|
Post by w8in4dave on Feb 26, 2014 11:05:39 GMT -5
Anyone dehydrate their spices or herbs? I have dehydrated Onions , Garlic, Basil, Tomato powder, Ohhh I cannot think of all the stuff! I even sometimes dehydrate a bag of frozen veggies! And of course lets not forget dehydrating Meat! We make Jerky all the time! Turkey Jerky ,beef jerky, A friend of hubbs gave us some bear jerky! That was good! I wish I had a big dehydrator! I dehydrate carrots , celery, I have even dehydrated tomato paste. Then powder it. I love to dehydrate stuff! Not really into dehydrating fruit tho... I should! Maby make some fruit leather. Hmmm I am thinking now LOL So what have you dehydrated?
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Feb 26, 2014 11:12:35 GMT -5
I think my dehydrator must get too hot on the "herbs and spices" setting. (Too much heat will evaporate the essential oils that give herbs their flavor.) I dried some oregano in there and it had no flavor at all when dried, even though it was good when fresh. That was really disappointing. It works well for fruit and veggies, though. I guess I will just have to hang herbs in bunches to dry them. I haven't tried dehydrating onions or garlic yet - I haven't had enough of a harvest of either one to need to. Maybe this summer when I harvest my garlic I will have a surplus.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Feb 26, 2014 11:47:34 GMT -5
someone was asking, maybe on another forum, about dehydrating blueberries. Have either of you?
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Feb 26, 2014 15:58:26 GMT -5
I have not dehydrated blueberries before... Wow Lin I have not had that problem with my herbs. Altho our dehydrator is set pretty low to dehydrate herbs , you can actually hang them to dry them also . I have hung Basil before and it was wonderful! I just bought some Basil the other day and dehydrated it. yummiieee!
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Feb 26, 2014 20:41:28 GMT -5
I dehydrated something new last season: tomatillos! I had so many that I could not feeze any more, and I hated to waste them, so I dried them. I just sliced them in half, and dried them on a med-low heat, to where they had that leathery feel. It was almost exactly down to 1/16, or 1 oz for each pound.
I have used them in several salsas, and the method I use, to approximate the grilling when fresh, is to toast them, as with chiles, pressing against the skillet to speed it up. Then I rehydrate them, and grind them up. Different from fresh, but delicious!
|
|
|
Post by spacecase0 on Feb 26, 2014 20:54:28 GMT -5
usually just dill, it gets hanged to dry
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Feb 27, 2014 9:09:09 GMT -5
A friend gave me some basil that she hung to dry. It's very brittle. Is this how it's supposed to be?
How do you store your dried herbs.
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Feb 27, 2014 10:41:42 GMT -5
A friend gave me some basil that she hung to dry. It's very brittle. Is this how it's supposed to be? How do you store your dried herbs. Yes usually leaf herbs are very brittle. I'f I have alot of one thing I will put it thru my food processor , but if not so much I save my lil spice jars and I stor them in there for use when cooking.
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Feb 27, 2014 10:44:43 GMT -5
The best thing I think this year I have dehydrated was roasted onions. I cut up onions put then the oven roast then slowly , you can smeel them and they will get dark around the edges and then put them in the dehydrator. You can either freeze them or you can put them in a lil baggy or canning jar and use as needed it sure does give things a richer taste! Love dehydrated roasted onions. I can eat them like candy! Also dehydrate roasted Peppers Ohhh yummy!
|
|
dirtguy50
Pro Member
My avatar got in trouble for digging in the garden
Posts: 255
Zone:: 6b
Joined: February 2014
|
Post by dirtguy50 on Feb 27, 2014 16:32:30 GMT -5
w8in4dave, try some sliced strawberries, apples, bananas, and pineapple. Just awesome snacks!!
|
|
mohoghead
Junior Member
Posts: 26
Joined: February 2011
|
Post by mohoghead on Feb 28, 2014 9:03:20 GMT -5
We have had our Excalibur dehydrator about 6 years now, the old one just gave up and got recycled, we dry peach slices, apple slices, berries, all veggies including tomato slices for winter stews, cucumber slices for sauces, all our herbs and it works great for making yogurt, also works great for jerkies and making healthy dog treats out of chicken or pork. so I would say for our initial investment of $100.00 we have really gotten our monies worth of it so far and it's still going strong.
