From Flu Wiki 2

Forum: Dehydrator Questions and Answers

26 August 2006

Jefiner – at 14:30

I thought I would start a seperate thread on this, as I have questions myself and don’t want to clog up the Flu Prep thread.

Kim, which Excalibur dehydrator do you have?

I do like dehydrating meat; the meat shrinks down considerably in size, and I have had good success today with vacuum sealing up all the meat I had stored in Zip loc bags. And, I have used the dehydrated meats with great success in soups and stews.

new name – at 15:10

Jefiner good idea about this thread as so many of us nondehydrators have questions. There are only the 2 of us but instead of buying expensive dried food for SIP, I was thinking the cost of an Excalibor would pay for itself in the long run. I have been looking at the small 4 tray one.Also, we do throw lots of stuff away as 2 people can only eat so much at a time. Celery is one item I was thinking would not be wasted as well as potatoes that come 10 lbs to a bag.Drying would save space in the freezer too as we just have a side-by-side frige.Can anybody give me an idea of how much meat for example the 4 tray type hold? Any cons on getting the 4 tray type?Thanks

amak – at 15:30

And I have another storage queston - when you all put stuff into jars - do you necessarily use brand new canning jars or do you recycle your spaghetti sauce jars? If you do, anything special you do to clean the jars & lids? I can never seem to get that orange ring out of the lid from the sauce.

Bronco Bill – at 16:03

The title here is a bit misleading…shouldn’t it read Dehydrater Q&A?. When I first saw it listed in the Last 50 list, I thought it referred to human dehydration, ie: lack of water…

CAMikeat 16:41

BB, I had the same misconception. I have an interest in this topic but agree the topic title is misleading. Any chance it could be changed as you suggested?

Human dehyration is a whole different topic which I think already has its own forum thread.

So back on the intent of this topic. It sounds like the Excalibur brand of dehydrator is the preferred brand. Any contrary comments? This is a purchase that I have put off for far too long.

Mike

Jefiner – at 16:57

Sorry for the misleading title, dudes—Saturday AM, with not enough coffee yet. BB, can you modify the title?

Mods, Modify the title please – at 16:58
pogge – at 17:17

Done.

pogge – at 17:19

And done again because it’s actually “dehydrator” with an ‘o’. Isn’t it?

Bronco Bill – at 18:05

Just looked it up….”o” it be.

Jefiner – at 18:08

bowing low before the mods

Thank you!

silversage – at 18:59

At my house we eat a lot of fresh brocoli. But I have one 11 year old who doesn’t like the florets but loves the stems. I peel, slice and steam them with the rest of the brocoli. I would suppose that they could be dehydrated (like carrots) although not the stems and florets together.(?) Has anyone dehydrated brocoli stems?

Jefiner – at 19:02

I have dehydrated tons (well, approximately twenty pounds- 4 five pound bags of broccoli florets) along with their stems, and they reconstitute quite nicely. I don’t see why you couldn’t dehydrate the stems; just blanch them first to achieve “checking” so the dehydration can proceed apace.

silversage – at 19:07

That’s great! It’s funny what you think about while making supper! :-) I think I look at vegetables in a whole new way.

27 August 2006

EnoughAlreadyat 00:58

There are 3 of these threads… 2 saying the same thing and one is a lonely, blank comment only page. Anybody noticing this?? Dehydrater on the blink bump.

and this – at 01:03
EnoughAlreadyat 01:08

well… the blank one comes back into this thread. (me above… testing …)

Okay… now that I did all that. I tried the dehydrating HB meat. Hard as rocks. Only problem… some “chunks” were bigger than others. That’s causing eveness in drying problems. Next time, I will be more careful to crumble the chunks to be a bit more uniform. No grease porblem! That was a pleasant surprise, especially after the flop with mozzarella… crispy on top, greasy on bottom. I like …. really like… being able to dehydrate HB!! So, I can’t add salt to it, or some sorta flavor? Cajun seasoning or garlic powder… or something???

Bronco Bill – at 01:25

So, I can’t add salt to it, or some sorta flavor? Cajun seasoning or garlic powder… or something???

