I have dry milk and buttermilk for baking, used by the spoonful for enrichment. I have some whole dried mushrooms and chilis. Quite a few dried, but not “dry” fruits: raisins, sultanas, currants, prunes, apricots, cherries, sour cherries, blueberries, cranberries. Some others. Mushroom salt, if that counts. I keep thinking about tomato powder, but I've heard it clumps more easily than I can take. Lots of dried herbs, plus chopped onions, chopped mixed veg, chopped jalapeños. Nothing like Grainlady's hoards of mystery powders. I miss Grainlady.

Oh! Plus things like starches, gums and malt powders...

Hmmm. I like the idea of dried mushrooms. I love mushrooms, but don't really know when I'm going to use them and they get slimey and I have to toss them. Do you dry them, then freeze?

I buy them dry. ;)

Haven't bought or eaten them in years, but I used to get bags of dried black mushrooms at the Chinese/Asian markets - loved the flavor and texture.

I can't think of anything besides dried grains, legumes and raisins that I have on hand right now. I do like dried fruit and most often dehydrate bananas and papayas - dried apples are scrumptious, but more work.

I mostly have dried fruits, which I love to eat for a snack. Grainlady gave instructions for making fruit leather and I've done that. I don't care much for dried mushrooms; I think they have a weird flavor.

Lars, have you tried Better Than Bouillon Mushroom base? Not cubes, but I like having it on hand to add to dishes, esp when I'm cooking vegetarian.

https://www.betterthanbouillon.com/products/mushroom-base/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAst2BBhDJARIsAGo2ldWiiRV1trmu9KrJf0tV6SHmyftJtEzrxFWK-a9Sh7boLfIttXbZeIgaAiLBEALw_wcB

Over the years I've dehydrated quite a few things.

Various chili peppers for powder

Guajillo peppers

Cayenne peppers

Garlic for powder

Onions for powder

Tomatoes

Morel mushrooms

Hen of the woods mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms

Zucchini chips

various meat jerky

potatoes (shredded for hash browns and thin sliced for scalloped potatoes) - requires blanching first or they will turn an off putting grey when dried

Apricots

Apples

fruit leather

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things from the list.

Like Kim G, I dehydrate portions of my two sourdough starters (white and whole wheat), then vacuum seal them in canning jars. Good to have back-ups for both, and also to have dry portions to share with distant family.

I don't dry them myself, but always keep dried Porcini mushrooms on hand. Since they're so expensive, I buy them in large bulk jars to keep the cost per serving within reason, and I think they are essential to a good homemade umami powder or paste.

Not much, really. Dried fruit, of course. Other than that, just chili peppers and porcini and shitake mushrooms. DH has all kinds of crazy dried stuff stashed, I don't even know what most of it is. Other than bonito flakes -- which I know because they stink when uses them.

Not much and all I can think of off hand is sun dried tomatoes and the common fruit such as raisins, dates, apricots, cranberries....and garlic and onion powders and flakes.

Oh I gotta lotta dry and dehydrated stuff I use on the regular. Lots of beans and grains, those are just naturally dry and not dehydrated. Powdered whole milk, low-fat milk, buttermilk, coconut milk. A couple forms of commercial dry potatoes, pasta, minced garlic, sun dried tomato granules, a plethora of herbs and spices. Dashi, nori, seaweed chips and a couple kinds of furikake.

Boullion- in dry powders, I got beef, ham, onion, mushrooms, chicken, chicken-tomato, and trying out some thai cubes. A few flavors of Better than Boullion in the fridge, I can second that the mushroom is good, so is the garlic, beef, veggie, and chicken.

I dehydrate a lot of stuff, and have a pantry shelf of just that. Over a dozen kinds of peppers, cole slaw mix, green cabbage, shredded zukes, shredded broccoli, carrots in various forms, shredded sweet potato, squash pulp flake, tomatoes, corn, peas, celery, shredded asparagus, kale, radish greens, nasturtium leaves, mushrooms, gumbo mix, ginger, mango, pineapple, kiwi, lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, clementines, citrus zests, cucumber slices, beet chips, riced cauliflower, minced leek greens, minced onion, apple slices, pear slices, smoked fish, lunchmeat, jerky... I cook beans from dry and dehydrate to go with instant rice, and also like to keep cooked and dehydrated small shells and lasagna noodles for "instant pasta". Squash flour and peach flour, tomato powder, caramelized onion, plain mushroom powder and Bristol mushroom granules, sloppy joe mix, enchilada sauce, salsa powder, tzatziki base, veggie broth powder and mixed vegetables grind, and a brussels sprouts and cauliflower soup base blend. Toothache plant flower heads.

