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Farm Kitchen:  Dehydrating Foods/Anyone experienced?  |
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Sunflower64
True Blue Farmgirl
173 Posts
Janie
Canton
Ohio
USA
173 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 25 2011 : 1:41:50 PM
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Hello,
With food cost on the rise, and my gardening experience increasing, I want to find ways to preserve. I do canning but not largely, and do freeze some too but if there was an emergency, you loose it all. I am thinking if may be really good to dehydrate food? Looking at a book called the Dehydrating Bible.
Anyone have experience or advice?
"The country way of life is the closest thing to heaven" |
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Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
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alterationsbyemily
True Blue Farmgirl
696 Posts
Emily
Chambersburg
PA
USA
696 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2011 : 4:07:25 PM
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Sunflower,
I am actively looking for a food dehydrator and also a vacuum sealer. I think these will be great ways to save some money this upcoming year. I have a good friend who loves her dehydrator dearly and I am looking forward to my investment. As for brands, the only one that easily comes to mind is this one at Walmart, http://www.walmart.com/ip/Oster-Food-Dehydrator/12399571 its the only one I can find other than super expensive ones at my organic store. There also maybe some that you could build... let me google.... http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/dehydratorstryder.htm
Good luck in your new adventures
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Currently renting-farmgirl wannabe |
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Lessie Louise
True Blue Farmgirl
1406 Posts
Carol
PECULIAR
MO
USA
1406 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2011 : 4:52:32 PM
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I dry almost all the food from our garden. I love Mary T Bell's Food drying with Attitude. She also has a basic food drying book. Good luck, Carol
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting them in a fruit salad!
Farmgirl #680!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lessielouise22 |
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Lessie Louise
True Blue Farmgirl
1406 Posts
Carol
PECULIAR
MO
USA
1406 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2011 : 4:59:16 PM
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p.s I use a Nesco dehydrator and love it
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting them in a fruit salad!
Farmgirl #680!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lessielouise22 |
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Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
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Sunflower64
True Blue Farmgirl
173 Posts
Janie
Canton
Ohio
USA
173 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2011 : 6:19:47 PM
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Thanks for the replies and great advice and encouragement girls! Should be great putting up food this year : )
Mary Beth I'll be using your link, thank you so much!
Sunflower64/Janie
"The country way of life is the closest thing to heaven" |
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alterationsbyemily
True Blue Farmgirl
696 Posts
Emily
Chambersburg
PA
USA
696 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 12:09:52 PM
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Hey Sunflower,
I picked up a Ronco Food Dehydrator yesterday from Craigslist ($10!!!!). Currently my plan is fruit leather. I used my juicer to make some fresh fruit juice and then the "Extras" that it spits out are perfect to make fruit leather. I used glad-press-and-seal in the trays to keep it from dripping through. Its sitting on my counter now, waiting for the first rotation at 8:30 tonight.
I used frozen fruit that we purchased a while back and has been sitting in my freezer (THAWED). But as we actively look for a new home, I will make sure there is room for my apple trees, pear trees, raspberry bushes, strawberries, and blueberries, so I can make this again without much commercial influence.
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Currently renting-farmgirl wannabe |
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SusanScarlet
True Blue Farmgirl
317 Posts
317 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 12:33:12 PM
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| We have the smaller madel Excalibur. They're pricey but work well. |
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SusanScarlet
True Blue Farmgirl
317 Posts
317 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 12:34:30 PM
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| We live in west Texas where the sun shines a lot and I want DH to build a solar food dehydrator. Seems wasteful to use electricity to run our dehydrator when we have all this free sunshine. Has anyone built their own? Would appreciate hearing your experience if you have. |
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alterationsbyemily
True Blue Farmgirl
696 Posts
Emily
Chambersburg
PA
USA
696 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 12:53:34 PM
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I wish that we had enough sunshine to have a solar one, PA right now looks like a big gray glop right now.
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Currently renting-farmgirl wannabe |
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Sunflower64
True Blue Farmgirl
173 Posts
Janie
Canton
Ohio
USA
173 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2011 : 04:48:59 AM
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Emily,
Wow what a buy! Have you dehydrated anything before? Please let me know how the process goes and all...I'm considering investing in a good one and really going to town dehydrating stuff from the garden this year. Seems to make alot of sense to me.