You can add any dry spice you like to dehydrated meat…especially hamburger (or the PC derivative: ground beef). Salt is especially good, because it aids the drying process. Just as long as what you add is dry to begin with…

Don’t forget to mark your jars with whatever seasoning you’ve added… ;-)

Jefiner – at 01:40

I am still debating the Excalibur purchase. If you check on ebay, the manufacturer has refurbs/blems on sale, so now it is a question of which model/size/option, and then, do I really need it? Sheeeeesh!

EnoughAlreadyat 01:45

Well, I added sugar to a bunch of apples on a bunch of drying trays… and that was a big, fat mistake! Even dried like a potato chip… it caused a syrup, that caused mold. yuk. Had to throw the whole stinky (& I mean stinky) mess away. Glad to know I can flavor this up! Jars of taco meat, jars of stroganoff meat, jars of sloppy joe meat, jars of spaghetti meat, jars of chili meat, jars of …. lots of different stuff! Thanks, BB. (PS- hope you noticed the 3 of these threads!)

EnoughAlreadyat 01:56

Jenifer… IMO, dehydrating is the easiest of home prepping methods. It greatly reduces space needs and greatly increases shelf life. Dehydrating provides constant source of fresh produce. It can be done in small or large batches. I often buy stuff on sale in produce section of the grocery store, come home and pop it into the dehydrater. May or may not be a large amount… but… over time I can add to it to great desired amount. Nutritient value is next only to fresh, meaning it is more “efficient” at preserving than canning or freezing. And honestly, it is easy.

Before investing to much money, I’d try to find a cheap one to make sure it is something you’d use. I found 2 of mine at thrift stores. Liked one better so went and bought another one like it at the store. Gave the one I didn’t like to my daughter. I can see I will use the heck out of the dehydrater, so I plan on upgrading. Had this not been something I really know I would use like I am, the one I use now would suffice.

Bronco Bill – at 02:07

Even dried like a potato chip… it caused a syrup, that caused mold.

That’s because when sugar is heated, especially on a wet fructose-covered surface like apples or pears, it becomes a form of caramel. Sugar (or any sweetetener) is probably the only flavoring you shouldn’t put on dehydrating foods…as you unfortunately found out.

The three threads were caused by 1) an original, mistitled thread, 2) a mis-spelled title, and 3) this one. lol!! It took several people to get the final spelling right.

Bronco Bill – at 02:09

About the only sweetening spice you should put on apples is cinnamon. And to keep the apple slices from browning, dip them in citric acid, like lemon or orange juice first.

Jefiner – at 02:17

I am going to take myself out behind the woodshed for mistitling this thread! So there!

this is what happens when threads are created in the absence of caffeine!

SaddleTrampat 09:12

Great thread! Question re the sugar on apples: can you add cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar or whatever AFTER the drying process is complete? I.e., can you sprinkle it on when to put the apples in the jar or plastic bag and store it like that?

Also, how thin do apples or veggies like carrots have to be sliced? And do you have to blance foods that have been frozen first?

Kim – at 09:16

Jefiner, I have a 3000 Series Excalibur (9 or 10 trays, not sure which… we’re in the midst of remodeling our kitchen and I can’t un-bury the dehydrator enough to get the door open to look inside to be sure… will be SO glad when this kitchen is done, as I have boxes of kitchen stuff stacked in every room in the house; who would’ve known that so much “stuff” could come out of one small kitchen?). I’ve had it for I think about 3 years now. I don’t know what the price difference is on smaller Excaliburs vs. larger ones, but I’d say to go for the largest one you can afford. I bought mine directly from Excalibur. I also got an apple peeler-corer, which if you’re going to dry many apples at all is a real time-saver. I can get (I think) about 6–8 lbs of hamburger into one “load” of the dehydrator. Also, some people cook their hamburger with onions and/or garlic then dehydrate all that, I prefer to cook and dry mine “plain” so it can be added to any dish, but that’s just me. I use whatever jars I have on hand, canning jars or “recycled” jars from pickles, sauces, whatever. I don’t do anything special to clean the recycled jars, just stick both lid and jar in the dishwasher (AFTER removing the paper label). I wouldn’t worry about the orange ring left on jar lids after washing, it won’t hurt anything it’s just a stain from the tomato sauce. If you’re dehydrating frozen veggies you buy in bags at the store, they are the very easiest… already cleaned, cut & blanched if needed, just spread them on dehydrator trays still frozen and turn it on (on some items like big chunks of broccoli you may have to cut them down a bit smaller to get even drying, so when I buy something like frozen broccoli I go for the chopped broccoli rather than the packages that have practically the whole top of the broccoli plant in one big piece, I’m not into unneccessary work). Speaking of work, the kitchen is calling me… today is cutting and putting up sheetrock, then mudding and taping it. Cabinets should be here sometime this week so gotta get it done…

