I have decided to buy just one but I don’t know which way to go, a dehydrator or a canner. I am so busy that I only have the time for one or the other. I am thinking that I will get the longest storage life out of the dehydrator, am I correct?
I’d get the canner since it can PROBABLY also be used as a pressure cooker (some can, check to see if the one you want can), which means you can get that slow cooker type meal, in 20 minutes rather than 8 hours + the canning so it would be a good deal, AND if you have an oven already, you can use it to dry some foods while you’re caning with your new canner. Unless you’re really hurting for space & can’t store a lot of jars then the dehydrator would do!!
I have decided to buy just one but I don’t know which way to go, a dehydrator or a canner. I am so busy that I only have the time for one or the other. I am thinking that I will get the longest storage life out of the dehydrator, am I correct?
I’d vote on the canner, too. I got a dehydrator; then, thinking hard, I figured out I could just put things in a slow oven overnight and get the same result. D’oh! So I took the dehydrator back. (s)
Can I actually dehydrate hamburger in a regular oven?
I think I’m going to get a dehydrator, because, as I understand it, it isn’t as tricky to dry foods as to manage the timing and pressure canner itself. Also, the portions of dehydrated foods are easier to use; just put the jar lid back on, no refrigeration needed for leftovers. (I wonder if spoilage happens with dried foods, especially with a dehydrator that has a thermostat. I’m afraid I’d be wondering if my canned food would make us sick. Precision doesn’t seem as necessary with drying foods, from what I’ve read so far.)
seacoast – at 21:06 Can I actually dehydrate hamburger in a regular oven?
Yep!!
I’m-workin’-on-it
Thank you very much, you always give good, informative information and I can’t wait to try it.
You don’t have to sit with a dehydrater. If busy is the issue, then you can put the stuff in, turn it on and go.
You can use a canner when there is no electric, on your campstove.
Personally I have both and wouldn’t give either of them up. You can get a dehydrator pretty regularly in thrift stores, and maybe even canners too.
I love my dehydrated burger, but ya can’t beat the canned chicken in broth either.
And if the power fails you can save whats in the freezer with a canner over fire.
shucks, thanks seacoast….I was blazing out of the room when I answered you yesterday, so it was short & sweet, not my usually diatribe! Wanted to add this AM that I bought my dehydrator for $30 at Big Lots (they still have some at 2 of the 3 stores I know of around here and it’s working just fine. I went to the Ronco website (the manufacturer) & ordered more trays & liners so I actually spent more, but all in all, it’s doing what the big expensive ones do & that’s all I need, so maybe you can find one at a thrift store, yard sale for just a few dollars or Big Lots for $30 & be able to swing having both that a a canner! I also bought a book from Amazon called “Soups and Stews for Slow Cooker, Stovetop, Oven and Pressure Cooker from Nitty Gritty books — less than $4 — to help me make my canner ‘work’ for me harder by using it as a pressure cooker too!
I was at Wallyworld last week and they had a small pressure canner for sale … I think $40? It was a name brand, but I can’t remember which. And you can find dehydrators on sale in a bunch of different places.
I have both and both serve a different purpose.
I pressure can meats and stews/soups. You can pressure can veggies, but I don’t because it is cheaper for me to buy commercially canned products. If I had a garden of my own I would pressure can … but even buying stuff at the local farmer’s market makes it more expensive to home-can than to buy commerically canned veggies.
I hot-water-bath can jams, jellies, and fruits … and that IS cheaper than commercially canned items.
I dehydrate veggies, jerky, etc. Its cheaper for me to dehydrate veggies than home-can them. Its about the same cost for buying commercially canned veggies and home dehydrated veggies.
Its a different tool for different results. Dehydrated saves weight and space and has a fairly long shelf-life if stored properly. Canned saves water/fluid and is more convenient. Pressure canned allows you to have a lot of fully-cooked convenience items that just need reheating. Using a dehydrator though I can make a lot of “just add water” type soups which are convenient as well.