I usually have shredded daikon radish on the shelf, but didn't have a good fall harvest last year and didn't have the surplus for shredding. This year I'm trying a wasabi radish, so hopefully will restock with those :) I sometimes do shredded brussels sprouts and sliced parsnips and rutabagas. Sometimes grape and plum halves.

Most stuff I process raw, some gets blanched, sometimes stuff gets smoked first before dehydrating. It's not uncommon at some point during harvest time for me to be running both dehydrators, the smoker, the canning kettle, and probably a crockpot of something for finishing in the canner or dehydrator.

I store stuff either in clean canning jars with their canning lids and rings- vacuum sealed if I'm putting them in the larder instead of on the pantry shelf, and some stuff gets sealed up in vacuum bags for the larder shelf.

Most of it is shelf stable for a goodly year or much more if stored properly- I try to plan my rounds of restocks for seasonal harvests or sales. A few things aren't so long term shelf stable, like things with oils or fats in them, and those get stored in the fridge or freezer.

Wow - that's an impressive list beesneeds!

I forgot about pasta. It's certainly dried. And so are the chunky bread pieces in the bags of stuffing mix I keep on hand. I use that instead of seasoned breadcrumbs, pulverizing them in the blender first.

Thanks, beesneeds! That list is very helpful and inspiring.

I do have dried nori in L.A. that I use in soups, and I should bring some here to the desert as well. I also keep furikake on hand, but if it has sesame seeds in it, then I store it in the freezer, the same way I store za'atar. In general, I do not dry herbs, as they grow for me all year, and some of them are more prolific in the winter anyway.

I do buy Better Than Bouillon mushroom soup base, but it is not dried and must be refrigerated.

As for tomato power, if it comes in a plastic container, I transfer it glass containers that I can vacuum seal, and I add desiccant packets to it. Otherwise it is bad for clumping. If it clumps, I manage to remove chunks of it and then chop the chunks with a sharp knife.

I just remembered that I do have dehydrated cooked peas in L.A., and I like to add these to rice at the end of cooking. I do like frozen peas better, but these are a good substitute if I happen to be out of the frozen. I've also bought dehydrated okra, which I like very much as a snack, but I have not used this in cooking.

I also always keep bonito flakes on hand, as they are an important ingredient in several Japanese dishes that I make, especially okonomiyaki.

Dehydrated zucchini sounds very good, and I've also had dehydrated kale that I liked.

Does anyone have a favorite source for dehydrated tomato granules? I realize that this is very different from tomato powder, but I think I would still like to get some. I found some at the Terra Spice Market Place site but don't know whether this is a good price. At least it comes in a glass jar instead of plastic.

Apparently its sprinkles, not granules, lol. I got Lesprit de campagne Virginia sun-ripened dried tomatoes for sprinkles. It's different than my home-dehydrated tomatoes and tomato powder. I couldn't tell ya where to get it, I got mine at an odd little store near me.

I don't do my own minced garlic either, I get that in bulk from Monterey Bay Spice Co. I get some other herbs and teas from them as well. I dry my own sage and tarragon, but tend to freeze the other fresh herbs from my garden.

I've learned and gotten accustomed to using a lot of dehydrated stuff over the last decade. Some stuff hasn't worked for me- green beans and limas :( And commercial potatoes just turn out better than my homemade. Dried strung cranberries even the birds wouldn't eat, heheeh.

Some stuff is just for slow cooking, like celery and unblanched carrots- not great in fresh cooking, but right handy for using in stocks on the regular, especially if I don't have a lot of fresh raw carrots and celery on hand.

A bunch of it I put together as homemade versions of commercial dry packet meals like soups, pasta salads, rice dishes. A couple hours of prepping and bagging or into jars and I got a variety of quick meals for a couple months. And I get to leave out fillers, preservatives and control salt content.

Favorite purchased dehydrated foods are refried beans and coconut milk. We keep dried eggs around and there may still be a can of Y2K butter in the basement, lol. Once in awhile I'll dehydrate a big can of pineapple tidbits for kid snacks.