Kim – at 09:21

oh yeah, go here and look in the middle column to get instructions on preparing and dehydrating fruits, veggies etc. Explore a bit and you’ll also find some recipes using dehydrated foods.

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/gen1.htm

Anon_451 – at 11:03

Questions: DW has dehydrated some green pepper, carrots, celery and is comping at the bit to try some potatos. Once done, she has placed them in food saver bags and vacume sealed them. Her question was why do i need to put them in the Ice Box now that they are dried out (she is following the instructions in the dehydrator box). My response was I have no idea. Those who do this please give some basic advice on how to store after dehydration is done.

Thank you

Carrey in VA – at 11:06

seems to me if you have to put it in the freezer, why bother dehydrating it? All the foods I dry go in the pantry on the shelf.

SaddleTrampat 11:23

Probably because a refrigerator (not the freezer) is a cool dark place with no bugs, but any cool dark place with no bugs should do well. Boy do I wish I had my grandmothers underground root cellar….we cant build one here because the water table is too high.

Re tomatoes: can you just slice or dice them (with skins) and then dehydrate them, sort of like sun-dried tomatoes?

amak – at 11:38

ANd any tricks to blanching before dehydrating?

amak – at 11:41

Sorry if that seems stupid, but there is always I trick I learn about the hard way!!! :-)

Bronco Bill – at 11:49

Re tomatoes: can you just slice or dice them (with skins) and then dehydrate them, sort of like sun-dried tomatoes?

Yes. I’ve been doing that for years. Slice the tomatoes about 1/4″ thick and lay them out on the trays. They usually take a little longer to dry completely due to their water content. When they’re dry and brittle, put them in zipper-typ bags and toss them in the fridge or freezer (it doesn’t matter which…I just have more room in my freezer). When you want to use them, take ‘em out and let ‘em thaw for a couple of hours. You can put them in soup, or rehydrate them and put them on pizza.

Sun-dried tomatoes are usually left a bit moist, and then treated commercially with natural preservatives to keep them from getting moldy.

I’ve found that the best tomatoes for drying are the Early Girl and beefsteak tomatoes. Don’t bother with store-bought the store-bought fruits if you can avoid it…they don’t retain much flavor.

Jefiner – at 12:14

Kim – at 09:16

Thanks for the information! I am debating on a 3000 series five or nine shelf—probably will go with the nine shelf unit. Even though I am dehydrating just for two people, it does seem that it would be easier to do massive crazy dehydration sessions with the bigger unit. Maybe do some dehydrating for friends as well.

Now I gotta talk DH into it; I do believe that funds had already been earmarked for the Massive Solar Array that is being implemented up on the roof. ;-)

gharris – at 12:14

So - here is a dumb question:- why do I need to buy a dehydrator?? Cant I just dry things at low heat in my regular oven??

Jefiner – at 12:20

gharris—

Yes, you can do it in your oven, but it is more difficult to regulate temperatures, and it does use much more electricity (and heats up the kitchen—don’t need more of that here in AZ LOL!)

It is more convenient for me, at least. I have a circular dehydrator, but it is a bit of a pain to use, especially with large lots, because of the need to rotate the stack.

gharris – at 12:29

Thanx Jef! Assuming I dont mind spending on electricity and dont need the oven for anything else, say overnight, (and it is already COLD here in Canada!!) at what temp and for how long shd I cook hamburger for example? I have dried tomatoes overnight at 200 degrees F with good results - same thing for meats etc?? How do you know when they are ‘done’ safely for storage??

