What are you dehydrating today?

[vigilant20]

I decided to spend half my tax return on preps and supplies, so I just got a foodsaver tonight too I went ahead and dished out for a 5 pack of rolls while I was at it.

[LastDragonfly]

I decided to spend half my tax return on preps and supplies, so I just got a foodsaver tonight too I went ahead and dished out for a 5 pack of rolls while I was at it.

Vig, you are gonna love your sealer. I love mine.

 

I'm going to get some limas in tonight

[vigilant20]

Vig, you are gonna love your sealer. I love mine.

 

I'm going to get some limas in tonight

 

Last night was so busy I didn't even get a chance to try it out. I'm running out to pick up my water barrel tonight, but the rest of my time will be devoted to dehydrating and sealing!

[LastDragonfly]

My 4 qts of fresh strawberries are finished and I put them in my glass jar as I eat them on my cereal often. Note to self, 4 qts will fit in 1 qt jar with just room enough for 2 or 3 strawberries more. I'll get more strawberries this weekend.

 

 

[vigilant20]

My 4 qts of fresh strawberries are finished and I put them in my glass jar as I eat them on my cereal often. Note to self, 4 qts will fit in 1 qt jar with just room enough for 2 or 3 strawberries more. I'll get more strawberries this weekend.

 

Our strawberries went up in price last time I'd looked. There's probably a SAMs Club visit in the cards this weekend so I'll check there.

 

I FINALLY got the cabbage in tonight! My bro came over with a trailer for me to use and stuck around for movies and pizza so didn't get anything done I'd planned to.

[vigilant20]

The cabbage is done and I got wrappers, so I can try someones recipe tomorrow

 

Sliced mushrooms and some strawberries are in now. I just finished complaining about strawberry prices, but I went to the store this morning and they were down to $1.25 a pound.

[vigilant20]

I just unloaded 8 pounds of frozen strawberries and started 6 hearts of celery.

 

I've also tried 3 new dehydrator recipes recently. Eggrolls, chicken a la king (from the dehdyrator bible), and spaghetti using my powdered spaghetti sauce. All were FABULOUS

[Yart]

Just got done with some mushrooms. The whole house smelled like cream of mushroom soup. Yummy! Next going in will be some more onions as I can have the windows open this time... LOL!

[vigilant20]

I've just got 8 apples going right now. I tried an apple crumble recipe that was so good I thought I would need a better apple supply I need to do onions soon too. I've got a bag waiting for a day that's nice enough.

[Jingles]

I've got 4 trays of corn going then I plan to do some bananas. After that it's broccoli, spinach and mixed veggies! I'm thinking of trying cooked hamburger, but before that I just have to make some beef jerky!

 

I LOVE dehydrating it is so fun to see stuff shrink up and take so little space!

 

And OH the smells! Yum!

[chefddr]

I am going to try to do onions, and there are potatoes on sale for .99 a 5lb bag so I may go get some of those and dice some and slice some on my mandoline and try those, don't I have to dip the potatoes in someting to keep them from getting brown though??

[Violet]

You have to blanch the potato slices before you dry them. Otherwise they will be black.

 

Jingles, are you aware that hamburger is unsafe to dry ?

 

I got potatoes, too. Not sure when they will get dried. They are $1.29 for 10 lb.

[chefddr]

I think I am getting nuts about dehydrating - maybe it's b/c I won't be able to get my canner till summer, but I am doing some peppers someone gave me, peas, got 5# of carrots, peel, dice and dehydrate or do I need to blanch those too?

Oh yes, and I got a 50# bag of potatoes! I was going to get just 25lbs but the smaller bags that were on sale were gone and this was only $12- so I figured what the heck. I plan to do most of them sliced, and some diced, and when I get tired, I'll think of something else.

 

So, peel, slice and blanch, dry them off with paper towels??? and then just put them in the dehydrator and let it do it's thing?? Don't want to mess up with all these potatoes. Sorry if my question is redundant, I am just a little anxious. But it gives me something to do besides sit home and worry about stuff. Thanks ladies.

[vigilant20]

Carrots should be blanched. Instructions for potatoes say to blanch, but mine turned brown. I've heard people report getting good results with nearly cooking them through. I don't bother drying anything, I figured it'll dehydrate off.

[Canned Nerd]

Blanching or dipping of carrots is optional, but I've never had any problems just dehydrating them directly. Potatoes need to go directly into water when peeled else they will begin to darken the longer they are exposed to the air.

