What have you Dehydrated Today?

With food prices and gas prices rising, food life is an issue for all of us.
I have recently picked back up a hobby that I had almost 10 years ago; Dehydrating Foods.

With some searches on the Internet, I was amazed to find the vast number of different kinds of food that can be dehydrated, even full meals so simple as spaghetti with sauce.

So, as an effort to share ideas, tips and hints for dehydrating;

What have you Dehydrated Today?
and How was It?


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Today I finished:

Bagel Chips : I just chopped up a bagel, put it into a sandwich bag, sprinkled garlic salt on it, and dehydrated for about 6 hours on 130%. Yummy Bagle Chips.

Lemon Muffin Chips: I took premade mini-muffins, and cut each into three discs. 6 hours at 130%. Pretty tasty, like a sweet cookie.

Raspberry Preserves: Not Successful. Even after 28-30 hours at 135, it was still too sticky to remove and use successfully. Maybe I didn't have the right temperature or process for this. I have read that you can puree fruit, add a little sweetner (optional) and dehydrate that into a leather fruit rollup

Orange Slices: Peeled and seperated orange into slices. 130 for 14 hours. I drop them into my Koolaid as a way to get some fruit.

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I dehydrated the Orange slices completely until they were dry all the way through. I had stopped some 3/4 of the way, and those reconstituted better. The completely dry ones were because

I tried a product called True Lemon and True Orange. They are individual packets of dehydrated fruit, each is one slice.

I'm going to chop up the dehydrated oranges in food processor. Hopefully, I'll get the same product as the True Orange packet.
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I also started Dehydrating:
Pickles - Baby Sweet Jerkins - cut down the middle
Limes - Peeled and Quartered
Carrots - Baby Carrots as is
Cucumbers - 1/4 inch slices
Tomatoes - Roma - Quartered with core removed.

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Later today, I'm going to make a batch of spaghetti for dinner, and dehydrate the mass amount of leftovers that I can't possibly finish.

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Edit: I just wanted to add that I have all of these in normal ziplock bags. The larger meals, I will be Vacuum Sealing in meal portions (which should increase their shelf life tremendously). I'm also going to be keeping all of my dehydrated food in the fridge. They should keep well in a cupboard or pantry ( I just have a huge fridge to myself, and plenty of space).


Have Fun Dehydrating!


[edit on 1-8-2008 by ThreeDeuce]

Do you have a dehydrator or do you use your oven? I've never done much, just herbs I grow. Right now I have dill, basil, parsley & oregano drying. I have Concord Grapes that grow wild in my backyard. I usually make a gazillion jars of grape jam with them but would like to try and make fruit leathers out of them.

I have read that you can dehydrate using an oven on the "Warm" setting, or around 120-145 if you have electric. One person also said that the pilot light on gas oven is enough, but I haven't had the chance to try it.

I use a dehydrator with a temperature dial. From what I've read, the models without the temperature gauge have a tendency to be too hot.

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Additions to my dehydrator today:
Moved some stuff around, so I had alot more room.

Ranch Style Beans with Jalapenos - I opened the can, drained off most of the excess liquid, and dumped it on the jelly sheet. We'll see how this turns out.

Black Beans - Opened the can, Drained / Rinsed beans, poured right onto slotted tray

Green Beans (whole) - Opened can, Drained/Rinse, Set right on slotted tray.
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Funny you posted this today, I actually made fruit leather from the excess puree from cranberry jam I made a few days ago. Very simple, turned out great. Lots of recipies online. I hear you can cut the amount of fruit with zucchini squash 50-50 and it doesnt affect the taste and you can make twice as much. Going to try that over the weekend.

I dehydrated myself at the Gym
Had to stop off on the way back for some rehydration/electrolyte type stuff.

Just thought I'd ask.. How cost effective is this?.. pairing off increased food price vs electricity used to dehydrate..(with increasing electricity prices too.)

Cheers. T.

reply to post by ThreeDeuce


been wanting to do this just cause not for survival means

but what is standard shelf life on these? and with a vacuum sealed system

As far as cost, I pick the berries from my yard, then add a little honey and lemon juice, I dry it in the sun. So I would say minimal. But thats me, if you used an oven or dehydrater, I think the ammount of yield if you made some large batches would far outstrip the costs. Also, you are getting a quality product loaded with vitamins instead of some store bought sugar death snack.

Salchanra, I didn't know that about "cutting" it with Zucchini squash. I can't stand squash, except for pumpkin. But, I might be willing to try it.

"Just thought I'd ask.. How cost effective is this?.. pairing off increased food price vs electricity used to dehydrate..(with increasing electricity prices too.)"