ANON-YYZ – at 13:14

I know nothing about dehydrator, but just a thought, didn’t they dry in the sun before electricity was invented? So I googled and found this:

Solar Dehydrator:

http://tinyurl.com/zzrft

Has any one done anything like this before?

new name – at 14:07

Another question. If you are drying several different types of food at the same time, wouldn’t they require different temperatures? For example, if hamburger takes one temp and say celery takes a different temp, then you couldn’t do them both at the same time, could you?

amak – at 18:03

I wouldn’t think so, but I have never done that yet. I am still just waiting today to see when my carrots and broccoli are done! Just got to my first round of these today. So I am thinking completely shrunk & stiff right? No bending should be left in them??

amak – at 18:51

Can an item be TOO dehydrated? Just looking at my broccoli & they are not the same size pieces so if I take out the small ones too late, will they be bad if/when i go to rehydrate them ?

Cherokee Rose – at 18:58

jefiner -

What kind of Round Dehydrator do you have?

I’m curious because right after I BOUGHT an Excalibur (3526T to be exact - it has 5 trays and a 26 hour timer), my grandmother GAVE me her American Harvest Snackmaster (6 trays - can add up to 12 if I can find a source to buy more - this is an old model).

MY experience is that I need to rearrange the trays in the Excalibur (things get dryer in the back first, so I have to reverse them half-way through).

With the Harvest, I find the drying to be more even - and it’s easier for me to handle the circular trays (combine food that needs to continue to dry and remove trays that you don’t need - Fewer trays less drying time, I think). It is more time intensive to clean the trays in Harvest (but I plan to get some of the plastic mesh tray liners and hopefully this will help).

I’ve not been as impressed with the Excalibur as I expected, but I am hoping as I venture into drying different things, I will feel differently.

I found a neat book REI at “Backpack Gourmet” that has recipes for soups and stews and other meals that sound very interesting. The author uses lots of whole healthy ingredients and seems to use an Excalibur (definitely a rectangular dehydrator).

new name -

yes - different things need to dry at different temperatures. Meat at the highest temperature (145–155); Fruit is 135; Veggies 125 (my tomatoes I did at higher temp - aren’t they technically a fruit anyway :-) I wouldn’t dry meat with anything but meat. You probably have leeway with fruits and vegetables.

I used plum tomatoes from a farmers market - they dried beautifully and taste great too.

I too have questions about storage. I have a vacuum sealer (that I love) with the canning jar attachment (which I’ve never used).

I haven’t tried meat yet - I’m a bit cautious until I feel comfortable with safe storage.

silversage – at 20:39

Cherokee Rose – at 18:58

Wow, I love the vacuum sealer that’s part of my food saver. I’ve had it for years and I just started using it last week. I’ve been able to get powdered food stuff from my local Home Economist store and I bought small quantities so could I try them. I put stuff into wide mouth canning jars without the screw tops and vacummed them. :-)

It works really great. I should have done this years ago, but I seem to be much more motivated now. wonder why….

Kim – at 21:05

anon_451, there is no need whatsoever to keep dehydrated foods in a refrigerator or freezer. On the shelf in a reasonably cool pantry is just fine. The foods you dehydrate at home are just like the dehydrated foods you might buy from Walton Foods, Honeyville Grains, etc; except their dehydrated food is packed in cans. Wherever you would store those cans is where you can store the food you dehydrate at home. I store everything (veggies, fruit, hamburger) I’ve dehydrated in glass jars which are kept in my pantry. You can use canning jars with canning lids, or just jars leftover from things such as pickles etc with the lids they came with. I’ve kept hamburger just fine this way for two years, and have some fruits and veggies which are pushing 5 years. Just keep dehydrated foods in a dark, cool spot (my pantry stays about 60–65 degrees F) and keep them dry. The darkness will help prevent color changes, cooler is always better when it comes to food storage, and if kept dry the dehydrated foods won’t support mold or bacterial growth. It’s not *necessary* to vacuum seal dehydrated stuff but for really long-term storage it’s a good idea. Dehydrated foods in storage have two enemies… moisture, which can be kept out simply with a tight-closing jar, and oxygen, which will eventually degrade all foods. If you’re planning to store deydrated foods long-term (years, not months) it will really help if you can either vacuum seal or add an oxygen absorber to the packaging. If you plan on using up the product within the next year then the oxygen exposure is not such a big deal, just try to keep the product in as small a container as it will fit into to reduce exposure to oxygen.

