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Rocky Mountain Gardening

What have you dehydrated today?

8 years ago

Instead of keeping going with the dehydrator thread thought I'd start a new one for posting what foods folks are drying!

Skybird and I got to talking about drying pineapple in that other thread, and K.Soopers is selling them for $1 each (yea, I meant 'each' not 'per pound' in my post Skybird - lol) right now, so perfect time to try some.

I started some yesterday and think they are just about done today - so all in all, I've had them going for about 18 hrs. (I shut off the dehydrator before going to bed last night, and then started it again this morning). I started them at the recommended 135 degrees yesterday, but today, I lowered the temp to 95 degrees - that's because it seemed to me that they were getting too hot on the outside and started looking kind of brownish, yet still too wet on the inside. So I thought letting them take longer at a lower temp might give me more of the result I was looking for, which is still a bit chewy rather than a chip!

Here's a pic I took just awhile ago:

I think they are really close to being done enough, but this is a bit of an experiment. Don't want them too wet inside, but I don't want them completely dry and crunchy either!

I used one of those pineapple spiral slicers to cut mine. I think the thickness of the slices was ok, appx 1/3 - 1/2 inch thick. Sure is a lot easier than peeling and slicing by hand!!

I've used my old convection one in the past for tomatoes, basil, cranberries and a few other things I'm sure but can't think of right off the top of my head. This is my first use of my new fan powered Nesco dehydrator - I'm really liking it so far!

What is your favorite thing/success stories for dehydrating?

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Comments (2)

tomatoz1
8 years ago
Love my dehydrator and wish I had purchased one years ago.

I think I went overboard last year with garlic, hot peppers, apples, roma tomatoes, and bananas.
mathewgg
8 years ago
Generally, I only dry herbs for winter cooking. Usually, thyme, rosemary sprigs, winter savory, bay and sage leaves. Last year was my first time doing bay leaves, and I ran out before Christmas. This year I'll double the quantity I dry, but it's difficult because my bay tree is about 4 feet tall and I feel like I'm butchering it. Those other herbs are doomed for the winter anyway, so it's easier to harvest them.

Last year I dehydrated some peppers for the firs time; Little Romanian Targu Mures peppers, which I later ground into hot paprika. It's been awesome to cook with paprika that I made myself, but I should probably cut it with a sweeter pepper for the next batch. Those Targu Mures aren't ferociously hot, but you certainly don't want to use them exclusively for a pot of goulash.
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