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Farm Kitchen:  Advice on dehydrating food  |
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sue5901
True Blue Farmgirl
122 Posts
Sue
Wellingborough
United Kingdom
122 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 01:41:11 AM
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Hi
I recently found a book on making your own food and then dehydrating it to take back packing. I found the whole idea of drying my garden produce and other foods fascinating and really want to give it a go. But it is not something that we still have a tradition of doing in England - all the skills have been lost and I don't know anyone who has ever done it.
If I was to buy a dehydrator I would have it get it sent from the states so it would be quite expensive. I would be happy to do this if it is really as easy and useful as the book suggest it is.
Do any of you use dehydrating as a method of food storage? How useful do you find it? Are there any tips or hints you could give me to help me decide whether to make the financial investment in a dehydrator?
Any advice would be welcome
Sue
Dance like nobody's watching! |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 01:53:13 AM
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I have made my own jerky and dried fruit slices and found them to be very useful. I dry my herbs and tea ingredients in the oven, since the dehydrator our family was passin around seems to have disappeared. Before you spend too much on one try ebay. You could also look online and find a lot of sites that have directions to make your own using supplies I'm sure you could get locally.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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N@n
True Blue Farmgirl
223 Posts
Hackett
Arkansas
USA
223 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 05:10:25 AM
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Good morning Sue,
I dry food all the time and find it a very easy, efficient way of preserving food. I started drying food after reading the Mary Jane books. She has some excellent recipes for unique dried food for back packing. We had plans of traveling to Alaska in our RV and the food up there is extremely expensive so I thought it would be a great way of taking a lot of food with us with very little weight. We since changed our plans and are summering in the woods in Northern Michigan kinda roughing it but I am still drying food and using dried food as well.
There is nothing better on a cool day than a pot full of beautiful vegetable soup simmering on the stove all made from dried foods. The flavors are so concentrated it makes for soup I consider better than that made from fresh veggies.
I frequently buy bulk frozen veggies or fruits (peas, corn, green beans, blueberries etc.) and dry them right from the frozen state. That works great for most things.
I have three home food dryers and use them a lot. I found two of them at a second hand store.
Good luck,
N@n in Michigan
keep searchin'-it's out there somewhere. |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 06:27:15 AM
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Sue- Dehydrating food is a very efficent way to keep food and it doesn't take up alot of space. The biggest issue is if you don't dehydrate your food long enough to remove all of the moisture then you will have mold. I have only had this happen once to me and that was with cherries, I got in a hurry and pulled them too soon. There are so many things you can dehydrate, let me give you a list of what is in my pantry that I have dehydrated:
Apples, Bananas, Pears, Strawberries, Cherries, Blueberries, Mushrooms, Onions, Potatos, Beans, Carrots, Garlic Scapes, Kohlrabi, Turnips, Broccoli, Peppers (hot and bell type), Jalapeno powder, Asparagas powder, Tomatos, Peas, Celery, Broccoli leaves, Cabbage and I am sure there are a few I have forgotten.
I keep my dehydrated food in either mason jars or peanut butter jars and they keep well. I would invest in a dehydrator if you can, who knows maybe you will bring back an old art.
Lillian |
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sue5901
True Blue Farmgirl
122 Posts
Sue
Wellingborough
United Kingdom
122 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 07:59:56 AM
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Thanks for your advice - I think I have pretty much decided to make the investment - nowI know what I have read on the internet isn't just sales hype but backed up by people who actually do it.
I think the issue of space is one of the real attractions for me - both for back packing but also in the kitchen as space is always at a premium in mine.
N&n - I really didn't know you could dehydrate straight from frozen - that will be a great idea. We have a lot of offers in our supermarkets that are buy one get one free or buy 3 for the price of two, but I never have space in my freezer to store that amount so cannot take advantage, this would really help that.
It may take a time for the dehydrator to arrive but I will let you know how I get on.
Sue
Dance like nobody's watching! |
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Nigella
True Blue Farmgirl
386 Posts
Nigella
Chimacum
WA
USA
386 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 08:46:32 AM
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Sue, you really will love dehydrating. Keep looking for more dehydrating books too, I have several and they all seem to have new ideas or recipes that the others didn't have.
Sister #1213
Farm-made aprons and vintage goodies
www.thecapriciouscorgi.etsy.com
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
~Thomas Edison~
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Mama Jewel
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Jewel
Sweet Peas Farmette,
Bend, OR
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 09:16:22 AM
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Hoping it's okay to jump in & ask a question... can you dehydrate let's say onions on one tray and fruit roll ups on another without the smells/tastes crossing into each other? Hope that makes sense.
