Any FReepers use a food dehydrator??

[djf]

I wuz at a yard sale and bought a couple do-it-yourself type handbooks.

Gal had a Ronco food dehydrator but I didn't get it then... after driving around a bit I went back and got it.

Hitting it with bleach and all the cleaning stuff now.

So! Any FReepers use a dehydrator? Experiences? Good things to dehydrate or not-so-good?

Manual says you can use it to make jerky. Anybody tried that?

All ideas welcome!

[Ladysmith]

awww, I need to start joining in again... miss you guys too much, but sleeping in is really beneficial for my job! LOL!

[4everontheRight]

I have a 5 tray Excalibur and I use it in the summer almost every week...just happen to be using it right now. I am dehydrating sweet potatoes for doggie treats...my dogs LOVE them!! I blanch thin slices and then dehydrate and the dogs can't get enough....same with carrots!!
I also going to do some chicken once the potatoes are done. I have some I grilled last week and I am going to slice it and make doggie treats out of that as well.
I also dehydrate bananas (with a bit of honey brushed over) and those make great snacks!!
I also use it to dry my hot peppers....Jalapeno, Tabasco, etc. I love the smell of those drying!!
I think as far as preppers go, you need one. You can prep a lot of things with it and it does help with minimizing storage. My Excalibur also has the sheets that I can make fruit roll ups with but have never tried that.

I use my dehydrator all summer long and winter as well but mainly in the summer...if you can get fruit and veggies on sale, you can't beat using one of them! I highly recommend one if you have dogs and kids as well! You know where the products come from that you eat and if you garden, you have it covered from beginning to end!!
Thanks for this thread...very interesting!

[Ladysmith]

I’ve done canned mandarin oranges. You can do lemons that will be great for lemonaid and more later. I’ve done lots of frozen vegetables and potatoes, and also fresh vegetables, some that require blanching and some that don’t. A. Morgan got me going in the right direction, recommending wearing gloves so you don’t contaminate your foods for longer term storage. Also, this site has been invaluable: http://www.dehydrate2store.com/

[knarf]

I don't peel them and I slice about 1/4 - 3/8 inch

Unfortunately I don't have any kind of a production machine, so what I dry I eat.

I DO can a lot of bread and butter pickles, and I use a basic recipe but substitute one cup of the cups of sugar for a can of frozen apple concentrate, then I make up a pickling bag of cinnomon and cloves when I'm making the pickling juice.

[djf]

Mushrooms are turning out GREAT!

I tried a piece a while ago. Still has the texture, consistency, and flavor of fresh shrooms. quite a bit of shrinkage, though.

Should store fine! I have a ton of old salsa jars, and have been wondering how I would use them.

Now I have the perfect use!

[Stegall Tx]

Alton Brown did a “Good Eats” or two about dehydration without using a dehydrator. Here's one episode's page:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/whithering-bites/index.html

Here's a video on making jerky:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/the-jerky/48723.html

[TEXOKIE]

How cool is that? I was thinking that for those who are counting carbs, the sugar might be reduced a little further and stevia could perhaps be used a flavoring.

[TEXOKIE]

Thanks for the discussion on dehydrated food. My Darlin’ just brought something to keep in mind when consuming dried foods without having rehydrated them: in order to process them the body will have to draw on the water it has in its reserves in order to break them down. It is a good idea to drink a little extra water when eating them.

[djf]

I was thinkin about mandarin oranges or tangerines, peeling them the way you would normally peel an orange, break them into their natural sections, and just do the sections, each one whole.

Sounds like they could be a dhewy, delicious treat, and I’m betting they would retain most of their Vitamin C.

Guess later today I’ll be huntin down some oranges!!

[Donnafrflorida]

dont start with jerk. start with bag of frozen peas or corn. then move to fresh stuff like banannas strawberries peppers. then the jerky. buy the plastic inserts which stop stuff from sticking.

[Ladysmith]

The shrinkage is great. Takes less space to store foods when that happens. Carrots and celery really shrink down nicely. I have before and after pics of various veggies that still blow me away.

[Ladysmith]

Check out this, too. Dehydrated pineapple and use the juice to make syrup or jelly. :o) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIb4X3-k5XE

[piroque]

The shrinkage is great. Takes less space to store foods when that happens. Carrots and celery really shrink down nicely. I have before and after pics of various veggies that still blow me away.

What I've found is that most frozen vegetables dry down to almost (4 gallon bags down to 1 quart) of the frozen volume. We do alot of green onion , parsley , bell pepper, garlic clives, some squash chips,on the fruit side we do apples, pears and figs.

One of the best jerky seasoning I've used is a mixture with sausage seasoning.

[djf]

I’ve been wondering about lemon peels themselves. I love lemon rind, a handful tossed in with a salad, or with a mixed drink, or an antipasto.
Not sure how much they would dry out, or how long they might last, or how exactly to re-constitute them, but might work!

[Ladysmith]

http://www.dehydrate2store.com/videos/?id=29 for lemons and lemonaide

http://www.dehydrate2store.com/videos/?id=19 orange rinds

Between these two, you’ll get the idea. No reason why you can’t dehydrate lemon rinds. :o)

[Ladysmith]

The two I haven’t done yet are onions and garlic. I really need to do onions. I go through dried onions like crazy and don’t like paying the prices at the store for them. Particularly when onions are on sale as often as they are.

Do you have a recipe for the jerky seasoning?? Sounds really good!

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Ahhh! HUGS!!! Sleep is good!!! And we miss you too (may dust off my FB and jumpstart “real life” again!)

Hope you are doing well! And I swear I’m going to buy a dehydrator a d find a place in my tiny kitchen for it one of these day!

[passionfruit]

I had mentioned that I dehydrate frozen veggies. I like to buy the huge bags of frozen organic veggies at Costco. They shrink quite a bit when dehydrated, one of those huge bags will fit nicely in a quart ziplock Baggie. I made tray liners by cutting the mesh from potato bags to fit the trays. Then I pour the veggies onto the tray nearly an nch think. Just be sure to leave space between the trays for air flow. They dehydrate quickly so keep an eye on them. Stir a few times during the process to ensure even drying. Here is one if those huge bags of organic veggies from Costco, after dehydrating, in a 1 quart zip lock Baggie.

[piroque]

I just take the sausage seasoning,add a little sugar cure ,red pepper,and a little salt ,with water and marinate for a couple days in the frig. I cook everything by scratch, have no set recipe. Taste the recipe mix before using as it will get a little stronger after drying.

[SatinDoll]

Thank you very much!