What are you dehydrating today?

[snapshotmiki]

Those look great, Jeepers!  So far, I have only done apples, pineapple, mangoes and sweet potatoes.  Just learning.

[Wychwood]

I feel guilty now. I have not dehydrated anything in a year or so. I feel the need to get some done! 

[Jeepers]

Thank you ladies.

 

Wychwood, don't feel guilty. It has taken me all winter and then some to do them. The little bit of heat from the dehydrator helped warm the kitchen this winter. 

 

I still have more to do. My carrots were a failure (a whole gallon worth) and I want to do some celery. Maybe try some cabbage. And definitely some lemons for water. 

 

Miki, I haven't tried fruit yet. I'm kinda afraid of that, after my carrot debacle, because they are so juicy and sticky. OOOH, I'd like to try some cinnamon sugar apples. And vanilla sugar apples too.

 

I just hope the apocalypse holds out until I can get my stuff dried. 

[Wychwood]

I haven't done much fruit either Jeepers. 

 

I'm a big fan of dehydrating frozen veg too. It saves so much time prepping and the quality is consistent.

Has anyone else tried dehydrating cooked beans? Pinto work best, but Kidney and Cannellini work well too. They look a bit odd once dried, but come good once rehydrated. 

[Homesteader]

2 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I just hope the apocalypse holds out until I can get my stuff dried. 

 

 

  

[Jeepers]

Wychwood, I haven't tried dehydrating beans yet but it's on my long to-do list later on. I know over on this side of the pond you can buy them in bulk. I've seen Navy beans and pinto beans and kidney beans on line. I think from Augason Farms and Harmony House. Would be great to have so you could just heat and eat. And you could make up some of those dried 'meals in a jar' recipes using them too. Plus they have such a long storage life.

[Annarchy]

3 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I'd like to try some cinnamon sugar apples.

Absolutely, try them!  Delicious!  Every year, Thanksgiving & Christmas, I buy a bag of apples to make one or two apple pies.  I slice the leftover apples, coat with sugar and cinnamon & dehydrate them.  Then, jar them.  I suppose you could vacuum seal them, never tried.  DH loves them in his cereal.  

[Homesteader]

We were gifted a case of celery last week. I've been giving it away, eating it, and finally dried the rest of it. Came to almost 17 pounds, not counting all the chunks that disappeared into our tummies. 

[Jeepers]

I'm glad you posted that. Beautiful picture! I haven't tried to do celery yet but they are on my to-do list. Is that your new dehydrator?

 

Do you blanch them first or just do them raw? I've heard you blanch them if you want to can them, to remove some of the water to help keep them from floating in the jar, but I'm not sure how to dehydrate them.  

 

I hate to blanch food. I'm never sure when I'm blanching or cooking it. I usually end up crossing the line into cooking just to make sure it's thoroughly blanched. 

[Wychwood]

@Jeepers Have you tried steam blanching instead of boiling? I find it's much kinder to whatever you are blanching and the results are definitely better.

[snapshotmiki]

38 minutes ago, Wychwood said:

@Jeepers Have you tried steam blanching instead of boiling? I find it's much kinder to whatever you are blanching and the results are definitely better.

I've never heard of that, Wychwood.  I will google it!  Thanks!

[Mother]

I often steam blanch things.  Many vegetables, if I am going to be using them in six months or so I don’t bother to blanch at all.  

[Homesteader]

It is blanched with a bit of baking soda. Keeps the color very nicely. Yes it is my new dehydrator. Stayed with the cheaper mfg, only got the bigger diameter trays this time. Am up to 10 trays now. I vacuum-seal most foods in Mason jars for long term storage (usually only one year).

[Wychwood]

You have all shamed me. I have some green beans in the dehydrator.

If things go as the government expect it to, I may be glad to have them. I'm trying to reduce my dependence on the freezer just in case we get power cuts this winter.

[snapshotmiki]

I am thinking of dehydrating some of my squash since I have so many.  Most folks just add the to soup, stews.  I am wondering about dehydrating them well and grinding them as a flour if needed.  It works with rice, oats, acorns (after leaching them), etc.  Just don't want to use up all my jars canning squash.  LOL  Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Edited June 2, 2022 by snapshotmiki

[Mother]

Miki, I have dehydrated squash of all kind but never thought of grinding and using as flour.  summer squash will dry into chips but once the liquid in them has gone you aren’t left with a lot of volume to grind.   I buy and use sweet potato flour and I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use winter squash in the same way.  I love that idea.  Let’s hope someone will chime in on the how-to’s.  Like blanching and such.  
 

[Ambergris]

Cook and puree before drying for best results.  Bear in mind that the dried puree, if it was very liquidy, sometimes breaks with glass-sharp shards.  Be careful when powdering.  I use paper plates lined with Saran wrap sometimes, and it takes FOREVER to dry.  Turning often helps.  Keeping the layers very thin helps.