Cherokee Rose – at 21:41

silversage at 20:39

That sounds great about the foodsaver attachment. I too have had mine for year and not used the attachment :-)

Kim at 21:05 Thanks for the info re: storage. The temperature of my basement this summer has been right at 70 degrees. We bought a dehumidifier a few weeks ago and have brought the humidity down from 60%+ to around 50%. The basement is definitely dark. I ordered some oxygen absorbers this weekend too.

Would you describe how you dehydrate ground meat? (what to expect, how long, etc.)

Anon_451 – at 21:51

Add to that request from Cherokee Rose, sausage. I love biscuits and gravey. In that I have the coleman oven, lots of flour and can get ready made gravey mix (just add water), a pint of Jimmy Deans sausage would make a meal.

Bronco Bill – at 22:07

Cherokee Rose – at 21:41 --- See “Kathy in FL – at 17:24″’s post on July 4th in this thread:

Dehydrate ground beef

You can also do a search for “dehydrate”, “dehydrator”, “ground beef”, and “dried food” in the search engine in the upper left corner of the left side bar.

Ima-Prepper – at 22:31

I purchased a Dehydrater from Cabela’s. I chose theirs because it has a digital temperature read out and heat adjustment with timer. The right temp is essential if your cooking jerky anf this one gets up to 160 Degrees. It is a bit more expensive than the excaliber and larger. Definitly need to have a pantry space to store it. I love it!!!

michigan mom – at 22:37

I use the jar vac sealer for the flour I grind I have found that a jar of freshly ground flour will last about 6 months if you use the sealer.

28 August 2006

Kim – at 00:10

I’ve never tried to dehydrate sausage before, but it’s something I’m gonna try as soon as I get my kitchen back together <sigh>. I think it would be just like dehydrating hamburger, but I’m going to try just a very small quantity first to test the results.

I did dry some cooked bacon (crumbled) about 2 years ago but haven’t eaten it yet. It still looks good, no mold or anything, it’s vacuum-sealed in a canning jar on the shelf.

Genoa – at 15:21

I’ve been thinking about the concept of drying frozen vegetables versus fresh vegetables.

On the plus side, it would certainly be convenient and frozen would be available year-round (I guess fresh would be, too, from the produce department---just not “fresh” as in from the field or home garden). On the other hand, how is the nutritional quality? I’ve read before that commercially frozen veggies actually have greater nutrient content than what we buy fresh at the grocery store because they are frozen so quickly after being picked. What do y’all think?

And, then, a specific question about broccoli … someone mentioned buying frozen chopped broccoli rather than the broccoli florets for drying. Broccoli is one vegetable that I have avoided buying frozen, in favor of fresh. To me, there is no comparison. And I especially dislike the chopped broccoli. However, it would seem that dried broccoli would not be suitable for reconstituting and eating by itself, but rather would be used in various recipes. Is that true for y’all? How do you use your broccoli and how does it compare with how you use fresh broccoli?

Cherokee Rose – at 19:25

Thanks Bronco Bill :-)

I remember that thread (now that you reminded me).

Genoa – at 19:52

Kim, Here’s a question for you … I just got my Pump-N-Seal today. I must say that I can’t remember the last time I received an order so quickly! I haven’t tried it out yet, but I did review the instructions briefly. It says that if trying to seal a zipper locking freezer bag one must apply some oil to the inside of the bag, as well as the part of the pump that goes into the bag. Isn’t the use of oil with dehydrated foods a bad idea?

Kim – at 20:34

Genoa, I will tell you that I never had much success at using the Pump-N-Seal to seal up bags. Maybe??? :-) it’s because I’m just a klutz, but I never could get it to really seal up a bag very well, I’d end up with oil on both inside and outside of bag and on me too, and that was for regular food that was going into the freezer. I’m not sure how it would work for sealing up dehydrated food in a bag. Since technically you’re only supposed to be using a tiny amount of oil, if you can get it to work as it’s supposed to on the bags, I don’t think that tiny film of oil would hurt anything (that is, if you’re not a klutz like me!). I use mine now only on jars, which it works wonderfully for, and am very happy with just that. Sorry I can’t help you out more on that aspect of it.