Out of the yard and garden we like kale (use it crumbled like parsley and rehydrate for soups), huckleberries when the deer don't eat the bushes, elderberries, morels, onions, leeks, sliced garlic and our favorite... red cherry tomatoes, halved and sprinkled with salt, fresh ground pepper, granulated garlic and oregano. If I have potatoes left going into spring, I'll slice them and steam them well to dry for soup, au gratin etc.

If I have a big crop of tomatoes I like to make sauce, reduce it and dry plops of thick sauce/paste. I gave up on tomato powder because I didn't use it fast enough and it would lose all its color and turned into a brick.

I've had a nine tray Excalibur dehydrator for about 40 years .Mine has a metal cabinet. We used to raise our own beef and a family favorite was beef jerky. I like to dry sliced tomatoes, so easy to cut up a few to add to a pot of soup. I also make dried shredded carrots for soup and I dry some of my herbs. I also make dried apple slices

Dried peppers and apples are my most used items. Depending on what I have in my fall garden or on hand - leeks, celery leaves, mushrooms, tomatoes.... Then there are herbs for tea and cooking - several mints, lemon balm, bee balm, verveine, chamomile, tarragon, sage, thymes, shiso, basil...

KatieC what do you put your Plops of sauce on to dry them? When I origionaly got my dehydrator, I got a couple of sheets of something to lay on the racks, but those are long gone! Can I get something at the kitchen store?

NancyJane - parchment paper will work fine in a dehydrator for that. You might want to double it up since there will still be quite a big of liquid in the sauce. Wax paper would probably be fine to use as well since the temp used is only around 125F.

KatieC - when I dry tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic for making powder, I put them in quart jars in the freezer and only grind them a little at a time as needed. I also put desiccant capsules in the jars of powder to help keep them from turning into a brick. I also use them in other seasoning mixes and meat rubs for the same reason. My RA med comes with a little desiccant capsule that I use but you can buy them on Amazon here - Desiccant capsules 100 for $13.

Lars - I think you will really like dehydrated zucchini chips. There are many different recipes on the web you can try and they are basically all the same other than what spices are used. I always make them from zucchini and yellow squash that get away from me and are too big for fresh eating. The bigger the better! I'm sure if you ask someone at your farmer's market they will gladly sell you some larger ones that aren't marketable.

I stock all the milk powders including goat. So smart since I rarely purchase a carton. I can just use a couple tBsp's in a bit of warm water for a chowder or tomato soup. No need to purchase a quart or pint that will go bad if not used. I could freeze but powdered is just smart/handy. Cheese making I order a 5 gallon fresh crate.

I have many mushrooms I use for so many things.

Never stock pre-made powdered stocks with all the added salts, sugars, chemicals and preservatives. All my fresh veg deserves better. Even my frozen veg. I make a bone broth strained, then simmered down in 1/4 pint cups for the freezer. Concentrated.

My dehydrator gets overtime use late august thru early October. It's ok. Much needed for over-abundance of produce. I do prefer slow roasting and freezing for most. Lots of fermentation.

Favorite, staying on topic, would be my Dashi crate in the pantry and freezer. It was a mess of packages last night, so I made 'kits' while making a Dashi broth. Turned this 'heap' into 6 packages for 'instant' home Dashi. I use more aromatics than Kenji. Gets complicated if I have to look for this-n-that. All six in the freezer door drawer. Straight into four cups of water from the freezer.

I make the second soak, I call second pressing. I have a quart ball jar in the fridge I will strain and freeze...I don't see a meal in the next few days. So I freeze in 2 1/4 pints.

Kenji's quick miso soup link, HERE

(he is at home so give him a break without a camera crew)...I've been enjoying chefs/cooks at home lately. Real life without producers interfering. ...

I would like a freeze dryer. I researched the first generation and passed. FreezeRight has a new model that has dealt with the 'kinks'

they had in the first generation. Not for me at this time but nice to know a good home model exists.

I would need to be retired, with a dozen chickens, a few goats for milk, a moose license, Double my garden square footage and a greenhouse and a tunnel within a tunnel.

Freeze dried is minimal ten years. Usually 20-25. Shelf stable. 95% fresh from fresh. Better than frozen.

The few times I've caught RachelRay at home after her home burned down to a crisp...so different than her high energy high pitch over-produced day time show. Kenji at home awkward, but human real life, and so many others....