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Feb 28, 2014 12:59:12 GMT -5
A friend gave me some basil that she hung to dry. It's very brittle. Is this how it's supposed to be? How do you store your dried herbs. Yes usually leaf herbs are very brittle. I'f I have alot of one thing I will put it thru my food processor , but if not so much I save my lil spice jars and I stor them in there for use when cooking. I did not mean to say food processor. I have one of those things that suck the air out of baggies lol .. I then either put them in a cupboard or freeze them
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Feb 28, 2014 13:00:48 GMT -5
w8in4dave, try some sliced strawberries, apples, bananas, and pineapple. Just awesome snacks!! Do you need some lemon or something on the banana slices? And apples? I do love dehydrated fruit but I never make any!
|
|
mjc26250
Junior Member
Posts: 36
Joined: April 2014
|
Post by mjc26250 on Apr 16, 2014 12:28:04 GMT -5
w8in4dave, try some sliced strawberries, apples, bananas, and pineapple. Just awesome snacks!! Do you need some lemon or something on the banana slices? And apples? I do love dehydrated fruit but I never make any! I slice my apples with a peeler/corer and drop them in a large bowl of water with some lemon juice in it (about 1/4 c per gallon). No problems with them getting too brown. Haven't done bananas in ages and can't remember what we used to do for them. I have two Excalibur dehydrators, and have had them for quite some time and absolutely love them. For leafy herbs, I prefer hanging them. And I store them in canning jars. Jelly jars for small amounts to 2-quart jars for the really large amounts (it's kind of hard to find wide mouth 2-quart jars...sometimes). I also reuse gallon and half gallon pickle and pepper jars. Give them a good long baking soda soak...fill about 1/2 way with hot water, dissolve a couple of tablespoons of baking soda and soak at least 24 hrs. Repeat if they still smell like pickles.
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Apr 16, 2014 13:35:29 GMT -5
Do you need some lemon or something on the banana slices? And apples? I do love dehydrated fruit but I never make any! I slice my apples with a peeler/corer and drop them in a large bowl of water with some lemon juice in it (about 1/4 c per gallon). No problems with them getting too brown. Haven't done bananas in ages and can't remember what we used to do for them. I have two Excalibur dehydrators, and have had them for quite some time and absolutely love them. For leafy herbs, I prefer hanging them. And I store them in canning jars. Jelly jars for small amounts to 2-quart jars for the really large amounts (it's kind of hard to find wide mouth 2-quart jars...sometimes). I also reuse gallon and half gallon pickle and pepper jars. Give them a good long baking soda soak...fill about 1/2 way with hot water, dissolve a couple of tablespoons of baking soda and soak at least 24 hrs. Repeat if they still smell like pickles. I will def have to make some! I want an Excallibur Sooooo bad! I just use a round one. But we dehydrate meat and stuff all the time! It's yum! Love the stuff! Next time i'm out I will go to the fresh market and get some fruit to dehydrate. Thanks for all the info
|
|
|
Post by daylilydude on Apr 18, 2014 8:54:39 GMT -5
mjc26250, I want one of those Excalibur dehydrators too, I'm like w8in4dave, I have one of those round wallyworld types, it serves it's purpose but that Excalibur dehydrator would be so much better I think.
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Apr 20, 2014 19:57:27 GMT -5
mjc26250, I want one of those Excalibur dehydrators too, I'm like w8in4dave, I have one of those round wallyworld types, it serves it's purpose but that Excalibur dehydrator would be so much better I think. Some times it takes 3 days to get everything done .. With one of those fancy ones Yea baby! 1 day Or maby I'd put so much in it I'd burn it up? LOL
|
|
elliemater
Pro Member
Posts: 226
Joined: June 2014
|
Post by elliemater on Jun 22, 2014 8:32:39 GMT -5
Mine is an Excalibur and I am so glad to have spent the extra money it cost. It has been so useful!
I have a ton of blueberries most years (one of the few things that naturally grows well here...ha!) and I dry them. The become like little hard BB's with a slightly softer center...not like the ones in the store packets, which have sugar and a different process. But while I don't eat them as is once dehydrated, they are GREAT for popping a handful into a banana bread batter etc. Or you can rehydrate in hot water, drain, and use in pancakes, waffles etc. Even add some to fresh or frozen berries in pie to help thicken the juices and deepen the flavors.
To do herbs in the dehydrator you need to turn the heat waaaay down...and consequently it takes a very long time to dry them then. But the flavors will be better preserved.
When dehydrating tomatoes I have to turn the heat down on the sweeter varieties, like the yellows and bicolors, or you will see brown "burned" marks develop.
Fruit leathers are awesome. You just have to remember to add unsweetened applesauce to the fruit puree in order to get a pliable leather that doesn't stick to kingdom come or crack like a dry lake. I also do leathers from cooked winter squash, pumpkin (a bit of maple added), sweet potato...have to remember a pinch of salt with those. AND tomato leathers...plain or balsamic vinegar and cracked black pepper...or salsa! Make some homemade salsa and then puree it very fine (looks horrid but don't worry about that). Add unsweetened applesauce (about 1/3 of the total) and dehydrate that on your Silpat screen liners...salsa leather! Just have to remember that most flavors intensify when dehydrated...so things can get too salty or too spicy.
For the fruit that discolors you can soak in lemon juice and water first...or citric acid powder, which will give a whiter finished product for things like apples and pears. They sell the citric acid powder in the part of the grocery store where the canning supplies are. Fruit Fresh is one of them. But often I like the flavor of fresh lemon or lime juice better.
A melon baller tool is really handy for removing cores from apples and pears...gives a tidy appearance. And I do cut everything by hand. My mandolins cut either too thick or too thin. But it's not hard, just sharpen your chef's knife and away you go.
