An account is given of some of the more purely physical aspects of the process of drying sensitive materials in vacuum at a low temperature. A relation is established on theoretical and experimental grounds, between the mean air pressure, the rate of drying, and the difference between the vapor pressures at the evaporator and condenser. The process whereby sensitive materials are dried in the frozen state in a moderately high vacuum is now well established and has been used on a commercial. However, good results can be obtained with foodstuffs at higher temperatures and pressures than those usually considered necessary. The process, as it will be considered here, consists essentially in the sublimation of the ice contained in the frozen material and its condensation as a layer of ice upon a cold surface. In order that the final product shall be of satisfactory quality, an upper limit must be fixed to the temperature of the material at each stage of the process.