Agent_T, I can't say anything about the electricity to pay for this. I have an all bills paid apartment as it is old Naval Base housing (the electricity isn't separated in most base housing). But, I think most dehydrators are electric efficient. (Its just some heating elements and a fan).
Agent_T, I read that you can use your oven's pilot light warmth to dehydrate. So, if you have a gas oven, it might not cost you anything extra at all. Another option if you're like everyone else and money matters.

"but what is standard shelf life on these? and with a vacuum sealed system?"
MurderCityDevil, From what I've read online, even fully dehydrated meals can stay a few years on the shelf. (not in every case, like fatty foods don't stay long, so you try to remove as much fat as possible.)


Edit: I just wanted to add that I think the use of a dehydrator couldn't be simpler. I view it sort of like my Cock Pot. Since I do it at a slightly lower temp, if it sits for extra time... what's going to happen? It will get more dry? Well, thats sort of the idea!

[edit on 1-8-2008 by ThreeDeuce]

Like I said, Im going to try the zucchini trick this weekend. I'm not much of a squash fan myself, will compare it to the stand alone fruits when Im finished and will let you know how it came out.

Originally posted by ThreeDeuce
Agent_T, I read that you can use your oven's pilot light warmth to dehydrate. So, if you have a gas oven, it might not cost you anything extra at all.

Excellent
Now that's the kind of info that anyone can use.

I tried looking up a freeze drier.. OUCH!!..not the way to go.WAY too cost prohibitive.

If you're NOT in a smoke restricted zone you can build a teepee with a shelf in your garden..Light a leafy fire underneath and smoke your meat to preserve it too...MMMMM jerky.. my current fave snack.

Well, I had a few more successes today.

Black Beans - 8hrs at 135 - dehydrated and rehydrated well.

Ranch Style Beans - 8 hrs 135 - I recommend stirring this several times, so that the sauce clumps to beans as its drying. dehydrated very easy on jelly sheet.

Pickles - 6 hrs 135 - they became tasty sweet little things

Roma Tomatoes - Delicious! Very Sweet - 18 hrs 135 - These were big pieces so it took a while to dry. I dried with skin down, until I thought the seeds/inside was dry enough to not leak out. Then I turned them.

Green Beans - dried looking stringy, not sure how reconstitute will be.

But, my big success was with the Oranges and Limes.
I dried both of them, then individually put them into food processor. They are drying more now, but are a tasty puree that should be nearly powdered when done.

Agent_T, I wanted to discuss the price efficiency a little more. I'm not using this method because it is the cheapest method available (I think canned food might last longer than dried, unsure though), but I am doing this as a weight/space issue.

I am planning a trip for a few months, with little space and weight for food. So, this is really all about efficiency. I will be making full dehydrated meals, just add water and heat. MREs are even expensive these days.

Today I am dehydrating -
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Tomatoes w/ chilies (similar to Rotel)- I just opened up 2 cans drained half of the liquid and poured onto jelly sheet.
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Sliced Carrots - Drained/Rinsed put on grate. According to most dehydrating resouces, you should have conform sizes, But I'm using the slices which are different sizes to hopefully give some more complexity to a stew. I figure same sized lumps would get boring after a while.
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Corn - Whole Kernel - Drain/Rinse put on grate. The whole kernels seem to fit fine, I just hope they don't fall through as they dry.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies - I have no clue what to expect, its just a little experiment. I did read about someone dehydrating Sheet Pan Cakes just fine. (I'm also planning dehydrated cookie mix)



Edit:
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Review of Dehydrated Ranch Style Beans with Jalapenos:
Wow, I would recommend this recipe. I took a few spoonfulls of these, covered with a little water, and heated them up. A few minutes later, I had the exact beans that came out of the can!
I really liked that I didn't even use 1/4 of the bag (which was one small can).

I'm now going to buy the Larger cans of these. I before bought the small ones, as I am a single individual, it would save me money. But, if I can dehydrate a large portion of it, larger cans would save even more money!

Next, I'm dehydrating refried beans.

[edit on 2-8-2008 by ThreeDeuce]

Rice and Tomatoe sauce dehydrated nicely on the jelly sheet. It reheated perfectly, but in hindsight, I would have undercooked the rice a little, because extra water is absorbed by the rice upon rehydration.

It still was delicious, I made homemade sauce, mixed with some rice, and plopped it right down on the sheet. I'm not sure how long it took, because I dried it while I slept, approx 8 or 10 hours @ 135.

Lunch Meats - I used thin sliced lean turkey and ham. I found that if rolled up, they become a tasty treat similar to jerky. If you want hard jerky, then you can just set them on the rack (they take up more space this way though).
For a variation on this, I'm no dehydrating big juicy pineapple rings, and i'm doing meat wraps above and below them. There is little taste melding in dehydrators, but in this case I hope to change that!