And finally, I dehydrate things for treats for my bunny. He likes sweet potato chips and the unsweetened dehydrated fruits. They sell stuff like this in the store pet section for ridiculous prices.
The one thing I haven't done yet is meat and I would love to give it a try.
|
|
|
Post by daylilydude on Jun 23, 2014 5:29:56 GMT -5
w8in4dave, Laura_in_FL, bestofour, pepperhead212, spacecase0, dirtguy50, mohoghead, mjc26250, daylilydude, elliemater, These sweet potato chips sound delish to me, how long in the dehydrator and how thick should they be cut??
|
|
elliemater
Pro Member
Posts: 226
Joined: June 2014
|
Post by elliemater on Jun 23, 2014 7:44:17 GMT -5
w8in4dave, Laura_in_FL, bestofour, pepperhead212, spacecase0, dirtguy50, mohoghead, mjc26250, daylilydude, elliemater, These sweet potato chips sound delish to me, how long in the dehydrator and how thick should they be cut?? Hahaha! You are not a rabbit! These are as hard as a rock! They are good for the bunny to chew with his front teeth. What you would probably like much better is a great sweet potato leather(s), which will be flexible and taste great, not requiring the incisors of a rodent to nibble. Do you have a fruit leather liner for your screen(s)?
BTW, I use raw swt potato for the chips, cut about 1/8 thick, dehydrate on low (due to the inherent sugars) until they are completely dry and hard. You just have to feel them. Also dried foods are very lightweight, another good way to tell.
If you make the SP leather, you will want to roast your taters first. I can tell you how to make. It's portable...when you roll the leather up in cooking parchment after it is done you can take kitchen shears and snip the rolls into 1" lengths and put them in a plastic container for snacking (still rolled in the parchment paper).
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Jun 24, 2014 21:18:17 GMT -5
w8in4dave, Laura_in_FL, bestofour, pepperhead212, spacecase0, dirtguy50, mohoghead, mjc26250, daylilydude, elliemater, These sweet potato chips sound delish to me, how long in the dehydrator and how thick should they be cut?? You know I just winged it! I think I cut them as thin as I could with a paring knife. The drying time depends on how many trays and such. And what kind of dehydrator you have. I didn't wait till they were crispy they had a lil moist bend to them. I just did it lol.
|
|
elliemater
Pro Member
Posts: 226
Joined: June 2014
|
Post by elliemater on Jun 24, 2014 21:27:26 GMT -5
I did do pumpkin slices once and they turned out really well. But I roasted the pumpkin first and then cut it into slices, brushed a little maple syrup on them. They were not too hard to chew after drying.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 25, 2014 10:15:59 GMT -5
I assume that when you roasted the pumpkin, you stopped cooking it when it was a little on the firm side so it would slice neatly?
My house smells like dehydrating tomatoes right now - I have a bunch of halved Black Cherry and Principe Borghese drying.
|
|
elliemater
Pro Member
Posts: 226
Joined: June 2014
|
Post by elliemater on Jun 25, 2014 16:16:53 GMT -5
They were pretty soft but not mushy. Cut with a thin knife into slices not as thin as when I do apples.
|
|
mohoghead
Junior Member
Posts: 26
Joined: February 2011
|
Post by mohoghead on Jun 29, 2014 10:38:13 GMT -5
On our Excalibur the herb setting is 95 degrees, just did our oregano, then did shelling peas which is 125 degrees. I'll start drying onion slices next week.
|
|
elliemater
Pro Member
Posts: 226
Joined: June 2014
|
Post by elliemater on Jun 29, 2014 10:57:54 GMT -5
On our Excalibur the herb setting is 95 degrees, just did our oregano, then did shelling peas which is 125 degrees. I'll start drying onion slices next week. You know I never looked at specific food settings, but it is handy to have them stated so we have a good idea of the most successful temp ranges. I tend to err on the cooler side of the temp range but that is because I have not done meat. I would be very exact in the instructions for jerky.
|
|
|
Post by w8in4dave on Jul 1, 2014 9:10:59 GMT -5
Jerky is very easy! We use "High Mountain Jerky seasoning" We get it at Cabela's best we have tasted as of yet! Made a ton of Chicken jerky and Smoked cheese for a grad party! Needless to say there was 0 left of any of it! Too hot to smoke cheese now! But it sure was a few cool days there I got away with smoking alot of it!
|
|
elliemater
Pro Member
Posts: 226
Joined: June 2014
|
Post by elliemater on Jul 1, 2014 17:30:01 GMT -5
Jerky is very easy! We use "High Mountain Jerky seasoning" We get it at Cabela's best we have tasted as of yet! Made a ton of Chicken jerky and Smoked cheese for a grad party! Needless to say there was 0 left of any of it! Too hot to smoke cheese now! But it sure was a few cool days there I got away with smoking alot of it! Chicken jerky. Ahem. Instructions? Tips and tricks?
|
|