Did it my self Dehydrated

1/26/14 | kartographer

[Kartographer]

I posted a thread yesterday about dehydrateding and then vacuum packing your own food.

I like may preppers have been disappointed by opening cans of dehydrated food to find the can is as much as half empty.

I am making a batch of vegtable soup today and I am using a jar of dehydrated Roma Tomatoes. Below you will find pictures of these tomatoes that I put up in March of 2010.

[Vinnie]

How did you dehydrate them?
We bought a dehydrator off the internet infomercial years ago and had poor results.
IIRC we tried bananas and can’t recall what else but the color black seems to come to mind. :^)

[Red_Devil 232]

How the soup turned out and what else you used in it and what it looked like.

[cripplecreek]

I’ve been drying maters for a couple of years and using them through the winters. They taste just fine. I usually just put them in zip lock baggies in the freezer but I plan to get a vac sealer so they don’t need to be kept cold.

I got a new dehydrator the other day and I’m working my way through a 20lb bag of onions now.

I’ve got a couple of 55 gallon barrels that are starting to look like big dehydrators.

[Kartographer]

I use a Nesco unit. Neevr tried bananas. Did apples once, but the wife made sure that they never made it into our storage! One short cut I will use and buying bulf frozzen vegs on sale and placing them right into the dehydrator they are cut blanched and ready to go!

[Vermont Lt]

I do bananas all the time. They brown, and you have really get them dry. It’s important to let it go until there is no softness. They may look spoiled but they are not.

I do tomatoes. My wife eats them before I can get them vac-packed.

[goodnesswins]

Did you vac pay them?

[Kartographer]

Yes vacuum packed them with a 100 cc oxygen aborber packet

[Ellendra]

I made candied bananas with my dehydrator once. Simmer the slices gently in a sugar syrup with a dash of lemon juice, then let soak in the syrup for a couple of days, then dehydrate. They kept their color and flavor well.

Unfortunately my dehydrator bit the dust last summer. It’s on my list if I see a good deal. I’m also saving up for the next time the university puts one of their freeze dryers up for auction, they seem to sell about 2 a year when they’re upgrading their equipment.

[leapfrog0202]

Vinnie we’ve had an American Harvest dehydrator for years and have been dehydrating everything from sweet potatoes - nice thin slices on a mandoline - to bags of Vidalia onions when the local Shriners sell them.

The only thing we didn’t have good luck with was bananas. I’d suggest if you are interested in trying again, start with something easy like thin apple slices or celery or onions.

When we first tried the dehydrator, we purchased this book and love it: http://www.amazon.com/The-Dehydrator-Bible-Includes-Recipes/dp/0778802132/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390781843&sr=8-1&keywords=dehydrator+cookbook

Good luck with yours!

[familyop]

Alright, Kartographer, now that’s downright cool, and yes, technical. Thanks for doing it and passing the information on!

[hearthwench]

Are you just-covering the veggies in boiling water? After they rehydrate, put them in a colander, give a good jiggle around to get the extra water out. Some blot with a tea towel or paper towels, too. Then try sautéing in a plunk of butter and garlic and/or onions. Dehydrated shredded potatoes need to drain a bit longer before frying up. This has been my experience for the last 3 years with eating my home-dehydrated stuff. ;)

Debbi

[hearthwench]

As you slice the bananas, put them into a bowl with some lemon juice for a minute or 3. Get out with a slotted spoon and put on trays. Using pineapple juice is really good too. I have not tried orange juice. Yet. :)

Debbi

[hearthwench]

fwiw- Never dehydrate onions and garlic in the same room (closed up because it was winter), as the room storing cloth, or wools and silks for spinning. It took over 2 weeks of constantly changing out bowls of vinegar sitting all around the room to suck the stench from all the fibers.

Debbi

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

For the omelet I just plunk them in the eggs with a bit more milk then normal. Cook low and slow in a covered pan. Stir about half way through and recover.

They turn out fluffy and yummy.

For soup I generally just soak them in hot water for a hour or so. Except for corn and peas. Those get around a six hour soak.

[sheana]

I dehydrate, put in Ziploc bags, and then freeze anything that is not eaten from the garden. Easy to dehydrate, even easier to store, and great to cook with.

[leapfrog0202]

Good to know. Sorry you found out the hard way!

We keep ours in the garage because of the noise factor. Makes it nice and warm in the garage in winter!

[Nifster]

see now that’s what I thought too

[Vermont Lt]

I’ve read that. But the color doesn’t bother me at all. I know what it is, and that who I need to make happy. :-)

But I might try the pineapple juice next time. That sounds tasty.

[bgill]

Do you grow mushrooms? What kind and how?

[bgill]

I have a 40 year old dehydrator from Ronco. No temp control or fan, just the heat element at the bottom. Bananas are easy. Slice them about 1/4 or 1/3” and nothing on them. Let the machine do it’s thing. Yes, they will turn brown but not black. Can’t say how long they’ll last because they’re usually gone within days.