| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| FarmDream |
Posted - Jan 10 2012 : 8:36:30 PM
Tonight I'm using my dehydrator for the first time on apple slices. I soaked them for 2 minutes in lemon juice and they should be ready in the morning.
Is anyone else dehydrating? Has anyone made an outside dehydrator? Any good recipes or tips?
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
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| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Oct 13 2013 : 05:47:41 AM
I plan to plant red raspberry plants next year, and also dry the leaves. I can tell you, from my girls drinking the tea, that it really works for PMS or cramping problems. They swear by it. I keep it on hand all the time, but have to buy it. Having my own will save me a ton of money.
Farmgirl Sister #800
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| Ninibini |
Posted - Oct 12 2013 : 8:53:42 PM
Dehydrating (and canning) apples tomorrow! YAY!
Thanks Kristina - I'm sorry, I missed your response! I'm definitely going to try the parchment! YAY!
Your tea sounds great, Sandra! :)
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| SandraM |
Posted - Oct 12 2013 : 8:11:50 PM
I am still getting a few thing out of the garden but not enough to can so I have been drying peppers and tomatoes.
I store my dried food in freezer bags and keep them in the freezer.
I also did some foraging and picked some raspberry leaves for Raspberry leaf tea. I put them in the dehydrator, it didn't take long at all. I am storing that in Ball Jars. First time trying that.
Sandra
www.mittenstatesheepandwool.com |
| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Sep 22 2013 : 04:33:25 AM
Nini, I've been using parchment paper in my dehydrator.
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| Ninibini |
Posted - Sep 20 2013 : 4:06:38 PM
Hi girls! I would REALLY like to dehydrate my pumpkins this year and make powder to rehydrate for recipes. I don't have the paraflexx sheets for my Excalibur, though. I have been doing a little research online and people have recommended everything from spreading the cooked, mashed pumpkin right on the mesh sheet to using waxed paper, Saran Wrap and even non-stick flexible cutting sheets. Have any of you tried any of these alternatives? I would really rather not buy the special sheets unless I have to, but I will if you think it's necessary. Also, some people say to flip the pumpkin halfway through drying, while others say just to dry it straight through without flipping it over. What are your thoughts on that? I'd really appreciate your insights! Thanks - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Sep 20 2013 : 08:34:09 AM
I'm dehydrating organic cottage cheese today. Can anyone tell me the best way to store it? I do not have a vacuum sealer of any kind (at this time).
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| Antb |
Posted - Mar 18 2013 : 5:14:39 PM
I dehydrated sliced eggplant, and still have quite a bit. I'm trying to use up my canned stuff, and have tomatoes that I put up that are pretty full of liquid. I used the dried eggplant and some frozen zucchini along with the canned tomatoes to make ratatouille. The dry eggplant soaked up the tomato liquid nicely while it was baking, and the flavor was a nice reminder of summer.
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| neeter302 |
Posted - Jan 22 2013 : 7:24:23 PM
Definitely trying the yogurt....YUM!
Farmgirl #522
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| Bonnie Ellis |
Posted - Jan 21 2013 : 7:53:53 PM
We make yogurt in our home-made food dryer. Yummy when you add vanilla and fruit.
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
| Antb |
Posted - Jan 21 2013 : 4:34:12 PM
To Michele:
Pumpkin is nice dehydrated. I use it for soup, but my son loves it just right out of the dehydrator. The flavor is mildly sweet, if you use a pie pumpkin.
I have lots of dehydrated greens that I do at the end of summer, and into winter- as long as the greens last, I dehydrate them. I keep them in two jars, one for mild greens and one for spicy/bitter greens. A handful of each gets crushed and put into soup and broth.
My grocery store has a section for sale produce, often sold in biggish paper bags, and often I can find organic produce there. I buy that up and dry it. Lemons, oranges, bananas- all are great in the deydrator! And organic citrus I leave the peels on, because I can grind it up along with the fruit. Yum! |
| neeter302 |
Posted - Jan 15 2013 : 5:56:57 PM
Very welcome ladies, my family thinks I've gone nuts but I'm having so much experimenting. Last night before bed I filled the dehydrator full of fruit leather from frozen fruits that were getting old and almost freezer burned. Sweetened with honey from our hives and agave, a little lemon/lime juice. Took it to work and you would have thought it was Christmas all over again. They LOVED it. Made kiwi/apple/green grape, strawberry and berry blend (raspberry/blueberry/blackberry). Tonight we're making peach, purple grape and more mixed berry. DH loves it..jpg)
Farmgirl #522
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| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Jan 15 2013 : 04:21:40 AM
Thanks Anita, for the link as well.
I've only dehydrated for two seasons, but will do more when organic food is on sale now.
