ProudGrandma Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 what do you dehydrate and how do you use those items? I am trying to decide if my new infatuation with owning a dehydrater is based on any sort of reality...or if it is one of those "great ideas" that will pass in the wind because it ends up being way more work and effort to do and remember to use. Does that make sense?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I never had enough excess tomatoes last summer to feel motivated to can. So I sliced them and dehydrated them instead. If you sprinkle Italian seasoning on them first, they taste like pizza. I like to put them on my salad in the winter when tomatoes are expensive or lousy. I plan to dehydrate more this summer. It was much less work than canning. Dehydrated strawberries and pineapples are really good. DH made some amazing jerky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susankenny Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Make some kale chips!!! So yummy! Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Make some kale chips!!! So yummy! Susan So you would leave out the oil right? Kale chips and sweet potato chips are two of the reasons I'm considering getting a dehydrator ASAP. I love love love sweet potato chips, but they must be quite high in calories with the oil on both sides. :001_unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susankenny Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 So you would leave out the oil right? Kale chips and sweet potato chips are two of the reasons I'm considering getting a dehydrator ASAP. I love love love sweet potato chips, but they must be quite high in calories with the oil on both sides. :001_unsure: Yes. I use olive oil & sea salt. They're delicious! Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 so tell me from start to finish how to mke sweet potato chips.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I dry... strawberries, to put in oatmeal and in fruit/nut mixes for snacking. cherries for snacking and for baking into scones and muffins. extra cherry tomatoes from the garden so that they don't go to waste. I use them in pastas and soups. lots of apples for snacks, fruit/nut mix, oatmeal. pears. I love dried pears. No one else really likes them, so I get them all to myself! fruit leather. I want to try blueberries too, but I didn't get enough picked last summer, and I'll get an extra box of apricots to dry this summer. :) I've also dried peaches, but the kids didn't care for them, kale, herbs, blackberries, zucchini. My dehydrator really has been w good investment. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 This is terrible, but my favorite thing to dehydrate is canned pineapple. It is yummy. We do tomatoes and other veggies that we happen to have an overflow in from the garden. Some years we do more than others. If you get them very dry, you can then grind them into a powder and use the powder to enhance soups, sauces, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Great for rising bread and making reindeer kisses! And jerky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 thanks for the ideas....looking forward to trying some new things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 so tell me from start to finish how to mke sweet potato chips.... it's super easy. do you have a slicer? the most important thing with sweet potato chips is to slice them thin (or they will be chewy instead of crunchy). toss them with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. season with sea salt and cayenne ( or at least i love cayenne - so yummy!). then dehydrate until crispy -- the length of time will vary depending on which dehydrator you have. you can also make kale chips (as mentioned) stuffed mushrooms, homemade granola cereal, raw meatballs, etc. anything really :) lots of great recipes at the rawtarian blog or raw food talk forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 It's the perfect temp for yogurt making. You can also make yogurt 'taffy' which is great for snacks on the go. One word of caution though, they're loud, at least ours is and that puts me off things like soaked almonds which take a good 2 days to dehydrate. I go in and out of phases with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Dehydrated kiwi fruit is the best! :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillieBoy Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 http://dehydrate2store.com/ has some wonderful recipes and videos. I just love her. Talk about someone that dehydrates....:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Great for rising bread and making reindeer kisses! And jerky! Can you tell me more about rising bread in your dehydrator?? I have a very cold house, so this sounds intriguing! Thanks! Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Can you tell me more about rising bread in your dehydrator?? I have a very cold house, so this sounds intriguing! Thanks! Anne I turn my oven on for just a few minutes and then turn it off. I don't have a dehydrator--yet. I would think covering it (unless the fan could be turned off) would be key or it would dry out a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 it's super easy. do you have a slicer? the most important thing with sweet potato chips is to slice them thin (or they will be chewy instead of crunchy). toss them with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. season with sea salt and cayenne ( or at least i love cayenne - so yummy!). then dehydrate until crispy -- the length of time will vary depending on which dehydrator you have. you can also make kale chips (as mentioned) stuffed mushrooms, homemade granola cereal, raw meatballs, etc. anything really :) lots of great recipes at the rawtarian blog or raw food talk forum. thanks. what kind of slicer do I need...I am not sure I understand. