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    Dried And True: Some Tips For Dehydrating Vegetables

    Floyd
    Floyd


    Posts : 4104
    Join date : 2010-04-16

    Dried And True: Some Tips For Dehydrating Vegetables Empty Dried And True: Some Tips For Dehydrating Vegetables

    Post  Floyd Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:59 am

    Dried and True: Some Tips for Dehydrating Vegetables

    Each
    method of "putting food by" has its pros and cons, in terms of
    simplicity, flavor, and length of shelf life. Perhaps you had a mother
    or grandmother who spent days (or weeks) each summer in the kitchen,
    canning or freezing the garden's bounty with your willing (or
    unwilling!) assistance. Another method worth looking at is dehydration.
    Did you know that only 20 to 30 percent of nutrients are retained by
    canning, 40 to 60 percent by freezing, but 95 to 97 percent by
    dehydration? In addition, dehydrated foods take a fraction of the space
    that canned goods take, and do not require a constant power supply as
    frozen foods do. Most everyone has had the depressing - and expensive -
    experience of pitching a freezer full of food after a power outage.

    If you're ready to try your hand at dehydrating food, start with a few basic veggies. Here are some tips...

    Green beans.
    One traditional method is to use a needle and thread: Simply run a
    string through the beans and hang them to dry. Or use your dehydrator,
    but be sure to blanch the beans first to ensure better flavor. After the
    beans are dried, they may be shrink-wrapped for further "compactness."
    If so, wrap each portion in a paper towel to prevent the beans from
    poking through the package. When you're ready to use them, they may be
    dropped directly into soups and stews However, rehydrate them before
    using in recipes calling for canned beans.

    Link: www.FoodShortageUSA.com

    Potatoes.
    Modern housing - even in rural areas - most often snubs the idea of the
    root cellar. Even if you're fortunate enough to have a root cellar, you
    may still want to dry a few potatoes, which turns out to be a real
    space saver (five pounds of potatoes become just one). First, scrub
    them, and slice them up. Then soak in salt brine for a few minutes to
    prevent them from turning brown, then place them in the dehydrator for
    about a day. You can even pre-shred your spuds and dehydrate them to use
    for hash browns.

    Tomatoes. If you've got sun, you can
    take advantage of the free energy; and if necessary, finish the job in
    the dehydrator. Cut them in quarter-inch wedges, and coat lightly with
    salt before setting them out. This pre-drying in the sun works well for
    tomatoes; their water content makes them more challenging in the
    dehydrator than other produce. When finished, put them in plastic bags
    or glass jars. You can store them this way for up to 6 months If longer
    storage is needed, put them in the freezer.

    Onions. After
    removing the outer layer, cut into quarter-inch slices. Dry until
    brittle. Like green beans, you can drop dried onions directly into soups
    or stews. Grind in a food mill or blender to make onion flakes or
    powder; mix powder with an equal amount of salt for homemade onion salt.

    The
    next time you have surplus harvest and want to preserve some for the
    days of winter - or for times when your food supply is endangered by any
    number of circumstances - give dehydration a try. And share some of
    your "dried goods" with your neighbors to let them in on the secret of
    easy, nutritious preserved food.
    Floyd
    Floyd


    Posts : 4104
    Join date : 2010-04-16

    Dried And True: Some Tips For Dehydrating Vegetables Empty Re: Dried And True: Some Tips For Dehydrating Vegetables

    Post  Floyd Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:00 am

    arol, last year we had an abundance of herbs and I
    was looking for a way to preserve them without losing their color and
    vibrancy. I found a recipe online that worked out well. You have to wash
    the herbs well, chop them as you would if you were to use them in a
    recipe; to every cup of herbs you add one teaspoon of sea salt and blend
    well. Store refrigerated in a covered glass jar. You can use it in your
    recipes just adjust the amount of salt you use. Even now in March my
    parsley looks almost fresh and so does the rosemary and the sage!

    Have
    you ever tried to dehydrate in your gas oven with only the pilot light
    on? It works quite well if you don't have a food dehydrator. I picked up
    a few extra trays and I am set to go!

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