Janie
~Janie~
"The country way of life is the closest thing to heaven"
www.kitchenweekendwarrior.blogspot.com |
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Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2011 : 05:39:58 AM
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I was at Sam's the other day and they had organic baby spinach on sale for dirt cheap. I couldn't pass it up and bought a BUNCH. We've been eating on it, but there was so much that I decided I'd better do something with it quick and dehydrated it. Spinach dehydrates beautifully and packs in widemouth quart jars so well. Now I can put spinach in quiche, souffles and soup and just open a jar to grab some!
Mary Beth
www.OklahomaPastryCloth.com
www.Oklahomapastrycloth.com/blog
The Sovereign Lord is my strength - Habakkuk 3:19 |
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Sunflower64
True Blue Farmgirl
173 Posts
Janie
Canton
Ohio
USA
173 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2011 : 05:57:34 AM
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Wow I never would have thought you could dehydrate spinach??? I know I plan on using canning jars as opposed to plastic bags for my storage containers...but I'm reading different info as far as shelf life. Does anyone have experience (long term) as to how long things last?
Thank you all!
~Janie~
"The country way of life is the closest thing to heaven"
www.kitchenweekendwarrior.blogspot.com |
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alterationsbyemily
True Blue Farmgirl
696 Posts
Emily
Chambersburg
PA
USA
696 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2011 : 06:35:49 AM
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Susan, I was going through my back issues of Mother Earth News and there was a great article on a solar dehydrator and how to build it. You can get my email at my website www.alterationsbyemily.com if you would like me to mail it to you.
Sunflower, its amazing how much you can dehydrate. After I am finished with my fruit leather (hopefully tomorrow), I am going to dry some finely chopped onions. Followed by something else, that smells good. My dehydrator did not come with a user manual so I googled and found it online. If you would like some good reading, http://www.ronco.com/_downloads/RoncoManual-FoodDehydrator.pdf I have been looking up things to dehydrate and some dehydrators have temperature controls on them. Mine is plug and go, but so far so good on the fruit leather. I first read about the dehydrator on Okie's blog and was super excited.
I am also on the search for a food saver vac with the attachment plug that way I can vacuum seal things like Okie does. I figure even if I pay $30 for a $130 sealer on craigslist, with no attachments, the canning attachment on ebay is about $20 I am still way ahead. Right now my plan is for Onions and noodles to dehydrate.
For mine I did a search on my local Craigslist and it found the one I got, it was posted about a month ago and I thought, what would it hurt to give the person a call and boom, 20 minutes later I was driving to Maryland for it.
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Currently renting-farmgirl wannabe |
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Sunflower64
True Blue Farmgirl
173 Posts
Janie
Canton
Ohio
USA
173 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2011 : 2:47:13 PM
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Thanks Emily...saved link for future reading. Didn't know the vacuum attachment could be purchased separately, great! I'm searching my craigs list...thank you for heading me in the right direction!
I hope everyone keeps posting more info or experience on food dehydrating!
Thanks a bunch : )
~Janie~
"The country way of life is the closest thing to heaven"
www.kitchenweekendwarrior.blogspot.com |
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Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2011 : 6:55:57 PM
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Emily and Janie, go to the Foodsaver.com website and it will tell you which models have the port for vacuum sealing jars. When I store my dried veggies in a vacuum sealed jar, they last forever.
Janie, I dehydrate the spinach by just sprinkling it on the racks. It doesn't even matter if they lay flat or not. They dry quickly. I have used the dried in Italian soup, quiches and other dishes calling for spinach to be cooked. I am going to venture out on a limb and try cooking it with onions to serve with malt vinegar. I'll let you know how it turns out! :-)
Mary Beth
www.OklahomaPastryCloth.com
www.Oklahomapastrycloth.com/blog
The Sovereign Lord is my strength - Habakkuk 3:19 |
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Farm Kitchen: Dehydrating Foods/Anyone experienced? |
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Dehydrating Foods/Anyone experienced?
