What are you dehydrating today? Part 2

[Annarchy]

Sun dehydrated 1/4 pint of sage.

 

It took 3 hours to dry to a crisp in the morning.

[out_of_the_ordinary]

Parsley from our garden.

 

I'm hoping we can get some broccoli dehydrated this weekend.

 

We pulled some onions from the garden last night...

...and the green pepper plants have a bunch of tiny peppers starting...

..and then there's that chocolate mint plant I bought earlier this year; I'm going to have to do something with that very soon!

 

The dehydrator will be running alot in the next couple weeks! I'm so grateful we have it!

Edited August 9, 2012 by out_of_the_ordinary

[kappydell]

Im going to talk to a bunch of people about EASY dehydrating; you know, the stuff that does not have to be blanched or handled a lot before you actually dry it, with an eye to getting more folks into it. I already know about deyhdrating frozen or canned foods; making leather from apple sauce plus what have you; dehydrating soups and stews (and leftovers); and know of a few things that do not require blanching. Anybody got some extra ideas for me? I'm thinking about putting together some 'soup in a jar' type things to whet their imagination.

 

I had good feedback and interest on my talk and demonstration on water bath canning, except I got a lot of ribbing over my frequent use of the statement "not recommended by the USDA" when answering questions....and I was surprised that so many of my 'students' were men!

Edited August 9, 2012 by kappydell

[out_of_the_ordinary]

Im going to talk to a bunch of people about EASY dehydrating; you know, the stuff that does not have to be blanched or handled a lot before you actually dry it, with an eye to getting more folks into it. I already know about deyhdrating frozen or canned foods; making leather from apple sauce plus what have you; dehydrating soups and stews (and leftovers); and know of a few things that do not require blanching. Anybody got some extra ideas for me? I'm thinking about putting together some 'soup in a jar' type things to whet their imagination.

 

I had good feedback and interest on my talk and demonstration on water bath canning, except I got a lot of ribbing over my frequent use of the statement "not recommended by the USDA" when answering questions....and I was surprised that so many of my 'students' were men!

 

Kappydell, in the line of fruit leathers, there's a recipe of the UGA site for Pumpkin fruit leather. It's super simple--opening the can of pumpkin, and mixing in honey and a few spices. Tastes like pumpkin pie. My DH likes to make it. That might be a good one to share.

 

http://nchfp.uga.edu...g_leathers.html

 

Pumpkin Leather

2 cups canned pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin, cooked and puréed

1/2 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon powdered cloves

 

Blend ingredients well. Spread on tray or cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap. Dry at 140ºF.

 

 

outoftheordinary note: We very lightly apply cooking oil spray (wipe excess off with paper towel) to our dehydrator's fruit roll trays before putting the mixture on it.

Edited August 9, 2012 by out_of_the_ordinary

[Andrea]

sprouted wheat berries - going to grind them up and make sprouted wheat flour. Supposedly, sprouting the wheat first greatly increases the nutritional content and makes the wheat easier to digest. I'll be making bread tomorrow - 2 loaves - one with regular whole wheat, one with sprouted whole wheat. I'm going to see if there is much of a difference.

[Leanna1017]

I dehydrated 8 lbs of cherries this week. Pitting them all was a huge pain (I have GOT to get a better pitter) but I couldn't pass them up at 99 cents a pound.

[out_of_the_ordinary]

Chocolate mint! After cutting it, my hands smell really good!

[lumabean]

I am going to try to dehydrate some frozen strawberries -- very excited to try out the new dehydrator that arrived today

[The WE2's]

Potatoes & oranges. Tomorrow will be onions and apples. Got some freebies and I never pass up free food that I can dehydrate and get in my pantry!

[Jeepers]

Lumabean, let us know how they turn out!

New 'toys' are always fun, exciting and a little bit scary.

[The WE2's]

I am going to try to dehydrate some frozen strawberries -- very excited to try out the new dehydrator that arrived today

 

 

You'll love it! They totally spoiled me from canning. There's a youtube gal (katzcradul) that's very interesting for me, but the one that won my heart was the youtube gal on "dehydrate2store".

[lumabean]

I ended up with 6 trays of strawberries that dried down to a quart jar and about a third of another quart jar. I was a little nervous with them, but they snap in half when bent so I figured they were done.

 

I also did two trays of frozen pineapple chunks (that I ended up slicing each piece in half or thirds depending on the size) ... those I was iffy on. They looked pretty shriveled up, but they were still a smidge tacky to the touch. I dried longer but they stayed tacky. I wasn't sure if they were safe to store like that ... so I ate them, yes, all of them.

 

On Sunday I am going to see if any of the local stores have specials on frozen vegetables to give them a whirl as well.

 

Oh Philbe, i love the dehydrate2store site, i've been watching her videos and reading on the site. I am a visual learner, so they've been a help. There are still things I question (like with my pineapple adventure) but it's been a huge primer!