29 August 2006

bumping – at 00:39

has anybody dehydrated ginger root? if so… what do you do? Thanks!

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 08:47

Kim – at 09:21

That’s a WONDERFUL link you provided….I was reading about fruit roll-ups. We don’t have children so there’s never been a fruit roll-up in my life or house, but maybe there will be now. very good link!

Kathy in FL – at 08:59

Word of warning … sausage has too much grease in it to dehydrate properly. They make sausage flavored TVP that I would look into first.

For sausage:

Kathy in FL – at 09:00

bumping – at 00:39

gingerroot keeps on its own for a long time. I wouldn’t bother dehydrating it. You could go for either crystallized ginger or powdered ginger.

NJ. Preppie – at 09:40

I make beef jerky, but I haven’t tried to store it for long. Does jarring it keep the same qualities as fresh? I was planning to process a lot of beef in the dehydrator right before SIPing. The main reason for making your own is cost. Figure if you can buy beef at $2.29 a lb. and commercial jerky could be $6.00 for half a lb. then you could make it at 1/5 the price.

The dehydrator dries the meat at 165 degrees which is low for an oven. If your meat is too hard, you dried it too long. Stop drying when it is still bendable and leathery. It’s hard to believe it’s safe, but I have never gotten sick and mankind has been doing this for thousands of years, without preservatives. I can’t resist giving my recipe for-

REAL BEEF JERKY

Combine Marinade:

Put sliced beef and marinade together in a ziplock bag or covered bowl in refridgerator for at least 12 hours, stirring a few times. Arrange on trays and turn dehydrator on at 165. Expect some slices to start to be done in 3 hours and the thicker ones shortly after. Blot off any oil with paper towels. This taste a lot like the commercial beef jerky. Different types of roasts can come out differently with the same recipe though.

PBQ – at 10:05

I have been drying things for several months. I dried ginger root and it always molded untill I coated it with a mixture of white and brown sugar (half and half). It was messy because the sugar melted (try non stick foil) but it hasn’t molded! The store bought kind is pricey and mine taste better. Ginger freezes well if your use it frozen and refreeze it right away. Broccoli dries great! I’ve never used fresh- only frozen from Sam’s. Dry up a bunch of veggies and make your own soup mix. Wonderful! These are part of my preps to hand out to friends and family too. Alton Brown from Foodtv dot com has a great recipe for jerky that he says will last for 30 years if you put it in a rigid container, not a baggie. I won’t make that again because it is difficult (time consuming) and expensive but it does taste great. Lots more to add but I don’t have time. Later.

gharris – at 10:30

I cut my fresh ginger into 1″ pieces and then freeze indefinitely in a ziploc bag (fine as long as the power grid holds up!) then I grate it on my microplane grater for all fresh ginger recipes - I dont bother peeling it as the microplane grater just disintegrates it anyway - works fine for me!

anonymous – at 12:27

Recently I made biscuits and gravy made with sausage-flavored TVP for my teenage daughter and her boyfriend and they thought it was fantastic. As good as real sausage.

anonymous – at 12:29

Question: Are Excallibur dehydrators sold in any stores, or only through their website?

Kim – at 16:13

Excaliburs are available only on their website (or by phone or mail from them), you can also find them for sale on ebay. See their “Q & A” here

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/gen4.htm

Genoa – at 16:53

Kim, Thanks for the answer about the Pump-N-Seal and bags. It sounds like it’s probably not worth the effort with the bags. I recall reading that oxygen absorbers cannot be safely stored in zipper bags because they leak oxygen and won’t keep the absorbers adequately. So, while vacuum sealing them might make things last a bit longer, it probably isn’t that helpful overall. I am looking forward to trying the pump on glass jars, however. I didn’t get the extra lids for sealing bowls---did you?

Now I’m just looking around, trying to figure out what I should try sealing first. I had some really big glass jars with metal screw-on caps which are about 5–6″ in diameter, in which I store items like rice, beans, etc., and I was hoping to try sealing them. However, I now understand it won’t work on those because they don’t have the soft seal ring on teh inside. Oh well --- I guess I should just grab something in my refrigerator with teh appropriate jar and lid and try sealing it.