Farm Girl Sister #1683 Living Simply & Naturally on our lil Sweet Peas Farmette
"Do Everything in Love." 1 Cor 14
http://www.piecemama.etsy.com |
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Montrose Girl
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm
1360 Posts
Laurie
Montrose
CO
1360 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 11:53:00 AM
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That's a good question. I've done different vegetables, but never onions with anything else. You might want to not try onions but other things I do, like fruit leather and dried fruit of different types.
And if you were wondering what to do with all that zuchinni, dry some! It's great to toss into the soup pot come winter. I have found that some veggies, like corn, prefer to be pre-soaked overnights first. But bell peppers I just pop in the pot and they come right back, so be prepared for a few surprises as you start this adventure. It's another way to invest in your own sustainability and put up food for the winter that does not require freezer space.
Best Growing |
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Turtlemoon
Farmgirl Legend Schoolmarm
378 Posts
Tanya
Port Orchard
Washington
USA
378 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 12:14:27 PM
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I have been drying for years. Both for use in the home as well as backpacking. I have a very natural diet and those pre dried meals many times are full of things i cannot eat. There are some wonderful on line tutorials for making your own, or even using your oven on a low temp. When drying items like cherries be sure to cut them in half to ensure they fully dry to avoid mold later on. I have also pureed tomato or fruit for leather that can later be reconstituted into a backpacking pizza sauce or spaghetti, or a dried fruit snack. Drying herbs is so wonderful as well. Have fun, and peek at books from your library as well. Do you have a freecycle.com online for your area? You could post you were looking for one.
Raggedy Ann stuck in a Barbie Doll World
FarmGirl#1737
http://www.etsy.com/shop/moonhonu |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 12:32:29 PM
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I wouldn't dehydrate onions with fruit. Onions are something you might want to dehydrate alone.
Lillian |
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kairosdreaming
Farmgirl in Training
24 Posts
Melissa
Pineville
North Carolina
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 6:56:06 PM
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I make jerky, dried fruit, and dried veggies in mine. I actually have two that were garage sale finds. If you buy one, try to get one with a temperature gauge for different food types. I found it makes a world of difference.
Melissa
http://checkeredchickens.blogspot.com/
They sicken of the calm that know the storm.-unknown |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2010 : 05:29:30 AM
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I dehydrate all the time. My DH makes all kinds of jerky and I do mushrooms, peppers, herbs, and fruit. A good investment for you and dried foods take up very little space.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World! |
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sue5901
True Blue Farmgirl
122 Posts
Sue
Wellingborough
United Kingdom
122 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2010 : 08:36:04 AM
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Thanks for all the tips - I have looked online for directions to make my own as that sounded great but the plans to make an electric one all use incandescent lightbulbs which we can't buy in England anymore - we can only get low energy ones and I don't know if they would work as they don't seem to give off as much heat and are much lower wattage - Does anyone know??
I have the plans for a solar dryer which I might think of in the future, but it feels it might be a bit hit and miss in our climate! I just love the idea of solar drying though so maybe I'll build one to use when I can and have a bought one for the rest of the time.
I'm getting really excited about the whole idea now!
Dance like nobody's watching! |
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Turtlemoon
Farmgirl Legend Schoolmarm
378 Posts
Tanya
Port Orchard
Washington
USA
378 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2010 : 10:15:45 AM
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try this spot as well, i have had a lot of luck with both finding and giving things away i no longer used. You'd be suprised at what you'll find, just post a wanted add.
http://www.uk.freecycle.org/
Raggedy Ann stuck in a Barbie Doll World
FarmGirl#1737
http://www.etsy.com/shop/moonhonu |
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sue5901
True Blue Farmgirl
122 Posts
Sue
Wellingborough
United Kingdom
122 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2010 : 06:19:10 AM
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Well I got paid today so made the plunge and ordered a dehydrator - I managed to find a supplier in the UK so it should arrive in the next couple of days.
I'll let you know how I get on
sue
Dance like nobody's watching! |
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Mama Jewel
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Jewel
Sweet Peas Farmette,
Bend, OR
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2010 : 08:16:31 AM
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Yay, Sue! How fun! Got another ? for you dehydrating divas: how long can you store the dehydrated items? Do you just put them in a jar in the pantry?
Farm Girl Sister #1683 Living Simply & Naturally on our lil Sweet Peas Farmette
"Do Everything in Love." 1 Cor 14
http://www.piecemama.etsy.com |
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kairosdreaming
Farmgirl in Training
24 Posts
Melissa
Pineville
North Carolina
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2010 : 09:36:07 AM
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It depends on the item. I use plastic or glass containers and keep them in a cupboard. They seem to last pretty long this way. 1-2 years for me I've noticed. Beef jerky makes me a little more nervous so I only leave it out at most a week and keep it in the fridge after that.
Melissa
http://checkeredchickens.blogspot.com/
They sicken of the calm that know the storm.-unknown |
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Farm Kitchen: Advice on dehydrating food |
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Advice on dehydrating food