[Canned Nerd]

Your pineapple is fine. Many fruits will remain pliable when dried.

[lovinit]

Nine trays of bananas in tonight. Last night I did zuchinni chips, they are a "maybe" for doing any more. Some had lemon dill seasoning, and the others were seasoned with a no salt mixture of some kind. I prefer the later, I think. The bananas were $2.00 per bag perfectly ready for the dehydrator. We freeze a lot of them too for smoothies.

[lumabean]

Today I am dehydrating potatoes. they seem to be coming along well so far, pretty dry and it's only been a few hours so far.

 

Your pineapple is fine. Many fruits will remain pliable when dried.

 

Thanks

[lumabean]

Today's venture has been frozen vegetables, I've got one tray of broccoli, two of corn, two of carrots, one of peas, and three of green beans. I am really enjoying dehydrating

[The WE2's]

Go girlf!!!

[The WE2's]

Chocolate mint! After cutting it, my hands smell really good!

 

 

No thumb sucking! LOL Hugs to ya friend!

[lumabean]

Since we're leaving in a few days, I figured I should try to dehydrate some of the fresh stuff that we won't have time to use up. I have a tray and a half of lemons going, as well as a tray and a half of bell peppers, and a handful of jalapenos.

 

I also have russet potatoes chilling in the fridge so I can do those tomorrow (or later tonight should the stuff in the dehydrator are done sooner than I expect).

 

Here's what I have done so far (vacuum sealed in mason jars) : russet potatoes, corn (from 2 lbs frozen), carrots (from 2 lbs frozen), strawberries (from frozen), broccoli (from 1 lb frozen), peas (from 1lb frozen), and green beans (3 lbs frozen). --- do you think there would be a problem if I keep adding to the partially jars, re-vacuum sealing after each addition?

 

I read they will last longer double bagged, but since I forgot to add oxygen absorbers to my last LDS order, I am waiting on transferring them to bags.

 

 

edited to add the picture I forgot to include before...

Edited September 17, 2012 by lumabean

[Andrea]

Lemon balm in my oldest dehydrator that doesn't get warm enough to dry anything but herbs now. DD is learning how to drive now, so I'm REALLY going to need it's calming effect this winter when the fresh stuff goes dormant!

[The WE2's]

Since we're leaving in a few days, I figured I should try to dehydrate some of the fresh stuff that we won't have time to use up. I have a tray and a half of lemons going, as well as a tray and a half of bell peppers, and a handful of jalapenos.

 

I also have russet potatoes chilling in the fridge so I can do those tomorrow (or later tonight should the stuff in the dehydrator are done sooner than I expect).

 

Here's what I have done so far (vacuum sealed in mason jars) : russet potatoes, corn (from 2 lbs frozen), carrots (from 2 lbs frozen), strawberries (from frozen), broccoli (from 1 lb frozen), peas (from 1lb frozen), and green beans (3 lbs frozen). --- do you think there would be a problem if I keep adding to the partially jars, re-vacuum sealing after each addition?

 

I read they will last longer double bagged, but since I forgot to add oxygen absorbers to my last LDS order, I am waiting on transferring them to bags.

 

 

edited to add the picture I forgot to include before...

 

 

Regarding re-vacume sealing jars just to add more...I would feel quite safe doing it. IF I'm going to continue using the dehydrated food, I'd just put the lid on and put it in my frig...just did that today with a jar of celery/carrot mix when I made some chicken barley soup. I don't use oxygen absorbers in my vacume sealed jars...only in my food saver bagged items. Looks like you've got some very pretty dehydrated stuff!!!

[Jeepers]

Lumabean, your jars look beautiful. The strawberries look especially good.

 

Have you tasted the dried corn yet? It comes out so sweet it tastes like a snack. (In the dried form)

 

I reuse my lids with my vacuum sealer. As long as they aren't bent up, keep the air sucked out and stay sealed. I've had no problem reusing mine.

 

 

 

Edited because I left out a word.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Jeepers

[Violet]

Very nice, Lumabean !!!

[Susiebella]

Well, we got past 200 posts in the first thread with this title, which tends to make threads drag, so here we go with "Part 2".

 

**Cat peeks over your shoulder towards the kitchen...**

 

Sooooo... what'cha dehydrating today???

 

 

 

 

 

Dehydrating link Part 1

[Susiebella]

I'm drying rose hips from my wild rugosa to make rose hip tea for winter. Rose hips are higher in vitamiin C than an orange. When they're dried completely I put them in my cuisinart and chop them but not too finely, then sieve them because the inside of the hip has little hairs (very unpalatable). The remaining is the stuff you make tea from in the usual way you do with loose tea leaves. I like to dry lemon balm to mix with it. If the bush produces enough by the time it's all said and done I'll make some rose hip jelly. Anything to help ward off colds.

 

I have an American cranberry bush as high as the house so after the first cold snap in October I'll be dehydrating some of them and making jelly. The ones way up high I'll leave for my feathered friends.