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 thanks. what kind of slicer do I need...I am not sure I understand. thanks. I use the 1/8" blade in my food processor. You can use a knife if your knife skills are very good. You really want uniform thickness in everything to dehydrate. A chef's mandoline is a good substitute for a food processor if you don't have one. I have this one on my wishlist (recommended by someone here) but have so far stuck with my food processor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 thanks...duh...I have a slicer....I use that to slice the cucumbers to make my freezer pickles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 thanks. what kind of slicer do I need...I am not sure I understand. thanks. i have a cheap mandoline slicer. you could check walmart, target, amazon, etc. it's not very expensive. i like it because you can adjust the thickness and get a perfect cut ever time. ETA - mine looks like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I love my dehydrator--I use it heavily in the fall for apples and other fruit (cherries, berries, etc) and herbs from the garden. We forage a bit and dh dehydrates mushrooms. The rest of the year we use it to dry food that might go bad. Over Christmas we received lots of fruit and couldn't eat it all so we dried it--strawberries, pineapple and bananas. I've dried potatoes that were about to sprout, celery that was going floppy, herbs from the grocery store (why does the recipe always call for 1 Tbsp but you have to buy a ton of the stuff?:D),onions, and other veggies that might never make it out of the crisper any other way. I never thought to to make kale chips in there, but now I will! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 thanks...duh...I have a slicer....I use that to slice the cucumbers to make my freezer pickles. perfect!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I do crispy nuts and yogurt. Venison jerky is yummy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I'm obsessive about Empire apples, sliced thick and dried for 8 hours. They're tangy and sweet, so much better then the blah supermarket alternatives. Great for making yogurt. Easy nut roasting without burning Stable low temp. for rising bread or culturing sourdough. Great for drying herbs at the end of the season (I have parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme from my yard) Crackers, granola, anything that needs a low, constant temperature Some of these work better with a higher-priced dehydrator where you can control the temperature output. I usually don't bother with tomatoes (easier to freeze them) and strawberries don't last that long. Berries need to be uniform or some under-dry and some over-dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Some questions from someone interested, but who just doesn't know enough yet: After you dehydrate the food items, how do you store them? Do dehydrated foods need to be refrigerated, or vacuum sealed or anything? How do you stop some items from turning color, like potatoes or bananas or apples? Do you need to prepare foods before dehydrating, or just slice and dry? How long do the dehydrated foods last? Does how long the food lasts depend on how much moisture is remaining? Do they have any moisture left that may cause mold, or are they crispy dried with no moisture? Do all foods dry completely, or are some left a bit moister, more chewy? If so, how do you store those? How long does it take to dehydrate, and how do you know the food is done? Thanks. I want to do this, but need info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Does anyone make their own dehydrated spaghetti seasoning mix? I've been buying it from the store but I'd like to make it next summer/fall. Soup greens too. I get this dehydrated stuff from the local health food store. Does anyone have a recipe to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I love dried bananas :) YUMMY!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Some questions from someone interested, but who just doesn't know enough yet: After you dehydrate the food items, how do you store them? Usually in glass jars. I save glass jars, like spaghetti sauce or fruit jars and re-use them. If I am out of glass jars, I put the fruit in a ziploc. I wrap individual servings of fruit leather in plastic wrap. Do dehydrated foods need to be refrigerated, or vacuum sealed or anything? Nope. :) That's why I dry them, so I don't take up freezer space. They usually last...well, I don't know how long, up to a year, but we usually eat them before then. How do you stop some items from turning color, like potatoes or bananas or apples? I just don't worry about it. You can use lemon juice or a honey wash. I used to dip my peaches in a honey-water-lemon solution and they stayed pretty bright. I have found that if I start with a very white apple and dry my apples soon after picking them, they don't turn much. Do you need to prepare foods before dehydrating, or just slice and dry? Usually depends on the fruit. But mostly slice and dry. Or puree and dry if you're making fruit leather. How long do the dehydrated foods last? We usually eat them before the end of spring, so we don't know how long they'll actually last. :) Does how long the food lasts depend on how much moisture is remaining? Yes. Do they have any moisture left that may cause mold, or are they crispy dried with no moisture? Mine are usually chewy with no moisture, but you can dry some things crispy. I had a batch of apricots mold once, but that was likely because I did not dry them properly. Learning experience! :) Do all foods dry completely, or are some left a bit moister, more chewy? If so, how do you store those? Depends on the food. I store them all the same. How long does it take to dehydrate, and how do you know the food is done? Depends on the food, and you can usually choose the amount of dryness/crispiness you want in your fruit. Thanks. I want to do this, but need info. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.