add to porridge and muesli and to snack on.

Tomorrow I’m going to do plums and they will have a longer run time, so they should get nice and dry. This book is proving quite helpful. I do love a new culinary hobby.