skip to main content

Newbie on Food Dehydration

13 years ago

I was given a food dehydrator and keep forgetting to try it. There is a farm here locally and right now they are offering u-pick green beans. Can anyone give me some tips on doing this, also how do you use them in cooking, and what method do you use for storage and for how long?? Also what are the most successful foods for dehydration?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

agmss15
13 years ago
I have a lebanese cookbook that mentions dried green bean. Last year I dried some of my mom's bumper crop of pears. They were delicious and disappeared really fast. I dried zucchini and kohlrabi this year - eh. I am hoping they will be good in soup though. My mom dries oyster mushrooms and grinds them up to add to soups and such.
grainlady_ks
13 years ago
Welcome to the club! You will find great information and tips located at the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

A trip to your local public library will probably have some book/videos on the subject. I'll suggest these three books.

Making & Using Dried Foods - Phyllis Hobson

How to Dry Foods - Deanna DeLong

Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook - Mary Bell

I will add one point about these books, and many others. They are not as up-to-date as they should be, but the information is still great. None of these books use the "New Home Drying Recommendations" to increase the food safety. That information is found at this link: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/safefood/newsltr/v8n4s01.html

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation - How do I Dry...
Related Discussions
What foods do you dehydrate?
Q
Comments (26)
Re: fruit leather. I stumbled across a way to make individual "fruit roll-ups" without needing the special trays, or the hassle of covering my trays in plastic wrap. I cut squares of baking parchment so that 4 fit per tray, then spread the fruit puree onto each square. Dehydrate as usual. The dried fruit leather easily peels off of the parchment, but to store, just toss the individual squares into a zipper bag, paper and all. DS LOVES the applesauce "fruit rollups" I made this wayÃ¢ÂÂ¦easy to throw into his school lunches.
...See More
best food dehydrator
Q
Comments (2)
I don't know the answer, but I think you might get more responses in one of the On-Topic forums (choose one). Kitchen Forum On-Topic Discussions Appliance Forum<?a> There's also a , but it doesn't get as much traffic.
...See More
FoodSaver and Dehydrated Food Storage
Q
Comments (2)
OK, citric acid for sprouting... ascorbic for breads. Got it. Guess I was thinking they were same thing. Oh, and that's new information for me about sprouting the mung beans under pressure. That's really interesting. I have a vacuum sealer, but I haven't used it very much. I guess I should get it out and try it. I went over on You Tube and did a search for Foodsaver and found several things to watch, also found a few on Pump'n'Seal and maybe that's where my confusion comes from as I've seen a little about both kinds and may have mingled the way the two different systems work. The Foodsaver universal lid doesn't get very high marks on Amazon, I went there some time ago when it was mentioned before. I went to Foodsaver's website and I see that a jar sealer is $9.99. So do you buy one of those for each jar and leave it on the jar till you're ready to use the contents? Or do you have a Pump'n'Seal where you use a regular canning flat, punch a hole in it to vacuum out the air, and then seal up the hole with a little piece of tape? I can see where this method would be 'way cheaper than buying Foodsaver universal lids, if it works as well as they say. Have you used the Pump'n'Seal method and if so, what is your opinion? Foodsaver universal lids cost $24 for a two-pack. If they have to stay on the jar till you use it, it seems like $12 a jar is kind of a substantial outlay of cash unless a person could stumble upon some at a garage sale or something, where the seller didn't know what they had. Or does the FoodSaver have the capability of using canning flats in a way similar to Pump'n'Seal, so that you're only out a canning flat? And I suppose the canning flats could be resealed? It's kind of hard for me to believe that a little piece of what looks like duct tape is all that keeps the vacuum intact, but maybe it does because the vacuum holds it on.... Forgive me, I'm not trying to be critical or troublesome or stupid, I'm just trying to make sure I understand as I don't know anyone personally who uses these. Thanks for your patience and taking the time to provide this information. I do truly appreciate it.
...See More
Share your favorite dehydrated food recipes
Q
Comments (10)
I use a lot of dehydrated produce in a lot of recipes. Like last night there was dehydrated corn, kale, and wild chives in the potato and ham chowder. A few nights ago I made stuffed shells, and the tomato sauce had a heap of dehydrated quartered tomatoes and dehydrated sliced mushrooms in it. I always have dehydrated celery and carrots in the house so I have the stuff on hand for mire poix for whenever I need it without having to use up my fresh produce. When onions go on sale for super cheap, I run a few days worth or minced onions and usually have a few quarts in the pantry- right now I've run myself down to the last couple handfuls in the pantry to prep up for restocking onions soon. Herbs of course too, we use heaps of fresh and dried herbs around here. I do up tomatoes sliced, quartered, or halved depending on the kind and size. They get powdered up for instant tomato sauces and pastes, and left in bigger pieces to stew up in soups, stews, and sauces. Summer squashes get grated and dried up- used in all sorts of stuff like soups, casseroles, stews, or even rehydrated for zucchini breads. Winter squashes get cooked, pureed, and dehydrated on jelly sheets till crispy dry- then made into squash flour for baking- it is wonderful in quick breads and hearty breads- you simply replace some of the flour with squash flour. Actually you can make flour out of pretty much any pleasing combination of produce- add veggie kick to any breads, or make tasty veggie crackers. Sometimes I'll grate winter squash raw and it can get added into soups, stews, or sprinkled on pizza like cheese. I do this with sweet potatoes too- we love garlic, spinach, sweet potato, and mushroom pizzas with either white or tomato sauce. Dried and minced/powdered, you can make your own seasoning mixes, dip and dressing mixes, dry vegetable broth mix, and more. For recipes that use the green beans, try looking for it under "leather britches" recipes. Leather britches is what the old timers called the green beans they would hang on strings to dry out and eat up during the winter. I use them mostly in soups and stews, and a couple casseroles. Peppers can be dried up- I tend to do them either in rings, halved, or quartered depending on the size, but I never leave them whole. They are great for additions to all sorts of foods, or ground up into spice powders. If you have a smoker, you can smoke them before drying them too :)
...See More
annie1992
13 years ago
It's really easy. Elery's mother used to string beans on thread and dry them, they called them "leather britches". I don't know why, maybe the hanging green beans looked like the legs of pants?

