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Post by mountainma on Oct 21, 2022 10:48:06 GMT -6
I really need to start dehydrating again. As the girls got older and with dd1's illness, my canning and dehydrating just fell by the wayside. Mostly I used to dehydrate fruit like bananas or strawberries. Now I'm thinking to try celery, or maybe even zucchini or yellow squash. Has anyone done these veggies? How did they turn out?
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Post by eyeofthestorm on Oct 21, 2022 12:23:49 GMT -6
I used to dehydrate a lot, back when we lived in Texas (pre-2014). I have dehydrated celery, zucchini, and yellow squash. The celery I find it perfect for tossing into soups and stews. If dried in slices, zucchini and yellow squash make great "chips." You can even season them prior to dehydrating. I've also dehydrated it shredded to put into baked goods. I probably would not use dehydrated slices in a casserole... they kind of lose their "structural integrity" when rehydrated - but maybe you'll have better luck than I. One thing I really miss - and should probably figure out how to do again - is dehydrating frozen veggies. Some vegetables need to be prepped for dehydrating. I can't recall the term off hand, but it deactivates an enzyme in the veggies. For eample, potatoes need to be blanched, or else the enzymatic action turns them brown (lemon juice won't work in this case). But frozen vegetables have already been blanched, so you can pour them onto the tray straight from the bag. I've done this with berries, too. I think I fit 5 lbs (maybe more, it's been a while) of fresh berries into two quart jars (dehydrated). The key here is that frozen vegetables are often cheaper than fresh, and also often better in nutrition because they are frozen so soon after picking. But they take up a LOT of space in the freezer. Dehydrated, in a jar, you can store a great deal of vegetables in a much smaller space. Another thing I did was puree winter squash, spread it thin, dehydrate it, and then powder it. It's AMAZING how much bulk is lost. I didn't find it was something that I would add water to and serve, but I did add the powder to soups and (again!) baked goods. The absolute best book on dehydration I've read/used is the manual that comes with the higher end Excalibur dehydrators. After that, the Ball Blue book isn't bad (I haven't looked at a recent copy, and they do update it annually). But I would probably just go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation's website. If you have a little patience, EVERYTHING is there.
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Post by mountainma on Oct 21, 2022 12:27:42 GMT -6
Sandra, thank you, thank you, thank you! I will certainly check out that website!
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Post by andrea on Oct 21, 2022 14:55:15 GMT -6
I used to, I gave my dehydrator to my DIL as at the time we thought we were going to be living full time in a RV. That didn't happen but I haven't been able to get another dehydrator yet.
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Post by eyeofthestorm on Oct 26, 2022 10:58:45 GMT -6
I wanted to share a thought for anyone who might be intersted in dehydrated foods but not able to dehydrate on their own for some reason.
I have been purchasing certain dehydrated items in bulk for the past 2-3 years. In some cases, like potatoes, I can't buy them and dehydrate them for the price I can pay to purchase them already dehydrated. I don't have space for a garden here, and the little I can grow in containers, we eat fresh.
In order to get a good price, you have to shop around, but I've found that it's worth it.
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