 

[Jingles]

Jingles, are you aware that hamburger is unsafe to dry ?

 

Is that when cooked and not cooked? I got one of those ground beef jerky kits where you put the curing and spice together, mix with hamburger, let set in fridge , then squeeze out of a press into strips. Is that OK?

 

Also I saw a thread this week about dehydrating cooked hamburger. Is that not safe too?

 

I'm so glad you are here to help us Violet or knowing me I'd be belly up!

 

Thank You.

[LeeAnn]

I've done pounds of potatoes, sliced, diced and shredded. I boil water and add white vinegar. Boil for about 5 minutes, rinse and dehydrate.

 

For the shredded potatoes, I just add them to hot water and vinegar, no boiling

[chefddr]

I wish I hadn't blanched the carrots, in just 5 min. they were so soft. They are in the dehydrator but I like my veggies crisp when I eat them cooked so I will mark these and put them separately and maybe use them in a veggie mousse.

 

Hoping to do the Potatoes, or at least some of them tomorrow, I have a professional Mandoline so it shouldh't be too hard. I just hope they come out white and not brown b/c I'll pitch everything if they look gross.

[vigilant20]

The books I've seen haven't said pre-treating carrots is optional. Interesting. Of course being as lazy as I am, where there's an easier method I'm always willing to try it!

 

Sorry to hear about your carrots chef. I'm sure you can find some use for them. They'd be good in soups, I'd bet.

 

Didn't get to t he store tonight for more apples. Forgot I had my last microfarming class to attend. Threw 3 bags of slaw mix on instead when I got home.

[Canned Nerd]

Everyone that dehydrates should have the bible, Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrating Cookbook. The "optional" is stated there, page 67.

 

 

[Violet]

Jingles, are you aware that hamburger is unsafe to dry ?

 

Is that when cooked and not cooked? I got one of those ground beef jerky kits where you put the curing and spice together, mix with hamburger, let set in fridge , then squeeze out of a press into strips. Is that OK?

 

Also I saw a thread this week about dehydrating cooked hamburger. Is that not safe too?

 

I'm so glad you are here to help us Violet or knowing me I'd be belly up!

 

Thank You.

 

Sorry,nope. No ground meats for dehydrating. However, if you do still dry the jerky, it is a bit more safe with the curing mix that you can get for the jerky.

We are teaching that no dehydrating of ground meats are safe. Too many surface areas, as upposed to thin slices of lean meats. The more surface areas, the greater the bacterial growth happens. The plain cooked hamburger is the worst, as no salt is added to prevent bacterial growth. If you had enough salt in it, it would be inedible.

 

You need to blanch the carrots to deactivate the enzymes in vegetables when drying them. Enzymes cause spoilage and deterioration in foods. We teach to blanch the carrots. Never tried not blanching them. The dried potato slices turn out really nice if you cook them enough before drying. No brown or dark spots in them.

[vigilant20]

Everyone that dehydrates should have the bible, Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrating Cookbook. The "optional" is stated there, page 67.

 

Ah. My bible is The Dehydrator Bible and I just doubled checked in case I was missing it, but it doesn't say that.

[chinajade97]

Ah. My bible is The Dehydrator Bible and I just doubled checked in case I was missing it, but it doesn't say that.

 

 

OK Ladies, I need to dehydrate some chili. As in serrano, habanero, and jalapeno peppers. Tell me what to do. I looked in my book that came with the dehydrator and i guess I didn't see it. Is is like doing bell peppers? Do I leave them whole? Heeelp......

[Violet]

You can dry the chilis whole, but it will take a lot longer. Depends upon how you want to use them later. No blanching required. You can even string them on some cotton string and hang to dry if you have a warm, dry place. They will need air space between them, so they don't mold, if you do this.

I would slice in half, and dry on the dehydrator, if you don't want them whole. You can slice them, too, or dice. However you want them to be when done.

[vigilant20]

You can dry the chilis whole, but it will take a lot longer. Depends upon how you want to use them later. No blanching required. You can even string them on some cotton string and hang to dry if you have a warm, dry place. They will need air space between them, so they don't mold, if you do this.

I would slice in half, and dry on the dehydrator, if you don't want them whole. You can slice them, too, or dice. However you want them to be when done.

 

I'm glad we have you around

 

The extension just started a Master Food Preserver program. It sounds really interesting, but I've been thinking about joining the Master Gardener one for a while now so I may do that first. We'll see!