30 August 2006

SCW AZ – at 01:02

Could anyone comment on Rice and beans that are cooked and THEN dehydrated, so that you don’t have to do the soak, boil and long simmer. . .

Thoughts, as always are welcome and encouraged.

SCW AZ – at 01:07

Above revised:

so that you only do the soak, boil and simmer during a lower stress prep time and enjoy quickly (re)cooked beans and rice, post soak boil, simmer and dehydrate. . . in miutes insteadof hours????

Hopefully clearer

AlohaORat 01:17

SCW AZ at 01:02 Could anyone comment on Rice and beans that are cooked and THEN dehydrated, so that you don’t have to do the soak, boil and long simmer. . .

I have done this very successfully for brown rice. It rehydrated just like the commercial instant brown rice. I combined it with boiling water 1:1, let it simmer 5 minutes, then removed it from the heat and let it sit, covered a few minutes.

I also tried it with cooked barley, with less success. The rehydrated barley is still a bit too crunchy — I haven’t found the right rehydration steps, I guess. I’d love to hear people’s experience with drying & rehydrating beans.

SCW AZ – at 01:35

Aloha OR at 01:17 Wrote; I combined it with boiling water 1:1, let it simmer 5 minutes, then removed it from the heat and let it sit, covered a few minutes.

After the initial cooking (of Rice). . . How long in the dehydrator???? What temp????

Hopefully, beans next. . .Mmmmmmmmm

Kim – at 08:08

Genoa, don’t give up on seasling those big jars. Go to an automotive supply store and get a sheet of thin gasket material and cut sealing “rings” to fit inside the lids. Bet that will work! And yes, I got the lid to seals bowls, but am ashamed to say I’ve never even tried it. To be honest I can’t think of a thing I’d want to seal in a bowl, BUT it is supposed to be great for quick marinating of meat. Someday I’ll get around to that :-)

AlohaORat 11:38

SCW AZ at 01:35 wrote: After the initial cooking (of Rice). . . How long in the dehydrator???? What temp????

I have a cheapo American Harvest dehydrator that doesn’t have a temp control, so I don’t know the temp. The rice dried fairly quickly — probably 2–3 hours.

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 19:52

A pepper by any other color……is it still a pepper?? Is there any nutritional value in a red or yellow pepper that’s not in a green?? They’re soooooo way priceier than green peppers, although the colors are great! But to be economical, should I just stick with green & have all the “pepper nutrition” I need?

31 August 2006

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 17:07

bump

Carrey in VA – at 17:14

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 19:52

I found this today 2nd question

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/8045/

Kathy in FL – at 18:33

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 19:52

As far as I know there is no real nutritional value difference between all the “bell” peppers. There are some flavor differences … but that’s why there are so many different ones on the market. Red, green, yellow, orange, purple … they are all still “bell” peppers. They just add a different “look” too a dish. Some are actually the same pepper, just at different stages in their ripening.

The only two colors that I have had real success with drying and then rehydrating with success are green and red bell peppers. The others kind of get “icky” looking or when they rehydrate don’t look nearly as fresh.

Its just a matter of personal preference.

preppiechick – at 20:22

re:green peppers

If you have someone, with a “sensitive” stomach, green peppers can irritate (heartburn) while other color peppers don’t have the same effect. I speak from experience ;) I’m not sure if dehydrating would lessen the effect, but I think it only does, slightly (I usually just pick them out)

