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Farm Kitchen:  Dehydrator adventure  |
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LivingWell4You
True Blue Farmgirl
1411 Posts
Karen
Hillsboro
MO
USA
1411 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 04 2008 : 5:43:07 PM
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Robbie and I have a squash plant that is causing me to become more adventurous in my food preparation to keep up with the production. Yesterday I thought I would try making some squash chips. I marinated them for a couple of hours in shoyu (soy) sauce and then put them in my dehydrator - the one that I've had for four years and never used.  Here is what I learned:
1. Place the chips on the trays as I'm cutting them to make sure I don't cut more than will fit for one round of dehydration, causing more creativity than I had planned.
2. When the instructions say to turn the food to keep it from sticking, they know what they're talking about.
3. When they suggest rotating the trays frequently to make sure the drying out process is even, they know what they're talking about.
4. After the chips are done (or in some cases well done), let them cool and put them in an air-tight container before going to bed no matter how tired I am so they aren't mushy in the morning.
All in all, it was a successful adventure. Tips and tricks from those of you who have had adventures in dehydrating food are most welcome.
God bless -
Karen |
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joyfulmama
True Blue Farmgirl
1175 Posts
Debra
Silver Springs
NV
USA
1175 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2008 : 6:56:05 PM
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how thin did you slice them? if you slice then at an angle and thin like a potato chip they will dehydrate quicker and get crispy. I did some zucchini with sea salt and vinegar and they were sooooo good.
Blessings, Debra
"Your life is an occasion, Rise to it." Mr Magorium..
http://myvintagehome.com
http://woolieacres.net
http://modernmanna.org
The best Christian health and nutrition site on the internet. Keep checking because we are updating the site over the next couple of months.. Major changes will be happening. |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2008 : 06:01:16 AM
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| I'd like to get a food dehydrator, so I'm watching for tips on using them. If anybody else out there has got one that they don't use, shoot me an email! Maybe we can make a deal... |
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LivingWell4You
True Blue Farmgirl
1411 Posts
Karen
Hillsboro
MO
USA
1411 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2008 : 08:42:14 AM
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Hey, Debra - I sliced them pretty thin and most of them turned out nice and crisp, but there were quite a few that were "burned" since I didn't get around to rotating the trays soon enough. Next time I'm going to try your sea salt and vinegar suggestion. That will probably be tomorrow at the rate their producing. It would be today but I'm going for another adventure - tomatoes. I'll be posting later on that one!
God bless - Karen |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2008 : 09:11:51 AM
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Salt and vinegar zucchini?!?!?! need to know how you did this. Dusting off the dehydrator while waiting!!
Sharon
Farmgirl Sister #74
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2008 : 11:29:22 AM
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| Thanks for reminding me. I don't have any zucc left but lots of cucumbers. Haven't made pickle chips for a long time. I use my dehydrator to dry my herbs. I know a lot of people that do not. I cut my herbs early in the morning, wash, spin dry and place on trays. A couple of hours they are dry and still nice and green. Except Basil. It don't stay green. I also dehydrate lots of onions garlic, jalapeno and tomatoes. Put it in a blender (after they have dried) and use the powder for dip mix. I dry tons (not really tons)of cayenne peppers. Then I make my own pepper flakes. We sprinkle cayenne on about everything. |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2008 : 2:53:06 PM
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Wow, what great ideas here! I have had a dehydrator for a couple years and only just started using it this past weekend. I dried 2 lbs of cherries that nobody was eating, a bunch of plums that nobody was eating (I sliced them), green grapes and tomatoes. What great fun. I now have a bunch of dried fruits for a trail mix I will make for hunting season. I also sliced up and dried a few apples that I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on. Too much cinnamon! Made a mistake there.
I love the salt & vinegar zuc chips idea. Mmmm makes my mouth water just thinking about them. I really like the onion idea, too.
Question: If I dry onions or garlic at the same time as other fruits/vegs, will the other stuff taste oniony/garlicky? I have put off drying the onions because I didn't want to tie up the dehydrator just for them.
What else do you gals concoct with your dehydrator?
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/lisamariesbasketry/index.htm |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2008 : 4:51:43 PM
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Lisa- I don't think that I would dry the onions/garlic with anything else. I did 10 lbs fo wala-wala's this weekend and the moment you walked into the house you could smell onions.
Lillian |
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joyfulmama
True Blue Farmgirl
1175 Posts
Debra
Silver Springs
NV
USA
1175 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2008 : 4:58:20 PM
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thin the zucchini very thin- if you have a mandoline use it- like making potato chips- and you can do it with potatoes too.. then season with sea salt and vinegar.. put on trays in single layer and dehydrate until crispy. you can also use kale- tear it into pieces the size of your hand. make a marinade of olive oil, diced garlic, salt, pepper if you like. (you can omit the garlic if you like- and you can add any seasoning- cayenne if you like it hot). pour the marinade over kale and swish around so that the kale gets the seasonings.. then put on dehydrator tray and dehydrate until crisp.
