What all do you dehydrate and how do you then use it?

[Prairie~Phlox]

I have two cheaper dehydrators and I mainly do apples and sometimes jerky, but am looking to branch out. So what all do you dehydrate?

[Live2Ride]

zucchini, squash both in slices and shredded. used in soups, casseroles, spaghetti sauce, breads, etc.

 

Fig halves for cookies, stews and jams

 

bananas-they just get eaten here, but you could rehydrate them for banana bread

 

bell pepper, celery, onions to use later in stuff.

 

tomatoes for salads, sauces and soups

 

we do all kinds of fruits for eating really, strawberries are amazing and never last long here. We do blueberries as well. We make fruit leather.

 

I've done mushrooms when I've caught them on a good sale

 

Then I vacuum seal everything in mason jars with the attachment on the vacuum sealer. Keeps it all fresh.

[FaithManor]

I do apples, pears (which are a pain in the rear so I don't do a lot, but dh LOVES them), grape tomatoes, celery, leeks, carrots, red and green peppers. I use the veggies except tomatoes ALL the time in stir fries, soups, and sauces. Oh, basil, I also dehydrate basil and it's wonderful for making pasta sauce and adding to stir fry.

 

The grape tomatoes are for salads. I haven't purchased a winter, shipped in tomato in years.

 

Cherries are still cheap here and since my family does like to snack on dehydrated cherries which are very expensive at the store, I may get three or four pounds and try that for the first time this year.

 

My eldest boy, a bit pickier than the others, will snack on apple chips all winter long.

 

I dehydrated over 30 peppers last year and still ran out by July 1st. So my goal is to dehydrate 50 this year and see if in 2013, I can make it to the next harvest. We love bell peppers here. My dad's garden will only produce about 20 peppers before winter because he doesn't plant enough for mom and I, but I can buy them 3/1.00 in season from my favorite Amish farmer and that's a LOT better than the price in the supermarket and certainly during the winter. Dehydrated fresh, the flavor is 100% better than hauled in from California and sprayed to ripen on the truck en route during the winter.

 

Faith

[ChemMommy]

Do you have to use a dehydrator machine or can you do it in an oven or something else. I'd like to try this (a little) before investing. THANK!

[FaithManor]

Do you have to use a dehydrator machine or can you do it in an oven or something else. I'd like to try this (a little) before investing. THANK!

 

 

You can use the oven, no problem. However, if you get hooked, I highly recommend buying a good dehydrator with multiple shelves because they are more efficient due to the use of fans to circulate the air around the food. Ovens take longer and do not dehydrate evenly due to the lack of circulation. However, that said, my mother-in-law does mostly apple chips so she uses her oven quite a bit and they preserve just fine. She only breaks out her dehydrator once per year when she has tomatoes to do and want to get a lot done at once.

 

Faith

[Lakeside]

I've dehydrated fruit and herbs. I also use the dehydrator for yogurt, crispy nuts, and soaked granola. I've never done any veggies and I am intrigued.

 

For those of you who do veggies, do you then rehydrate them before you use them? And if so, how do you do that? I imagine it might depend on what you were making. (If you are making soup I would guess that the veggies do not need to be rehydrated. But zucchini bread or sti-fry would require rehydration.)

[Prairie~Phlox]

I've dehydrated fruit and herbs. I also use the dehydrator for yogurt, crispy nuts, and soaked granola. I've never done any veggies and I am intrigued.

 

For those of you who do veggies, do you then rehydrate them before you use them? And if so, how do you do that? I imagine it might depend on what you were making. (If you are making soup I would guess that the veggies do not need to be rehydrated. But zucchini bread or sti-fry would require rehydration.)

 

Can I ask what you mean by yogurt, nuts and granola? Each made individually or something you make together?

[Lakeside]

Can I ask what you mean by yogurt, nuts and granola? Each made individually or something you make together?

 

Sorry I was unclear! Typing on the iPad while nursing the baby makes for confusing posts. :lol:

 

I make them separately. I use the dehydrator to incubate the yogurt. I make crispy nuts, which are raw nuts that I soak in salt water overnight then dehydrate. And I've also made a soaked granola recipe a few times. Basically the oats are soaked in yogurt then dried it in the dehydrator. (I don't recall if the other ingredients are added before the soaking or after. I'd have to find the recipe.)