Dehydration is a preservation method used in cuisines all over the world. Some examples include dried mangoes in Southeast Asia, French herbs of Provence, Polish wild mushrooms, Mexican chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes from Italy.
Why dehydrate?
Dehydrating creates delicious afternoon snacks, keeps your herb garden fresh, and reduces food waste. In addition to small-batch dehydration, you can go all out and hoard for the winter. Dehydrating food is a good place to start if you’re interested in basic food preservation.
Similar to canning and preserving, novices may feel pressured to go above and above by committing to dehydrating fifty pounds of tomatoes or enough veggies for soup to last till the end of time. That need not be the case. Consider dehydration as an additional tool in your eco-friendly, cost-effective, sustainable living toolbox. If I purchase grapes and they begin to shrivel, I create raisins by tossing them onto a rack over a baking sheet and baking them in a low oven for the entire night.
Dehydrated foods cooked at home can be healthier and cost less than those purchased from stores. Food dyes, palm oil, and high-fructose corn syrup are frequently used to make store-bought fruit leathers. However, making your own fruit leather can be as easy as pureeing dehydrated fruit. You can create your own apple chips for a tenth of the price of store-bought ones, and they make a fantastic snack.
Because dehydrated meals don’t need to be refrigerated and weigh far less than their non-dried equivalents, they are also perfect for trekking and camping. All-natural goodies are also available for our pet buddies. Compared to the expense of factory-made dog biscuits, homemade dried sweet potato treats are incredibly inexpensive.
What equipment is needed to dehydrate?
A dehydrator is the most basic device for both novices and experts. Another option is to use a low oven, ideally one that has a convection setting that circulates the air. These days, several air fryers have a dehydrating feature.
Food dehydrator: Designed to effectively dry food indoors, a food dehydrator is a compact electrical device with fans and vents. Trays are mesh racks made of plastic or metal that let air circulate freely inside dehydrators. (The solid nonstick silicone baking pan used to prepare fruit leather is sometimes confused with a tray.)Depending on the features, bigger plastic food dehydrators can cost hundreds of dollars, while smaller models with less amenities start at about $40. For slightly less than $200, you can purchase a really good, reasonably priced dehydrator with a decent amount of room.
The optimal temperature range for a dehydrator is between 105 and 165 degrees. This guarantees a high enough temperature to safely dry meats for jerky and a low enough temperature to maintain the active enzymes in fruits and vegetables.
Don’t want to spend money on a dehydrator? Try oven drying. Set your oven at its lowest temperature—ideally, 125 degrees for veggies and 135 degrees for fruit. Your food will cook rather than dry if your oven does not go this low. To verify the oven’s temperature, place a thermometer inside. Because of the pilot light’s heat, some gas ovens are inherently that low.
For optimal air circulation, space the oven racks two to three inches apart. Drying trays should be 3–4 inches shorter than the oven from front to back and narrow enough to fit through the oven’s walls. A cooling rack set on top of rimmed baking sheets can be used.
You can leave the oven door slightly open to allow air to circulate. (To keep the door open, I’ve put a spoon inside.) Warning: If you have small children or pets in your home, this is not a safe practice.
Where can I find more information?
You must adhere to scientifically proven food safety regulations whenever you work with food. Even while dehydration can be quite benign, foodborne diseases and germs are serious threats.One of the best places to find information about food preservation methods, including drying, is the University of Georgia’s National Center for Home Food Preservation.
The instruction manual that comes with your dehydrator can also be used. The reader was advised to follow the manufacturer’s instructions in a large number of the do-it-yourself articles I looked into for this subject.
How is food pretreated or prepared before dehydration?
For small-batch dehydration intended for short-term consumption, pretreatment is more of an aesthetic factor than a necessary step. During the drying process, many fruits will oxidize; nonetheless, fruits that have taken on a brownish hue are safe to consume. Pretreating is not necessary for the recipes in this beginner’s guide.
There are two preparation techniques for dried foods intended for longer-term room-temperature storage: blanching and dipping.Ascorbic acid, sometimes referred to as vitamin C, citric acid, fruit juice dip, honey dip, and food-safe sodium bisulfite are all used to pretreat fruits.
Blanching can be carried out in steam or boiling water. Blanching can stop color, flavor, texture, and nutritional changes that occur during drying and storage by deactivating enzymes. Additionally, this process breaks down the skin, making it easier for moisture to leave. Refer to the National Center for Home Preservation for additional information on blanching and dipping.
How do I dehydrate fruits?
One of the simplest methods for dehydrating fruit is to dry it. Select fresh fruit that has ripened completely; throw away any that have bruises or soft patches. Cut the fruit into uniform slices that are no thicker than 1/4 inch. Place the fruit on drying trays in a single layer.
To guarantee consistent drying, move or stir large pieces every three to four hours. Occasionally turning the trays 180 degrees throughout the drying cycle can also be beneficial.
The air’s humidity and the food’s moisture content affect how long it takes to dry. For instance, drying apple slices can take anywhere from 6 to 15 hours. Additionally, the time may vary each time you dehydrate apples. How can you estimate the duration of the procedure? No, you can’t. Thus, examine the moisture content three hours later and again a few hours later.
Dried fruit ought to be supple and leathery. Remove a few pieces of food and let them to cool to room temperature to test for dryness. (Warmed, supple fruit may appear more moist than it actually is.) Squeeze a handful; if the pieces pop off your hand when you release them and no moisture remains, they are dry and ready to be conditioned if you’d like. (See the section below on how to use and store dried fruits and vegetables.)
When fruit leather is shiny and no longer sticky to the touch, it is ready to consume or store.
How do I dehydrate vegetables?