Blessings, Debra
"Your life is an occasion, Rise to it." Mr Magorium..
http://myvintagehome.com
http://woolieacres.net
http://modernmanna.org
The best Christian health and nutrition site on the internet. Keep checking because we are updating the site over the next couple of months.. Major changes will be happening. |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2008 : 7:01:40 PM
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Tomorrow is going to be zucchini chi day. Thanks for sharing the "recipe"!
Sharon
Farmgirl Sister #74
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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joyfulmama
True Blue Farmgirl
1175 Posts
Debra
Silver Springs
NV
USA
1175 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2008 : 7:10:42 PM
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here is another- slice the zucchini 1/2 inch thick make a marinade of 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, a bit of cayenne pepper, salt, pepper. coat the zucchini with the marinade- really rub it in and then cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours. Then place in dehydrator trays and dehydrate. for about 12 hours- I would put in on the trays at night and check in the morning. It won't be crispy- should be chewy..like jerky.
Blessings, Debra
"Your life is an occasion, Rise to it." Mr Magorium..
http://myvintagehome.com
http://woolieacres.net
http://modernmanna.org
The best Christian health and nutrition site on the internet. Keep checking because we are updating the site over the next couple of months.. Major changes will be happening. |
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LivingWell4You
True Blue Farmgirl
1411 Posts
Karen
Hillsboro
MO
USA
1411 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2008 : 11:08:52 AM
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It's me again! The dehydrator adventure continues. It's taken three days to get to the tomatoes but they're drying as I write. Things should turn out better (i.e. dry more evenly) since I'm checking the trays more often and have rotated them once already. For those interested in jumping on the dehydrator train, this is what I did. Using the Roma tomatoes from our garden, I cut them in half lengthwise, scooped out the seeds and innards, sprinkled them with salt (this is supposed to help the evaporation process) and now they're dehydrating away. The directions said the trays should be 1-2 inches apart. I discovered my tray can stack two way so that the items are close together if needed or by rotating the upper one, it raises it so there's more space between. I thought that was pretty slick considering it's a $20 model with only one speed. I bought it several years ago for the purpose of drying apple slices for Christmas decorations and never used it. So I'm learning along with you.
Belle - thanks for the tips on drying herbs. I hadn't even thought that far but I have a profusion of basil and sage - now I know what to do with them besides chopping and freezing them in ice cube trays.
Debra - what a wealth of receipe info you are! You mentioned jerky - have you made that in your dehydrator? And what kind do you have? Mother Earth News has an article on dehydrating - electric and solar - in the current issue. Who knew there were so many options out there? Slide in trays - that would be incredible! Maybe when I get the hang of this one and Robbie sees all the benefits (just being able to make jerky would be enough), I can move up to a more powerful model. ARR! ARR! ARR! ( <-- Think Tim the Toolman Taylor)
God bless -
Karen |
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joyfulmama
True Blue Farmgirl
1175 Posts
Debra
Silver Springs
NV
USA
1175 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2008 : 11:11:54 AM
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no, I haven't made jerky- we are avoiding meat- I meant that the zucchini should be jerky like.. right now i have a bowl of raw sunflower seeds soaking in water- to sprout. I will let them soak all day. then sprout over night. tomorrow I will salt them and put on dehydrator trays- dehydrate until crispy- like roasted sunflower seeds but still raw with enzymes intact.
Blessings, Debra
"Your life is an occasion, Rise to it." Mr Magorium..
http://myvintagehome.com
http://woolieacres.net
http://modernmanna.org
The best Christian health and nutrition site on the internet. Keep checking because we are updating the site over the next couple of months.. Major changes will be happening. |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
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joyfulmama
True Blue Farmgirl
1175 Posts
Debra
Silver Springs
NV
USA
1175 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2008 : 3:54:47 PM
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Lisa, I am soo glad you liked them.. I have some zucchini and yellow squash I need to do..
Blessings, Debra
"Your life is an occasion, Rise to it." Mr Magorium..
http://myvintagehome.com
http://woolieacres.net
http://modernmanna.org
The best Christian health and nutrition site on the internet. Keep checking because we are updating the site over the next couple of months.. Major changes will be happening. |
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LivingWell4You
True Blue Farmgirl
1411 Posts
Karen
Hillsboro
MO
USA
1411 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2008 : 5:58:17 PM
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Update on the tomato adventure: They turned out great! Experience truly is a wonderful teacher. I checked them more frequently and kept rotating throughout the day - it did take all day to complete the process - and it was a winner! There were a few small ones that were a little tough so I kept just those in the dehydrator awhile longer until they completely dried out. I'm going to crush them and use them in a veggie dip. Not sure how that will turn out but it sounds good.
Does anyone have the dehydrator that MaryJane refers to in the Ideabook? Or....does anyone have one that they love using?
God bless -
Karen
Farmgirl Sister #??? (to be filled in when I get my badge) |
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Farm Kitchen: Dehydrator adventure |
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Dehydrator adventure
