There are a few ways to go about dehydrating your food, but some methods are more successful than others. Here are the most common methods used today. For about 12, years people have sliced fruit and placed it on racks or lines in the sunshine.
Sun drying is very effective in places with long periods of hot sun. The ancient Romans commonly ate raisins and dried figs thanks to their Mediterranean climate. Just remember that fruit takes several days to dry thoroughly. Place on a mesh screen—avoiding anything galvanized —and cover with a second screen to deter flies and other insects.
Like sun drying, air drying is an ancient method of dehydrating food. The main difference is that air drying usually takes place in the shade. A step up from sun drying, solar drying uses a dehydrator powered by the sun to passively dry your food.
Solar dryers work outdoors and are usually designed like a mini tabletop greenhouse. Oven drying uses your home oven to slowly dry food at temperatures around F. But they can save you the trouble of buying an extra appliance if quick drying is your goal. Anything over F will cook your food instead of drying it.
Add modern technology to age-old drying techniques and presto: you have electric dehydrators. These little powerhouses come equipped with fans and elements to quickly and efficiently dry your food. That means virtually no spoilage and a tasty end result. Most electric dehydrators also come with a temperature gauge and adjustment dial. An Excalibur food dehydrator is great for drying fruits, vegetables, fruit leathers, jerky, fish, herbs, and soaked grains or nuts.
Herbs placed in the microwave take 2 to 3 minutes. You can dehydrate almost any fresh food, but some things dehydrate better than others. Here are some favorites.
The main goal in preparing food for dehydrating is to get an even thickness. That way things will dehydrate at the same rate, leaving you with a uniform end result. One tool that has been around for a long time is this apple slicing device. The model below is cast iron and is over 20 years old and still going.
For processing fruit like apples and pears, it works like a charm to slice, peel, and core simultaneously. Look for one without plastic parts. The rubber suction cup on the bottom helps seal the tool to your counter. A sharp, short paring knife and a hand peeler are useful for peeling and cutting fruit and vegetables. A food processor or grater can also be useful for slicing, dicing, and chopping ingredients for soups, stews, and snacks. Slice meat thinner where possible. The main reason to remove the skins from fruits and vegetables is to get rid of imperfections that might affect taste and appearance.
You might also choose to remove the skins from non-organic produce to lessen exposure to pesticides. Related: Pesticides in Produce. If you do want to remove skins from fruits like peaches, apricots, or tomatoes, dip them in boiling water for up to 60 seconds.
Next place in cold water for another 60 seconds, or until the skins start to crinkle and lift. The skins will now come off easily by hand. You can blanch vegetables that normally take longer to cook by steaming for 2 to 5 minutes.
This will help preserve nutrients and prevent flavor loss before drying. Blanching refers to pre-heating your vegetables, fruits, and meats before placing them in your dehydrator.
People usually blanch vegetables—particularly those that take longer to cook—because it helps prevent flavor loss before drying. The easiest way to blanch is to place vegetables in the basket of your steamer and heat water beneath. Steam for 2 to 5 minutes until vegetables are heated to the center.
Blanching some vegetables before dehydrating can help preserve flavor and quality. Often it has been dipped in preservatives. Here are some options that are especially good at stopping light-colored fruits from darkening.
Ascorbic acid : Dissolve 1 tablespoon of pure ascorbic acid into 1 quart of water. Add sliced or chopped food to the solution and let sit for no longer than one hour. Remove, drain, and rinse lightly before adding to dehydrator trays.
You can usually find ascorbic acid at your local health food or grocery store. Citric acid : Dissolve 1 tablespoon of citric acid in crystalline form. Treat as above. Buy citric acid at your local health food or grocery store. Fruit juice : Stir 1 cup lemon juice into 1 quart of water. Dip fruit for up to 10 minutes, and then drain well.
Sodium bisulfite : Dissolve 1 teaspoon of sodium bisulfite powder in 1 quart of water. The one thing I learned from this book is that you should keep the dehydrating temp no higher than degrees. I have learned it make all the difference. Everything retains its color. If you dehydrate and the color changes the temperature is to high and it is being cooked and not dehydrated. Can you please tell me the name of your vintage book on dehydrating foods?
I really appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks Marilyn. Press the button or pull the trigger and the machine will suck the oxygen out of the bag preserving the foo and inhibiting the growth of microbes and germs.
For example, cheese and sugar, where they would normally go hard after a day or two, here they last for months. Preserving in season foods is a tasty, satisfying way to decrease the carbon footprint of your family.
Are the dehydrators still going to be used after you know about the freeze drying of course they are expensive but the results are excellent. Thank you for sharing these tips.
I am new to using a dehydrator but am looking forward to making my own snacks and I always love to learn more ways to store food to last longer.
My manual says degrees but my machine says low, medium and high. How do I know which is degrees? I have a wonderful old dehydrator with no temperature control. I have a Ronco dehydrator given by a friend 25 years ago. I dehydrated pineapples and cantaloupes. The first batches turned out good.
But now the cantaloupe slices all came out with black patches. Some are completely black, looks like they are burnt. However they are still not dry. I use a water:lemon juice solution for fruits that brown easily. I have a dehydrater and want to dry my peppermint leaves. Is it a good idea.
No temperature regulater. It,s very informative article. Love this article. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Toggle navigation Learn Call Call Jeff Flowers on September 18, 27 Comments. The fire hazard is significantly reduced as a result of the low temperatures that dehydrators run at when compared to other cooking appliances such as a toaster oven or kettle. Prior to using the dehydrator, you should check for damage to the plug or the cord and as always to minimise and protect yourself from or during a fire you should ensure that you have a working smoke alarm which is tested regularly.
You should also check the safety recalls for your make and model of dehydrator every six months or so. In some cases, appliances can be recalled due to a fault which has been reported multiple times and therefore made the appliance unsafe for use by all who own it.
Therefore reapplying the heat afterwards can cause many foods to become incredibly brittle and break easily. Can You Over Dehydrate Food? You can over dehydrate food to the point the food loses all forms of texture. Signs of over dehydration of foods includes; Bad taste Different smell Change in texture Smaller in size Dehydration can occur from the temperature of the dehydrator as well as how long you leave the food inside the appliance for.
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