Wash your veggies first, then, if needed, peel and cut them. Many vegetables, including broccoli, peas, carrots, and green beans, must be blanched before drying in order to maintain their color and flavor for long-term storage. Simple dishes, such as dried tomatoes, onions, peppers, and mushrooms, or zucchini chips, don’t, though.
On dehydrator trays, arrange the vegetable pieces in a single layer. Dry them at 125 to 135 degrees until they are malleable but not wet. To guarantee consistent drying, move or stir large pieces every three to four hours. Starting around 1 1/2 hours into the drying cycle, it can be beneficial to turn the trays 180 degrees every so often.
How do I dehydrate herbs?
Herbs can be dehydrated by air drying, using a food dehydrator, or using an oven. The best way to dry herbs with big leaves and strong stems, like parsley, sage, and basil, is to remove the leaves. You can dry herbs with smaller leaves, like rosemary and thyme, on their stems. Just remove the dried leaves from the stems and throw away the stems when ready to store.
Place the herbs in a single layer on the trays, avoiding contact or overlap, and preheat the dehydrator to 95 to 115 degrees.
If using an oven, prop the door open a little and set the oven to the lowest temperature possible, preferably less than 180 degrees.
You can either spread the herbs in a single layer on a screen or paper towels or tie them in little bunches and hang them in a cold, dry, dark place until they are dry and brittle to the touch, which should take one to two days.
How do I store and use dried fruits and vegetables?
By uniformly distributing the little moisture that remains in each piece of dried produce, conditioning lowers the likelihood that it will spoil. For all fruits and vegetables that are meant to be stored at room temperature, this procedure is crucial. Conditioning is not necessary if you are making dehydrated grape tomatoes or spiced zucchini chips that will be eaten right away. However, conditioning is necessary if you are preparing food to be stored for later use.
After dehydrating the dried fruits or vegetables, let them cool fully on their trays. Fill a clean, dry, and airtight glass jar or plastic container two-thirds of the way to the top with the cooled, dried food. After sealing the container, place it somewhere dry and cool. For seven to ten days, shake or stir the contents every day.
Keep an eye out for any indications of moisture or condensation during the conditioning phase. Condensation is a sign that the food is not sufficiently dry yet. After additional drying in the dehydrator, it ought to be reconditioned. Reconditioning entails putting the dried food in a jar, beginning the conditioning process anew, and then keeping an eye on it to make sure there isn’t any moisture left for a second time. Food should be thrown out if mold or mildew develops at any time.
The dried food can be labelled, dated, and packed in airtight containers after conditioning is finished. It can then be kept for six to twelve months in a cool, dry, and dark environment.
How do I reconstitute dehydrated food?
Unless they are being made for chips, dried vegetables should be reconstituted. The finest uses for dehydrated veggies are as ingredients in stews, casseroles, soups, and sauces.
Boiling water or stock is the simplest way to rehydrate veggies. Vegetables take different amounts of time to soak; one cup of dry vegetables rehydrates to roughly two cups.
Not every item that has been dehydrated needs to be reconstituted.Dried fruit pieces can be consumed raw or reconstituted, and fruit leathers don’t need to be rehydrated.
Recipes
No additional chemicals or substances are needed to make these easy beginner recipes for dried fruits, vegetables, and a blend of herbs. Setting the temperature and giving it ample time to dehydrate is all that is required. All you need to begin dehydrating and preserving are these.
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Dehydrated Grape Tomatoes
- 2 dry pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Makes one cup.
5–6 tomatoes per 2-tablespoon serving:One gram of protein, three grams of carbohydrates, two grams of total sugars, one gram of fiber, seventeen calories (three percent of calories from fat), trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, and no sodium.
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Mango Aleppo Fruit Leather
Fruit leather can be created from almost any fruit that can be gently pureed. How long it takes to dehydrate depends on the final liquid-to-fiber ratio.
You can spoon your puree onto a silicone baking mat set on top of a mesh dehydrator tray if you don’t have a rimmed, solid-bottom tray. To get the right thicknesses, just spoon the puree into a square shape and use an offset spatula.
- 2 mangoes
- 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes, such as Aleppo pepper
- Pinch kosher salt
12 servings are produced.
Twelve calories (five percent of calories from fat), three grams of carbs, three grams of total sugars, three grams of trace protein, trace fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, and six milligrams of sodium are included in each meal.
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Italian Herb Seasoning Blend
The best way to dry herbs with big leaves and strong stems, like parsley, sage, and basil, is to remove the leaves. You can dry herbs with smaller leaves, like rosemary and thyme, on their stems. Just remove the dried leaves from the stems and throw away the stems when ready to combine.
This dry Italian seasoning blend can be used to flavor roasted vegetables, pasta, sauces, and soups. Additionally, it works well for roasting meats including lamb, beef, chicken, and pork.
- 1 cup dried basil leaves
- 1/2 cup dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 cup dried rosemary leaves
- 1/2 cup dried sage leaves
- 1/4 cup dried thyme leaves
About 1 cup is made.
Seven calories (percent of calories from fat, 2), trace protein, one gram of carbs, one gram of fiber, trace total fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, and one milligram of salt are included in each teaspoon.
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Spiced Zucchini Chips
-
3 medium zucchini
-
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-
Pinch of coarse kosher salt
-
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
yields two glasses.
One gram of protein, two grams of carbs, two grams of total sugars, one gram of fiber, fourteen calories (or nine percent of calories from fat), fifteen milligrams of sodium, no cholesterol, and trace total fat (or trace saturated fat) per quarter-cup portion.
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Thanks to Virginia Willis
Sweet Potato Dog Treats
-
3 sweet potatoes
produces roughly thirty pieces.
Each piece has 14 calories (percentage of calories from fat), no cholesterol, trace protein, 3 grams of carbs, 1 gram of total sugars, trace fiber, and 7 milligrams of salt.
