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Post by Coolkat on Dec 16, 2015 10:51:48 GMT -8
Ok it's winter with long evenings and recently I've come into the possession of a food dehydrator that I'd like to start to experiment with but really have no idea where to start. Yes.. I can google just as well as any of you but I'm interested in hearing what you guys like and what you've found works and doesn't work and your favorites?
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dh024
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Post by dh024 on Dec 20, 2015 11:09:56 GMT -8
Jerky and fruit leather are staples, and you can make them for a lot less than store-bought items.
A lot of leftovers are perfect for the dehydrator (no extra effort, other than drying them!): chilli, taco/burrito fillings, spaghetti in meat sauce, etc. Anything where you don't have big chunks of meat or vegetables seems to work well.
Some things I like to make up just for the trail: Shepard's pie (use instant mashed potatoes on top); hamburger stroganoff; dried beef and veggies (to mix into ramen noodles); chilli-mac and cheese; dried onion, pepper, cheese, etc. to mix with dried egg for boil-in-bag omelettes or breakfast wraps.
Tip: Dry your food separated into the portions you wish to eat on the trail, and weigh each portion/tray before and after drying to obtain the amount of water to add when rehydrating (takes the guesswork out of it, especially if you do things in metric 1g = 1 ml water).
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Post by Coolkat on Dec 20, 2015 11:19:56 GMT -8
Interesting. After using store bought dehydrated beans on my last hike I assumed that everything dried was one to one.
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dh024
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Post by dh024 on Dec 20, 2015 11:43:26 GMT -8
Were they freeze-dried? Home dehydrators don't take that much water out, unfortunately. My experience is that the water removed really varies depending on the food. For example, spaghetti sauce will lose more water than, say, dried apple slices.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Dec 20, 2015 18:48:15 GMT -8
In many cases it is 1:1 but with sauces it can be 3:1 or more.
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idahobob
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many are cold, but few are frozen
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Post by idahobob on Dec 22, 2015 13:58:46 GMT -8
I dry tomatoes to make up a spaghetti sauce with. I dry fresh sliced tomatoes, canned sauce, and canned dices. The sauce is the thickness of toothpaste, and I spread it on saran wrap to dry. The dices have a lot of liquid in it, so I use Sraan wrap on that also. I add spices to the mix in a little tiny baggie. Rehydrate while the pasta is cooking, add to pasta, its done pretty quickly.
Most foods dry 8:1 by weight (8 pounds of food will yeild 1 lbs of dried). Some 12:1. Home dehydrators can get food down to about 4% moisture, which is dry but not as dry as freeze dried.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 4, 2016 10:58:30 GMT -8
I think they've been mentioned, but staples I always do include lots of hamburger gravel (I cook it with onion and a few such things that go into any dish) to use for stroganoff or hamburger gravy on mashed spuds, or other burger dishes. I also dry canned chicken for longer trips. The canned stuff rehydrates better than fresh (because it's cooked to death?) and that saves a lot of weight and a messy container. Another favorite is to dry leftover taco filling. I make mine with burger and blackbeans (and some veggies, esp. sweet corn). That can end up in a tortilla, but is more likely to end up mixed maybe 40-60 with rice. Add a packet of salsa and I call it taco rice. Tasty, and less mess than a tortilla (besides, tortillas are heavy, and mine always get broken).
I have some lentil dishes I only make occasionally, but they would dry perfectly. I need to start doubling recipes this spring so I can prep for summer trips.
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Post by cahiker on Jan 8, 2016 12:18:22 GMT -8
I tend to dry ingredients, not meals, although I plan to start trying some meals. Things I like to do are:
pasta - I cook a minute or so less than usual, then dehydrate. On the trail it easily rehydrates with hot water.
rice - Cook it fairly firm, then break apart the grains somewhat as it dries. White rice rehydrates easily with hot water. Brown rice either takes a really long time in a cozy or a minute or two of cooking. You can always just use minute rice instead of dehydrating your own, but basmati, jasmine and other rices are much tastier.
