Dried fruit is a tasty snack or sweet addition to recipes, but the water removal process often requires heat and energy. In a step toward more sustainable food preservation, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science & Technology have developed a method to dry food at room temperature by adjusting air pressure conditions and using food-safe calcium chloride. In a proof-of-concept, the system successfully dried mango and apple slices to commercial levels.

Organic matter helps soil lock in moisture, but exact mechanism was previously unclear. Scientists studied the process by mixing minerals with three types of sugar. Carbohydrates strengthened binding energy of water by five times. Findings could lead to drought-resistant soils or explain how water might persist on other planets.