Food dehydrating

[tripletfeb]

I did that the first year, too. And the second year. And it wasn't really "doing the apples" - it was, like, one or a few batches.

I don't plan to dry tomatoes. I have too many other things that are higher priority for drying, even if I get another dehydrator. Tomatoes are so juicy, I want a different kind of tray before I do more than try a few. Besides, they are so easy to can, I'm doing that. I like freezing them first, then the dunk in boiling water is faster, the skins come off much better, and I don't burn my fingers.

I can lots of tomatoes too. I did 25 quarts of stew tomatoes so far and 10 pints. Salsa is coming next I think. I don't do sauce, too much work for not much results. I used to help my parents do sauce and it was such a pain. I might try doing tomato paste

 

[TooCheep]

I'm considering getting another dehydrator. Mine has been running 24/7 all summer. I could easily keep another one full too.

What kind of dehydrator do you have and what do you think are its pros and cons? Also, how does it compare to any other dehydrator you have used?

Mine doesn't have any identifying marks. It is round, brown, has five trays, and is very simple - just a round heating element in the base and the trays stack on the base.
Pros: I like the simplicity, it is silent, it works for most things I've tried.
Cons: food falls through a lot.
Compare: N/A - I've never tried another

If you do that much dehydrating, you should consider getting an Excaliber. I have a Nesco and use it periodically so it is fine for my needs, but the Excaliber is considered the best of home dehydrators.

 

[Finnie]

There is a dehydrating thread on our sister forum, Sufficient Self
https://www.sufficientself.com/threads/what-did-you-dehydrate-today.17175/
that you all might like.

 

[saysfaa]

The jerky turned out pretty good. I think it is somewhat strong; dh likes it how it is. The recipes seem to say the longer you marinate ite, the stronger the taste. The recipe I used said they liked a minimum of 18 hours. Afterwards, I saw many that said 4 hours. I used the oven because I don't have a thermometer for the dehydrator. And it was still full.

The last batch of bread didn't come out right. I think I didn't let it rise long enough. It was good while it was still hot, of course, but not worth eating otherwise. I sliced it and put it in the dehydrator too. It is now good bread crumbs that I can't tell were a dense loaf.

The Italian sweet peppers are caught up but I see more are close to ready to pick. A couple more zucchini are dehydrated.

The apples I had picked are done going through the dehydrator except the two batches of applesauce, of course. No pies yet, it takes too much time and space.

I tried to get more blueberries but the upick places are closed for the season. Most of them because they don't have people since school started up rather than not having berries. One more place might still have them.

And the dehydrator is turned off. For a while. More apples are coming. Possibly peaches. Definitely winter squash. At least some more peppers.

 

[tripletfeb]

The jerky turned out pretty good. I think it is somewhat strong; dh likes it how it is. The recipes seem to say the longer you marinate ite, the stronger the taste. The recipe I used said they liked a minimum of 18 hours. Afterwards, I saw many that said 4 hours. I used the oven because I don't have a thermometer for the dehydrator. And it was still full.

The last batch of bread didn't come out right. I think I didn't let it rise long enough. It was good while it was still hot, of course, but not worth eating otherwise. I sliced it and put it in the dehydrator too. It is now good bread crumbs that I can't tell were a dense loaf.

The Italian sweet peppers are caught up but I see more are close to ready to pick. A couple more zucchini are dehydrated.

The apples I had picked are done going through the dehydrator except the two batches of applesauce, of course. No pies yet, it takes too much time and space.

I tried to get more blueberries but the upick places are closed for the season. Most of them because they don't have people since school started up rather than not having berries. One more place might still have them.

And the dehydrator is turned off. For a while. More apples are coming. Possibly peaches. Definitely winter squash. At least some more peppers.

What do you do with the dehydrated zucchini?

 

[saysfaa]

I haven't tried anything yet. i'm planning to put it into stews.

 

[tripletfeb]

I haven't tried anything yet. i'm planning to put it into stews.

Let us know how it goes! I never thought about dehydrating zukes

 

[saysfaa]

Let us know how it goes! I never thought about dehydrating zukes

The dehydrated summer squash did very well on pizza. Dh liked the pizza very much until he asked what was on it. Then he said squash does NOT go on pizza! But was only a principal thing; not because of the results.

I used slices of one at the almost gone to seed stage, so it had a rim tapering quickly to nothing. I don't think I like the idea of solid pieces either. The lacy ones sort of mostly disappeared into the sauce and/or among the other toppings.

Otherwise, we are still eating fresh zucchini and yellow summer squash (and other vegetables) so haven't used the dried ones in anything else. Those summer squash were just in the way at the time.