Salsa, tomato sauce - Spread thinly on a fruit leather tray or parchment. Usually rehydrates fine if it's roughly broken up, but sometimes I freeze (to make it crispier) then whiz in the food processor to make a powder.
Beans & lentils (either canned or home-cooked in the usual way) - Rehydrates easily with hot water.
Olive or artichoke tapenade. I leave the oil out when making the recipe, dehydrate, and add the oil when rehydrating. You should be able to dehydrate tapenade with a modest amount of oil, but the really oily jarred types probably wouldn't work well.
Canned artichoke hearts packed in brine. Drain, chop and dehydrate. Rehydrates well.
Roasted red peppers (home roasted, not packed in oil). Rehydrates well.
Banana slices - When I have too many bananas ripening all at once I slice, squeeze a little lime juice on them (I have a lime tree) and dehydrate. The house smells great! They don't get crispy like the fried banana chips, but are more chewy like the Trader Joes flattened bananas.
Tomato slices - Slice thinly and sprinkle with some herbs or maybe a little parmesan cheese - Makes a tasty snack. I've tried cherry tomatoes, but they weren't very good, just skin and seeds once the water was gone.
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snappypepper
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Post by snappypepper on Jan 11, 2016 17:39:41 GMT -8
Favorites of ours are jerky, apples, and strawberries. You can make "tomato leather" that you can use as a sauce as well. We dried bananas, but they turned pretty brown (tasted fine, just looked unappetizing). If you are drying ground beef, add a 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs per pound before cooking it to help it rehydrate better. If doing beans, canned beans seem to dehydrate and then rehydrate better.
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idahobob
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Post by idahobob on Jan 12, 2016 13:18:19 GMT -8
other good ones are mushrooms, carrots, celery, parsley, parsnips, potatoes. Many vegetables will turn brown after drying unless you blanch them: dip them in boiling water for a few seconds. If you blanch them they will store longer before turning brown.
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Post by hippiebutterfly on Apr 26, 2016 10:38:28 GMT -8
I try to eat very little meat. I've dehydrated seitan as a protein source. Seitan, for those not familiar, is a protein made from vital wheat gluten. I made the seitan, then cut it up into very small pieces and dehydrated in my food dehydrator. The first time I used it in chili, it took a really long time to rehydrate, plus we had to boil a long time. Second time, we used a jetboil and let the chili sit while we pitched our tent and made camp for the night. By the time we were done, it was delicious.
I also dehydrate vegan/vegetarian soups. I've used tomato leather to flavor foods. I like to buy the powdered items in the bulk foods at Winco Foods. My trip last summer we brought powdered hummus, rehydrated, and put it on tortillas for lunch. Some dried fruit...it was delish!
I dehydrate our raspberries we grow. They are a tasty addition to oatmeal or just as a snack. They dry pretty light.
I made an oat bread that traveled well. It was low on moisture and was cut in lengths like biscotti. It had nuts and fruits in it. Super amazing for breakfast with peanut butter.
When I rehydrated my personally dehydrated meals, I found some were 1:1 and others were more like 2-3:1.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Apr 26, 2016 19:07:15 GMT -8
When I rehydrated my personally dehydrated meals, I found some were 1:1 and others were more like 2-3:1. I think that's pretty accurate. I usually start with 1:1, and can tell pretty fast if I need to add more. These days, I'm as apt as not just to eyeball it.
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Post by hippiebutterfly on Apr 27, 2016 6:16:35 GMT -8
I think that's pretty accurate. I usually start with 1:1, and can tell pretty fast if I need to add more. These days, I'm as apt as not just to eyeball it. Same here.
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Apr 27, 2016 8:48:26 GMT -8
When I rehydrated my personally dehydrated meals, I found some were 1:1 and others were more like 2-3:1 I usually write on the ziplock how much I started with before I dehydrate and add water to get to that amount.
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grace
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Post by grace on May 2, 2016 7:54:49 GMT -8
I successfully dehydrated/rehydrated hummus this weekend. Hello, happy hour!
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