Canadian Bacon - Had a package of thick slices, I quartered each slice and put on rack. They became a ham-jerky like meat. I really expect these to kick up some meals, as they contain a ton of flavor. However, even though the meat is completely dry, I still would use these meats first on a trip. You can never be too careful imho.


Onion - I used my new mandolin slicer (6 bucks at grocery store), and sliced some thick rings of the onion. These dehydrated nicely in about 6 hours. I had separated the discs, but in hindsight it would be easier to store if you can keep the discs together. I'm going to grind some of these up for use as onion powder in my seasonings.

Chocolate Chip Cookies - These took an incredibly long time to dehydrate (I'm assuming due to the high volume of fats and oils in these). Well, they turned into little more than a rock hard cookie. I don't think I'd recommend this. But, this possibly could increase the shelf life of home baked cookies, in case you want to pack some on the trail.

[edit on 3-8-2008 by ThreeDeuce]

reply to post by ThreeDeuce


Ok, next installment please!
Seriously, this is good stuff. I am really enjoying reading about your results. Do you mind me asking what kind of dehydrator you have? I really do want one.

Those Excaliburs sure look nice but $$$....

1080

anyone know the life span of the food?

ive always wanted to dry my own foods but never really got into it


id hate to be wasteful

MurderCity, the shelf life of the food depends on the packaging that you use, and the fat content of the food. For max shelf life, you want to make sure that the food is completely dehydrated. It is very easy to only take out part of the water. Also, if you vacuum seal the foods, they will keep even longer.

From what I have read, I can expect normal dried foods to have a two year shelf life. (the only problem I have had is a bag of beans that I keep in the fridge)(I open them often to use them, so they soaked up extra moisture from my fridge, I just had to dry them back out). I would also be skeptical at saving dehydrated meats for extended periods.

To accompany all of these dried foods, I'll be canning butter soon. I found the recipe online, and it seems pretty easy. It just involves mason jars and sealing it with boiling water. I personally think butter will become invaluable in sitX

reply to post by ThreeDeuce

 

Do you mind me asking what kind of dehydrator you have? I really do want one.

I have a generic dehydrator from about ten years ago. From what I have read, the most important thing is temperature selector. I have to use this to lower temperatures for more fragile foods like herbs.

I dehydrated tomato soup, and it became a leathery tomato paste, but it took too long to dehydrate, and I think individual cup of soups would be easier.

The ham roll-ups with pineapple were delicious.

I also find myself wasting less food. I am dehydrating spring onions right now, and I am also dehydrating the tips to process down into an onion powder.

I have also found that dehydrated foods make a good glop meal. I can grab an assortment of foods and throw it into a pot with just enough water to cover them, and it turns into a tasty meal.

Cutting it with zuchinni worked, well, kind of. The 50/50 split was a bit much, too much squash wrecked the overall taste. However, I did a batch of strawberries with a 70-30 and that turned out rather well.

Canning butter is a great idea, have been very interested in this myself.
I understand you may also can hard cheeses, I am curious how they would turn out.
You guys have inspired me to try a little sun-drying. This is all very good information...please keep posting your results!

Thank you,
1080

Salchanra, thanks for the info about cutting fruit with squash. That is a great way to save some money, since fruit is so expensive these days.

I have also been thinking about dehydrating pumpkin... I wonder how that would work out.


Rice - was fully cooked, dehydrated on jelly sheet since it would fall through my grates. Saved alot of space/weight

Picante Sauce - dehydrated into nice small tasty clumps - jelly sheet of course

Cilantro - I cut off most of the stems and threw it onto grates whole. The stems I dried and I'm going to grind for cilantro powder.

Onion - The long thin Spring Onions, I cut into two or three inch sections. The tips I still dried for future onion powder.

I found that carrots were better when sliced thinly length-wise. When the normal slices were dried, they became shriveled circles, but I found the slender long slices reconstituted better.

I've also been enjoying Mashed Potatoes. I HATE instant mashed potatoes for the most part. But, I bought a big can of the real idahoan potatoes, and added my own powdered milk to it, and salt and seasonings. It actually makes a tasty meal. I threw some dehydrated corn, carrots. canadian bacon into the water before boiling, and it made a good meal.

I like the versatility of dried foods, because I can really mix and match with the meals.

TenEighty, there are two different types of butter. One is "tinned" and the other is canned. The tinned butter is made slightly different, and can actually stay on the shelf after opened. The canned butter is just a storage solution for normal butter. I'm not sure, but I think it needs refrigeration after opening.
I have a website which sells tinned butter and canned cheese from here in Texas. www.internet-grocer.net
They sell dented cans, which they say are still edible (just dented by UPS). I haven't gotten to try it, but the Kraft Canned Cheese looks pretty good.

you can save a lot of money by freeze drying your garden items for sure.
I like banana chips