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| rksmith |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 5:11:45 PM
Thanks for that link Anita, that site is awesome!! I didn't realize you could dehydrate like that--now I'm kicking myself for the food that I have put in the compost!!
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
True enlightenment is nothing but the nature of one's own self being fully realised-- His Holiness the Dali Lama
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| neeter302 |
Posted - Jan 13 2013 : 3:30:23 PM
Just dehydrated 25 lbs of organic carrots this weekend. A lot of fun now that we're really getting into dehydrating. Wanting to experiment with everything now. I love Tammy of Dehydrate2Store, very helpful indeed, here's the her website www.dehydrate2store.com
Farmgirl #522
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| Heather B |
Posted - Dec 31 2012 : 5:07:48 PM
Celery and Carrots dehydrate well and make it very easy to throw a soup or stew together quickly. I love dehydrating! I want to dig up some of my horseradish, dehydrate and grind into a powder to use as seasoning. Has anyone done this with much luck? I understand that sometimes horseradish loses its flavor quickly.
Heather
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| neeter302 |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 1:19:37 PM
Good Kristina I'll give that a try then, if I had done this earlier I'd have a ton of stockpiled dehydrated stuff, oh well, I'll just do better from here on out.
Farmgirl #522
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| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 12:41:03 PM
I have not dehydrated celery (yet), but have the other items. I just made a dish with our sliced, dehydrated potatoes. I also grated and dehydrated some. They were delicious.
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| neeter302 |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 12:21:28 PM
Hey folks, I'm trying to do better at keeping my fridge cleaned out on a more regular basis. It's just a chore I don't care to do so end up throwing a lot of stuff out after it goes bad. When I really think about this it would have been unheard of when I was growing up to waste ANYTHING. I'd like to make a more determined effort to dehydrate unused foods BEFORE it get old enough to throw out. Can potatoes, celery, carrot and onion be chopped & dehydrated & stored in canning jars for soup? I consistently lose things that don't keep very long such as strawberries, bananas, spinach, bell peppers etc.
Farmgirl #522
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| hialtfarmgirl |
Posted - Nov 07 2012 : 7:43:30 PM
YES!!! sweet pots dehy wonderful...
Does anyone use their dehydrater(what size?) with their solar power?
"LOVING" life at 4000 feet elev. |
| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Oct 05 2012 : 04:35:31 AM
Has anyone dehydrated sweet potatoes? I bet it would taste good topped on homemade crackers (if I grind it to a powder). Has anyone done this yet?
2011 Farmgirl of the Year
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Farmgirl #800
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| pinokeeo |
Posted - Oct 02 2012 : 8:25:54 PM
For the person or persons who asked about storage after drying, we use ball jars and vacuum seal them. We've had foods for more than a year in jars like this and it still is good.
And for the pumpkin, dry it like a fruit leather and powder it, then vacuum seal. When you are ready to use, just soak in water, equal amounts of powder and water.
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| westfork woman |
Posted - Oct 02 2012 : 2:43:36 PM
What a great idea! All those little odds and ends of veggies dried and waiting for winter soup. Thanks for the tip. Kennie Lyn
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
| emsmommy5 |
Posted - Oct 01 2012 : 9:51:11 PM
I bought two 3 pound bags of frozen mixed vegetables on sale the other day. Dumped both bags in the dehydrator.... dried to 2 quart jars full!
3 pounds worth of freezer space is alot in my world right now especially because I have bulk chicken coming in later this month.
And yes... you can take frozen berries and dry them straight from the freezer. I have some that I will be doing that with this week.
The other thing I have been doing for several months is drying any left over veggies and powdering them in the blender and dumping everything into a jar. I dried collards the other day and added to my mixed veggie powder jar. I use a scoop when cooking hamburger or in soups or when I think about it. Granted the flavor ebbs and flows... sometimes it's a little spicy-er if I added too many peppers from our Bountiful Basket. Or then it will turn kind of pink when I add beets. Today it has more of a green hue because of the collards.
I can't even imagine how many pounds of vegetables are in that 1/2 gallon jar! And it IS pounds and pounds!1
Do what you love, love what you do. |
| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Oct 01 2012 : 04:41:29 AM
I finally made the dog treats in my dehydrator. First I had to dehydrate kale and Parmesan cheese.
It took about 24 hours or so to completely dry them, but our dogs love them. They are much healthier and so much cheaper than store bought treats.
I'm so thankful one of you mentioned Mary Bell's recipe books. I will be trying other recipes soon too.
Farmgirl #800
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| Marylyn |
Posted - Sep 26 2012 : 05:19:38 AM
Thanks for sharing, Kristina!
Love,
Auntie M
Farmgirl # 4062
That which does not kill me, only serves to make me stronger!...unknown to me. |