Anyway, it's easy. I clean mine and snap them into approximately equal sized pieces so they dry evenly. I blanch them for 4 minutes, then plunge into cold water, put them on the trays. I have a big Excaliber dehydrator with temperature settings, so I use 125F. Depending on how big the beans are it takes from 6-10 hours, they should be crisp.

I seldom rehydrate foods on their own, other than mushrooms, instead I'll throw a handful into a pot of simmering soup. However, you can take a cup of dried green beans, cover them with about 2 or 2 1/2 cups of water and rehydrate for whatever you need them for.

I like dried zucchini in soups but I've sprinkled with salt, with garlic salt, with chili powder, etc. So far they're just best in soup although I have a tomato/zucchini gratin recipe I've used them for. The kids mostly like them for zucchini candy, also made in the dehydrator.

I've never dried kohlrabi but I have very little luck with tomatoes, they never seem to actually get crisp, they just get leather-y. I wasn't overwhelmed with strawberries either, but apples and pears dry wonderfully and make great snacks.

I just store the dried items in quart canning jars since I have a plethora of those, but large amounts have been known to go into Lock N Lock containers or even Ziplock freezer bags.

Have fun!

Annie
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
13 years ago
Dehydrating food is easy. You can dry fruit, veggies and meat.

It would be helpful to be able to come up with a way or a tool to easily slice food to equal thinkness, and is adjustable from thin to thick.

dcarch

Related Stories

PRODUCT PICKS Guest Picks: Canning, Preserving, Steaming, Dehydrating

By Meeta K. Wolff

20 products to help make fall produce last through the season and beyond

FARM YOUR YARD 6 Things to Know Before You Start Growing Your Own Food

By Abundant City

It takes time and practice, but growing edibles in the suburbs or city is possible with smart prep and patience

LIFE How to Prepare for and Live With a Power Outage

By Lisa Frederick

When electricity loss puts food, water and heat in jeopardy, don't be in the dark about how to stay as safe and comfortable as possible

HEALTHY HOME 12 Ways to Set Up Your Kitchen for Healthy Eating

By Becky Harris

Making smart food choices is easier when your kitchen is part of your support team

EVENTS Enjoy Plantings, Eat Bugs and Learn at the Australian Garden Show

By Tiffany Carboni

Indulge your senses at this four-day celebration of gardening, food and more in Sydney — and don't forget to try the crickets

Houzz Interview: The Brick House

By Becky Harris

FARM YOUR YARD 4 Farm-Fresh Chicken Coops in Urban Backyards

By Becky Harris

These Atlanta henhouses are worth crowing about for their charming, practical designs

FEEL-GOOD HOME 21 Ways to Waste Less at Home

Whether it's herbs rotting in the fridge or clothes that never get worn, most of us waste too much. Here are ways to make a change

HOUSEKEEPING How to Clean Your Fridge, Inside and Out

By Bonnie McCarthy

Keep your refrigerator clean and fresh, while you gain storage space and lose those ‘UFOs’

HOUSEKEEPING The Quick and Easy Way to Clean a Microwave

By Marianne Lipanovich

All you need is water and a couple of other natural ingredients to get your appliance sparkling and smelling fresh again

Sponsored

Kuhns Contracting, Inc.

26 Reviews

Central Ohio's Trusted Home Remodeler Specializing in Kitchens & Baths

More Discussions

I made a cassoulet!

16

Thinking of Petalique--What's your top 5 quick take-out?

12

Sigh. I bought some ice cream...

16

Have you made fruit leather? Any tips?

3

Salt, just a little pinch

24