Anywho, I stock most of the freeze-dried from NorthBay. And the tomato flake and powder. I've only ordered twice in the past six years. I prefer to oven roast or smoke roast my tomatoes/tomatillos with various adds like garlic, onions, etc. Flat packed in the freezer. The seasonal rotation works for us. I will start to run out by spring with the next harvest on the way...the timing is perfect.

I make cup-a-soups. Like you see in heath food stores. Cardboard cups with a tiny bit of freeze dried veg and stock. Over-priced but I can make my own without the cup that gets crushed in my bag.

They do not clump. You have to bring any powders out of the fridge or freezer to room temperature before opening. Cold moisture transfer happens immediately when opening a package from cold. Freezer or fridge. You cannot sneak a bit quickly, lol.

Commercial freeze-dried is only as good as the initial product. A massive kitchen, like a cafeteria mass produced meal style using 10 pound cans and not much fresh for our military...some fresh like potatoes...freeze dried is best, but not like freeze drying at home with garden fresh.

I've had a million needs for a good quick nutrient packed broth over the past twenty years. Traveling, crap plane travel with nothing good, kayak/boat trips/hikes. Stupid cardboard cups always get crushed. I like making my own.

I've been making miso soup using recipes from a book my brother has called The Joy of Miso. I put wakame in mine, but Kevin doesn't especially like that, although I do make a seaweed salad made from dried wakame that I buy at one of the Japanese markets that we go to in L.A. We don't have Japanese markets in Coachella Valley, and so I have to bring Japanese ingredients with me from L.A. when we come here. At the moment, I do not have any miso paste here, but I stock three different kinds in L.A. I tend to eat more Japanese food in L.A. and more Mexican food in Coachella Valley.

I do keep plenty of dried noodles at both locations, although I have not been using them much lately.

One of my concerns at the moment is keeping at least half a tank of gas in our vehicles, in case there is a disaster that shuts off power to gas pumps.

A few days before StormSandy I put my storm prep list copies in all my neighbors mailboxes. With my phone#. We had a small texting neighborhood group already.

....fuel your cars, fill all spaces in your freezer with zip-locks of block ice, etc. Our list is much longer now but still not a big issue having a few days to prepare. If you do not consider the basic dozen, your family will suffer.

Having suffered Storm Igor, one of the worst storms recorded in Canadian history...no one knew. The world did not care. Shut off from contact for a couple weeks. (when we finally had cell and internet I called my dad. He could care less and went on and on about his new hearing aide and a new self powered lawn mower 🙄). So many suffer only locally or state or fire/floods, etc.

This pandemic is global. We are globally connected in this together. We relate and can share personal experiences how we cope.

I've had a few dozen texted 'thank you!' from co-workers and friends and family for my micro-green kits, bean club, local farm share, Misfits...all suggested well ahead of covid lock down. BTW, I was not at all a food preacher...just liked my researched choices. People asked. Local or USA supported. Using various grains, seeds, beans for variety.

Eating well is not that hard. But nothing is pure. Arsenic in rice, metals/plasics in the sea...variety and rotate. Chickens eat a rice feed....arsenic. Buy pasture raised...etc. Pesticides, oy. Are my choices the best?, heck no. Staying away from processed food makes the most sense to me. And multiple grains. Soaked overnight....

Kenjis miso soup. Even if you like it differently, he does not care. David Chang could give a sh$$ts Creek if you don't like his methods. Both good teachers full of information about process...

After my freezer died, I decided that stocking dried foods was the way to go, and they keep even when the power is off, which is not the case with frozen food.

I'm pretty much out of dried mushrooms now, and so I need to get more - I forget where I bought the last ones. They are probably my favorite dried food. I think I bought them at Surfas Restaurant Supply in Culver City.

I put a lot of dried foods that I buy in the freezer before I store them, as I have found that some may have bugs, especially mushrooms and chilies. After I have left them in the freezer for two or three days, I vacuum seal them for longer storage.

I use a variety of dried mushrooms so always well stocked. Tonight I'll use the soaking liquid from porcini and shiitake in the sauce for a ginger beef and broccoli stir fry.

This website has a great grocery identification list. I stock a variety of noodles, grains, seeds. The noodle list alone has helped clear up the shopping confusion. A mung bean noodle we like, 1/2 inch wide with ruffled edges, and a few glass noodles are described and pictured. Last time in the international market I was blurry-eyed in the giant noodle isle. Hundreds.