Bronco Bill – at 20:49

I found this Guide to Hot Peppers

All hot peppers contain capsaicinoids, natural substances that produce a burning sensation in the mouth, causing the
eyes to water and the nose to run, and even induce perspiration. Capsaicinoids have no flavor or odor, but act
directly on the pain receptors in the mouth and throat. The primary capsaicinoid, capsaicin, is so hot that a single
drop diluted in 100,000 drops of water will produce a blistering of the tongue.
Capsaicinoids are found primarily in the pepper’s placenta—the white “ribs” that run down the middle and along the
sides of a pepper. Since the seeds are in such close contact with the ribs, they are also often hot. In the rest of
the vegetable, capsaicinoids are unevenly distributed throughout the flesh, so it is likely that one part of the same
pepper may be hotter ot milder than another. You can reduce the amount of heat in a chili pepper by removing the ribs
and seeds, but you must wear gloves while doing so.
“Capsaicinoid content is measured in parts per million. These parts per million are converted into Scoville heat
units, the industry standard for measuring a pepper’s punch. One part per million is equivalent to 15 Scoville units.
Bell peppers have a value of zero Scoville units, whereas habaneros — the hottest peppers—register a blistering
200,000 to 300,000.Pure capsaicin has a Scoville heat unit score of 16 million.”
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 21:21

Carrey in VA – at 17:14 THANKS!! So there ARE significant differences in the peppers…..who knew? Glad I asked! I’ll make a point to start eating more of both — I’m not a pepper fan at all, but I do puree them & add to soups, etc., but it’s most likely that I’d pick them out if they were big enough to shove around on my plate. I like the flavor, just not the texture when they’re stirfried or something like that. In soups it’s a different matter…..I just need to grow up and eat ‘em all.

Kathy, thanks for letting me know that only the red & green have been drying properly for you because I was going to pick up some of those yellow ones & had wondered if I should dip it in some pectin-something to keep it from turning a putrid color!

Preppiechick, I had no idea green pepper would cause heartburn…that may explain some things around our house! I’ve learned a LOT from the answers to my question, thanks!

Bronco Bill, I have a new respect — and FEAR — of hot peppers after reading your article — how does anyone DARE eat those things?? Good horror story reading though, :-)!!!

Bronco Bill – at 21:56

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 21:21 --- We used to grow Habeneros in our backyard. I would dry them and grind ‘em up into a nice powder. Awesome on pizza!!

amak – at 22:42

What about ground turkey meat instead of ground beef in the dehydrator? Anyone done this one?

01 September 2006

Kim – at 08:24

amak, I’ve mixed ground turkey with ground hamburger, about 50/50, then cooked and dehydrated it, that works out fine… also cuts way down on the amount of grease to deal with. Straight ground turkey is just too bland for me so I’ve never tried it, but it should work out quite well in the dehydrator.

Carrey in VA – at 08:44

I don’t use ground turkey, but I would assume it would work better than burger cause its less greasy.

I tried sausage, big mistake, WAY to much grease.

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 17:26

Ok, here’s another question for you guys…..is there any problem with drying something ‘dryer’ than called for? In other words, if it says ‘leathery’ and it comes out ‘crunchy’, it’ll still be OK won’t it, just need to soak longer?????? I just don’t want to have wasted the last 2 days!

SaddleTrampat 23:34

Emergency Essentials is advertising the L’EQUIP™ Deluxe Food Dehydrator on sale for $159.99 (ie., $30.00 off) thru Sept. 30 (go to beprepared.com website for info).

Has anyone ever used one of these? How do they compare to an Excalibur?

Im getting ready to buy a dehydrator, so I would appreciate any info. (And no, Im not associated with either product.)

amak – at 23:44

Oh - this is horrible! Trying a second batch of apples… I thought I saw somewhere to put them in lemon juice first so they don’t turn brown. Oh, they don’t even taste like apples - even DH, who eats EVERYTHING, spit it out.

I’m workin on it - I think I asked that before somewhere too. can you dry something too much? I have tended to try to get as much out, figuring the less moisture, the better - no mold can grow?? And just how do you know at what point “leathery” is okay to stop? Seems to me leathery is a wide range. But, then again, I made some broccoli rocks the other day…. need to rehydrate them I guess to see if they come back!

Saddletramp - never heard of that one, but I am new to this. I got the American Harvester by Nesco - have seen good & bad on it, but mine does have temp controls so just learning this dehydrating stuff, I am happy with it so far.

02 September 2006

Bump – at 00:52
Bump – at 00:52
bump – at 12:01

bump

cactus – at 14:26

I finally did some HB last night. Only took about 3 hours, seems to have turned out great. Will have to do more as Safeway has HB on sale for $.99/lb this week.

Closed and Continued - Bronco Bill – at 14:57

Closed and continued here

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