You can also shred chunks of raw pumpkin in a blender before drying.  I don't use these because I can't be bothered to remember which is cooked and which isn't, and I want to cook what hasn't been cooked (both for digestibility and to kill any pathogens).

 

After drying, blend into powder.  If it clumps, it's not dry enough.  Dry it more.

 

1/2 cup winter squash powder plus two cups boiling or near-boiling water rehydrates into 2 cups (one smaller can) of purée

Substitute some of the flour in pasta, starting with 1/4 or so.  If you want gluten action in the pasta, you're not going to get it with more than about a quarter vegetable content.  Cook less pasta than usual.  Vegetable pasta is great the first time it's cooked but does not make good leftovers etc.

Mixed half and half with nutmeg, put with any drink you might put nutmeg in.  Yes, coffee too.  Yes, you can taste it.  No, you don't want it in every cup, but you don't want nutmeg and whipped cream in every cup either do you?

For cakes, coffee cakes, quick breads, substitute 1/4 of the flour with powder on a cup for cup basis.

Try a quarter cup of powder reconstituted with a quarter cup of hot water, an 8-0z block of cream cheese, and a teaspoon of a cinnamon-heavy pie spice mix, stirred together for a bagel or toast spread.

 

[Mother]

Wow Ambergris.  THANK YOU. That is tremendous information.  Might be a lot of work but this is great prepper info.  These are things we can grow even in restricted (thinking planters and small yards) areas unlike grain.  I understand the lack of gluten (all too well) but many things that might be grain substitutes would be gluten free as well.  This flour might also give a sweet taste to baked goods at a time when conventional sweeteners are scarce. 

[Jeepers]

Thanks for the tips ladies.

 

Wychwood, I never thought about steaming them. Will have to look that up. I'm dehydrating food for extra long storage. Like if I run out of regular food and there is nothing left for me to eat I'll still have a good supply of veggies to throw in a pot. Hopefully with a left over can of meat or some beans or pasta. 

 

Homey. I knew about adding baking soda but totally forgot about that. 

 

 

[Midnightmom]

On 5/20/2022 at 12:50 PM, Jeepers said:

Miki, I haven't tried fruit yet. I'm kinda afraid of that, after my carrot debacle, because they are so juicy and sticky. OOOH, I'd like to try some cinnamon sugar apples. And vanilla sugar apples too.

 

Items like that are best dried on "fruit leather" trays instead of mesh ones.

[Midnightmom]

On 5/29/2022 at 7:29 AM, Jeepers said:

I've heard you blanch them if you want to can them, to remove some of the water to help keep them from floating in the jar, but I'm not sure how to dehydrate them.  

 

Actually, there is no "approved" method for canning celery. The closest you can come to that is when they are an ingredient in another recipe you are canning - most often a soup. Even then, the "solids" in a soup recipe need to be <50% of the jar's contents.

 

 

You can also use your celery to make and dehydrate Mirepoix.

 

[Jeepers]

I know of a few women, specifically (Bev, Heather and Leisa) who can celery and say that it turns out too mushy and they won't can it again. Darcy's video was interesting. I THINK I prefer blanching for extra long storage to preserve color. And maybe break down the fibers? I have seen dehydrated celery that is very dark and sort of rubbery. Unappetizing in its dried form.

 

I put raw celery in my vegetable soup and it turns out great. It's soft like the other veggies, like green beans and carrots, but it does hold its shape.  

 

I want to learn how to chop celery the way Darcy does. 

 

 

I like the way Mary's dehydrated veggies look.

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Jeepers
Added A comment

[Joyfilled]

I'm a timid dehydrator person. I dehydrate herbs (mint, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, etc). I've done apple and banana slices, but I think that's it. Oh! I also bought some frozen veggies and have dehydrated those. I would like to branch out to do more, but I'm concerned about how they come out later.

 

What would y'all suggest I dehydrate that would be pretty close to normal? Green peppers? I freeze them for now, but if they reconstitute pretty close to their original state? That would save a lot of freezer space!! Carrots....what was the verdict of celery? I just don't want to blanch....I don't mind using frozen (I believe that counts for blanching?). Also....hash browns. Do those reconstitute pretty well? I make a yummy hash brown casserole for Christmas morning, and would love to be able to continue that tradition. Would dehydrated hash browns work? I have so many questions....thank you for your patience!!

[Midnightmom]

10 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I want to learn how to chop celery the way Darcy does. 

 

Film yourself in "timer" mode, then watch yourself! (And, don't forget to share your ninja skills with us!) 

[Midnightmom]

9 hours ago, Joyfilled said:

Would dehydrated hash browns work?

I think you would have to dehyrate the ingredients separately, then rehydrate them once you want to combine them to make your hash browns. Alternatively, you could can your potato mix and fry it up later as a scramble, not patties.