We bounce and skip around SouthAmerica, Asian, and Mediterranean flavors. Bold and assertive not too much spicy heat.

I also have a big Excaliber 9 tray dehydrator, but have given up on tomato powder, my tomatoes never seem to get dry enough to BE powder, and it turns into a tomato brick, even with the dessicant packs. (sigh)

I do dry apples, and use them annually for Elery's Mother's Apple Stack Cake, I've become "keeper of the recipe" and it is required for Christmas. Any not used for that just gets eaten as snacks by the Grandkids, they love them.

I always dehydrate zucchini "chips", I bought some Garlic Sriracha seasoning from Costco and sprinkled the slices before drying. Elery loved them and ate them instead of potato or tortilla chips. I always dry some "plain" to put into soups too, and I make "zucchini candy", which is just zucchini, cut into "worms", boiled in a concentrated koolaid/sugar mixture and then dehydrated and tossed in sugar. Not healthy, but the kids love 'em.

Leeks are handy dried, all the family members want them, it's easy and convenient to use and I also dehydrate chopped onion in the fall when the onions are ready to go into storage.

I dehydrate sliced garlic, I peel the garlic and toss the cloves into the food processor with the slicing blade. They dry well and relatively quickly and can quickly be ground to powder, used as is, or crumbled in the mortar and pestle, depending on your needs. I keep garlic for several months and then when it starts to sprout, it goes into the dehydrator, usually about February.

Peppers? Oh yes, always peppers, both hot and sweet. Elery also likes to take the dried hot peppers and grind them to powder which he then puts on EVERYTHING!

Mushrooms when they go on sale or when I can forage some morels, but I use far more than I ever have, so mostly mushrooms get purchased at the grocery store.

Herbs of all kinds go into the dehydrator, although I freeze basil, I think it loses flavor when dried. So, rosemary, curry plant, sage, oregano, chives, parsley. Thyme is sturdy, I dig that right out of the snow so I don't bother to dry it and I'm still looking for a good spot for some lovage.

I have dehydrated jerky, but it seems to lose its flavor quickly and become bland and chewy. It's really good when it's freshly made, though...

Oh, and various fruit "leathers" for the grandkids, although I quickly learned not to roll them up in waxed paper no matter what I find on the internet. That stuff will stick to it forever!

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of it. I store all my dehydrated stuff in glass canning jars, I have a lot of the old blue ones that were at Dad's, and I don't put them into the canner, they are strictly for dry storage.

And, like Sleevendog, I get some dried beans from other sources. I do get the 32 bean soup from North Bay. It really does have 32 kinds of beans, as well as 8 or 9 vegetables, some barley, nice seasonings. I really like it.

Annie

I had the idea to check for dehydrated cream, to see if it is a thing, and I found out that it is. It appears that Hoosier Hill Farms has a lot of dehydrated products that I had not even considered. Of course I would never buy a powdered Mac mix, but I wonder if powdered cheddar might have some uses. I can imagine it on popcorn, for example, but I am particularly interested in dehydrated cream, since it has a longer shelf life than regular cream. So far I've only bought Clear Jel from Hoosier Farms.

I used to stock cream in my upright freezer before it died, but I now no longer have freezer space for that. Hoosier Farm powdered buttermilk is a bit more expensive that what I normally buy, but I might consider it.

I wonder if it is really necessary for me to stock both powdered milk and powdered buttermilk, since I can add vinegar or lemon juice to the milk to make the recipes I have that call for buttermilk - mostly pancakes and waffles, but also fried chicken.

I did buy the dehydrated cheddar cheese, and it does resemble cheetle, and so I put some on some popcorn, which was very good.

I also ordered (and received) dehydrated cream, but I haven't opened it yet, as I do not need it for now, but I might in the future. I thought about buying dehydrated sour cream, but somehow I do not think it would be as good as fresh.

I dry the dark green tops of my leeks, then powder them. They are outstanding added to soups, dips, etc. I also dry the white parts of my leeks, in rings for throwing in soups.

Cherry tomatoes, halved and dehydrated, are super delicious for crumbling onto salads, topping pizzas, or simply munching. Larger tomatoes, sliced and dried, are useful as well.

Dried kale/chard,broccoli leaves etc. are good dried for later soups.