More Important Dehydrating Tips

 I may not be able to have a post about dehydrating every single week - it has just worked out that I have dehydrated enough things lately that I have something to say about every week so far. But I am not a one minded tunnel vision type of homesteader. I have many different interests going. I am learning a whole lot of things. And as I learn things I will be sharing with you all. Just in case the things I have learned can help you along your journey through life. 

So last week I dehydrated something that not only surprised me but taught me a few things and I wanted to pass these things along to you as well. 

So as I was doing some dehydrating I decided to start dehydrating some marshmallows. I had watched a youtube video so I was prepared for marshmallows not to shrink like many other foods do when you dehydrate them. But I still ran across something that surprised me. 

So once you have had the marshmallows going for a while and it is time to check them - you will not get an accurate idea of if they are done for not unless you let them cool off. So where I went wrong was once the timer went off and I went to check the marshmellows I would find them not done. This went on for a few hours. Finally it we time to go to bed and I did not want it going all night nor did I want the 20 beeps going on sometime during the night and waking me up, so I just turned the unit off. The next morning before I started the dehydrator again something nudged me to try a marshmallow and sure enough they were done. You can just squeeze them between your fingers and it should crumble- it is firm and takes a good amount of pressure but it will crumble.  

So this same concept also happens with bananas. 

So when you test them - you may want to let them cool off - especially if they have been dehydrating quite a while. This photo of course is the before photo - I did not realize that it is a good idea to put your bananas in a mixture of lemon water prior to dehydrating to help them not brown so much. So my bananas browns a bit. They are still delicious. Oh and something awesome I learned about bananas I want to share. So I love to eat bananas when they are just turning yellow - nice and firm and wonderful. Once they start getting all sorts of spots and brown and mushy - I don't like to eat them unless baking with them. Well I was amazed that when I dehydrated some bananas past their prime they were SO good once they were done - the banana flavor come out so strong and they were tasty!! 

So if you dehydrate marshmallows or bananas - you may want to let them cool down to test them to see if they are done before you add more time. There is no telling how many extra hours I ran my dehydrator than I needed to. Hope these tips help you in your dehydrating journey! :O) 

A Monster Created? You Decide...lol

 In July my husband and I celebrated our 32 wedding anniversary. Little did my husband know what a monster he would create by getting me a nice dehydrator! The first week I dehydrated carrots and potatoes. I posted about that last week. Well about the same time that I began dehydrating the carrots and potatoes a friend sent me a link to this youtube video:

 She had no idea that I was getting into dehydrating! So I watched it and knew that this was something I wanted to try. So the next time I was at Walmart I picked up a large can of peaches and pears! 

These 6 pound cans of fruit made 2 pints of dried fruit. And believe me this these are so delicious! I am so happy to have gotten into this great way of preserving food! It took these 2 large cans of fruit that there is NO way that we would be able to eat through before the stuff went bad. And I would have never bought these cans otherwise. 

By the way - Now I am looking for different ways to use these awesome cans!  I know there must be great ideas and ways to use them! I will be holding onto them and researching what I can do with them! 

Be sure and come back next week - I already have a great project to do with my food processor lined up!! I can't wait to share it with you!! :O) Yes~ I believe my husband was right - a monster has been created!! LOL :0) 

Dehydrating - Hoping for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

So Tuesday morning I decided to dehydrate a 5# bag of potatoes that I needed to use up. 
Well a couple of things that I have learned - it works better if your pieces are uniform and it is challenging to make your pieces uniform. Many people use a mandolin - I will not - I think they are dangerous - I would rather have uneven pieces than a chance for something to get hurt. 

Another thing I learned as I listened to several different youtube videos about dehydrating that people don't like dehydrating only several trays. If you are doing to have the dehydrator going for most of the day - you, too will probably want to have your dehydrator full. After 2 hours of my potatoes in the dehydrator I prepared the 2#'s of carrots that I had so I could dehydrate them as well. Again I had a problem making pieces even. I will use another method to process my carrots next time and see if if works better. 

So another things I learned was a few ideas of how to use the dehydrated foods - So my first thought was to slice the potatoes- and to be honest I wish I had have went with my first thought. But then I was thinking what will I do with them. Well if you slice the potatoes you can re hydrate them and use them to make scalloped potatos and you can even fry them! Yum! Well someone had said that they dice their potatoes and use them in soups and stews - so I diced mine.  Next time I find potatoes on a good sale - I will get some to slice and dehydrate. 

So carrots? You can dice/cube them and use them in stews and soups. And you can shred them and use them in baking. I have even read that you can use the dehydrated carrots in place of coconut. And I am sure there are other things you can do like use shred or cubes in chicken noodle soups and such. There are other ideas - I am just giving some quick ideas. 

So to rehydrate - you take 2 to 1 ratio of the item you are rehydrating - for example - you want to rehydrate 1 cup of potatoes - you will take 2 cups of hot water. Let it set for 15-30 minutes - bigger pieces will take longer of course. 

Dehydrating is a great way to store things. One of the great reasons is that dehydrating takes 5 pounds of potatoes and breaks it down into a much smaller space to store. 

And another excellent thing I learned is you can take frozen, already processed things and dehydrate them. This helps you free up space in your freezer! You can also take canned things - like peaches and dehydrate them! So when your canned things are nearing the expiration date you are able to dehydrate it and help it last longer.  

I am telling you - there are lots and lots of youtube videos to show you what all you can do with dehydration! Lots of awesome information. I am so thankful for people who are willing to take their time to educate others at things they have learned. What a blessing it is to the rest of us!! :O) 

Here is a great video showing how to dehydrate. I hope you all enjoy!! 

Be sure and come back next week when I will share what I dehydrate next! :O)