There are some overlap in usage between the tools. You just need to determine which is going to be the most convenient for you in the long run.
I know this has been mentioned in other threads, but I can;t find the exact location - wondering for anyone reading this thread - can you really get botulism from canned butter - especially if you didn’t do it right? Been trying to search outside the wikie too, but it doesn’t specifically mention butter - just low acid veggies, meat and fish products. Any links appreciated.
Kathy or anyone…Would there be any reason why one couldnt pressure can butter?I think I read on an lds site once about a woman doing that with cheese..sorry this may not be the thread to discuss this.I did can 10 lbs of butter when the info was first put on the wiki,Left it out for a few days until I read the botulism worries,Then I put it back into the fridge.
Seacoast….If it were a choice between a canner or a dehydrator,I would choose the canner.The foods are much better imho.Luckily I have both and glad I do.
You can get something from “canned” butter. I have some friends that have done it for years with nary a problem. I’ve eaten “canned” butter with no problems.
The problem is that “canned” butter isn’t really canned. The jars aren’t being brought up to a certain temperature/pressure and sealed.
Its kind of like for years many people use to “can” by sealing their jars with paraffin and/or sealing their meats in grease. Never had a problem … but suddenly it isn’t a recommended procedure anymore because something could happen.
I can’t recommend “canning” butter from a personal standpoint just because of the risks involved, especially if someone inexperienced might try it without making sure of 100% sterilization. And “experienced” canners might take risks with short cuts.
I’m sticking with “alternatives” or “substitutes” for my butter. Right now I only have so much time to experiment … I’m saving my time for things I don’t have alternatives for. I’ve found ways to get around the butter problem that don’t involve “canning” it.
I have the same problem with eggs. I just don’t have the experience or the time to learn how to “preserve” eggs … so I’m going with alternatives and substitutes.
If I discover that I have more time for this in the future then I’ll be willing to experiment … but not at the moment.
amak – at 10:26 --- Canned Butter
i scored an electric dehydrator off ebay for $15. (+S&H) and i love it (tho solar would of course be better).
Malachi: I tried to pressure can butter and it developed the most horrible taste. I can’t describe it, but it was NAST-EE. We threw it all out after one taste.
However, my Meijers in MI carries Ghee (clarified butter) in a big 16oz jar for under $7. It’s in the international foods with the Arabic stuff. It is a sunny yellow, and only a tiny bit different in flavor and texture — just a wee bit oiler on both counts.
If you have to have butter, it’s a great way to go. And apparently it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
Now for my question, anybody… Is Velveeta shelf-stable?
Hi, Northstar,
If Velveeta has not been refrigerated, it is supposedly shelf stable. However, once refrigerated, it must remain refrigerated. I can’t remember where I found this info, but I think it was from the Kraft site.
In any event, our local Shaw’s has Velveeta in the refrig section, so a no go there. But our local Market Basket stores do not refrigerate. I have bought multiple blocks, stored it for months, and have had no problems cooking with it.
Another type of cheese I’ve stockpiled is Laughing Cow soft cheeses. They do not need refrigeration, and they aren’t half bad on crackers and in recipes.
What I’d like to know is, supposedly Velveeta is good long beyond it’s expiry date. Anyone have any info on that?
As far as canner over dehydrated, I am lucky enough to have a convection wall oven that was here when we bought the house. It can be used as a dehydrator. I haven’t used it as such so far, mainly because our electric bill is so bloody expensive. I do plan to give it a whirl. I use dehydrated products in my cooking already, and they are very convenient.
I have done lots of canning of entrees in recent months. I want to try to have some source of normalcy during pandemic, and familiar foods will help with that. The bonus of canning is it has added a level of convenience to life that even freezing can’t offer. Sure it’s more work up front. But when you are running short on time and want a decent meal, you just pop the lid and voila! In fact, I just sent my step-daughter to school with a bunch of jars of my meat sauce, and you would have thought I’d sent her off with a wallet full of money!
I’d do both. they each serve a different function.
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