A trial with Dehydrated and Dried foods

3512 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by vet75fem, Oct 19, 2012

CVORNurse

Discussion Starter · Oct 24, 2008

I have never really bought any dehydrated/dried foods before except hashbrowns and instant potatoes. So I just bought the veggie combo and the fruit combo from Honeyville Grains. You get 6 different cans in each combo. They arrived today. Since it would be senseless for me to stock up on something that my family hates, this first order is mainly to try it out and see how we like it. I decided to cook some of the carrots for supper. Since I really am not too fond of cooked carrots, I measured out what was supposed to be 2 servings ( said 1/2 c was a serving). Added the water to rehydrate them. Wow, I really had 3 cups of diced carrots It didn't look too promising to me, and the smell was offputting. I drained the rehydrating water and heated them in a little bit of fresh water for probably 5-10 min on the stove and added a little bit of butter, nothing else. These carrots are fantastic! I can just barely taste a difference between them and the traditional canned. Can't wait until DH comes in from hunting to try them- if there are any left. I also have a handful of the peaches rehydrating in the fridge. And can't wait to try the other veggies and fruits. Next time though, I am heating in the water that I rehydrated in to see how it is. My plan is to incorporate the dehydrated things into our regular way of eating so that if we ever find ourselves having to rely on them, everyone will be accustomed to the flavor and texture of dehydrated/ dried foods.
Think I will portion out the remainder of the carrots into meal size packets and vac pack them to be sure moisture doesn't get them before we eat them up.

Anyone else new to dehydrated/freeze dried foods?

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lisat

· #2 · Oct 25, 2008

Where did you buy these? I will have to try them. If you do taste a little aftertaste with the carrots add a tablespoon of brown sugar with the butter on them. It is fantastic. Mu kids love them.
We used to use dehydrated foods when backpacking way back before kids. I would hope they have improved some since then.
I have a dehydrator that I got at Goodwill but haven't tried anything in it yet. I want to make fruit leather for the kids. I have some apples maybe I will get it out tomorrow and try it. Thanks for the inspiration!

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CVORNurse

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 25, 2008 (Edited)

lisat said:
Where did you buy these? I will have to try them. If you do taste a little aftertaste with the carrots add a tablespoon of brown sugar with the butter on them. It is fantastic. Mu kids love them.
We used to use dehydrated foods when backpacking way back before kids. I would hope they have improved some since then.
I have a dehydrator that I got at Goodwill but haven't tried anything in it yet. I want to make fruit leather for the kids. I have some apples maybe I will get it out tomorrow and try it. Thanks for the inspiration![/quote

honeyville grains
I bought the combos they have. Vege is one can each of potato flakes, diced carrots, green peas, corn, onion, and celery. Fruit is banana chips, apple dices, peach dices, blue berries, rasberries and sliced strawberries. all #10 cans with their own color coded lids.

My daughter turned up her nose because they werent round like she is used to. DH said they were ok, but if I had put brown sugar on like you suggest, he would have eaten them up.

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Blister

· #4 · Oct 25, 2008

Nice! Thanks for providing the link. My wife and I see some things we may get as well. Mainly the eggs. Store 90 whole eggs for 5-10 years for $20... Sounds great. The fruits and vegi's may find their way into the cupboard too.

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lisat

· #5 · Oct 25, 2008

Wow good prices and cheap shipping. I know I won't be able to have them here and not open them. I guess just order 2 of everything.

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TechAdmin

· #6 · Oct 25, 2008

Store 90 eggs for 5-10 years. Where do you see that at?

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Blister

· #7 · Oct 25, 2008

Dean said:
Store 90 eggs for 5-10 years. Where do you see that at?

The can of powdered eggs on the first page. It's the equivalent of 81-90 eggs and will last (unopened) 5-10 years if it's stored correctly (according to them)... Opened is 12 months.

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lisat

· #8 · Oct 25, 2008

dehydrated dried foods

Do you think they will keep longer (than the opened expiration date) if we opened the containers and put them in vacuum sealed bags? It's a shame that opened they only last a year.

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Blister

· #9 · Oct 26, 2008

lisat said:
Do you think they will keep longer (than the opened expiration date) if we opened the containers and put them in vacuum sealed bags? It's a shame that opened they only last a year.

I don't know but if you think about it, if you only had them for a SHTF scenario, you would use them up well before the 12 month expiration. 90 eggs is only 7.5 dozen. I could see using that up in as little as 2 months. If you only used them in recipes it would take longer but I'm not sure exactly how long. Depends on what you make I guess.

The fruit and vegetable packages don't seem large enough to take 12 months to use.

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lanahi

· #10 · Aug 19, 2009

I have some #10 cans of both dehydrated and freeze dried foods but hate to open them, since they are expensive (for me). I am only getting one can of different items, like FD whole eggs, FD butter, etc. I understand the freeze dried foods are better tasting and don't change the texture, while dehydrated food doesn't taste quite as good. Either one should preserve most of the original nutrients, especially the freeze dried because it uses less heat.

Freeze dried is lighter weight but takes up more storage room than dehydrated. (In other words, if both are in #10 cans, the dehydrated has more servings per can). The freeze dried is also more expensive, usually. (Although, if you divide the number of servings by the price of the can, it really isn't a bad price.) Dehydrated takes more cooking than freeze dried, which could be a factor if fuel is short. With freeze-dried, you just add water to hydrate and eat it. They both have their own uses, depending on your situation.

The main thing about storing them after they are opened is moisture getting to the product, I think. Resealing them in mylar bags should work well.

I like those #10 cans of FD or dehydrated foods. They last longer than regular canned foods, take up less space, and you do not have to rotate them. I do have a limit to how much I can spend at one time, so most of my stores are in regular cans, but the #10 cans are a supplement to them.

I also like Honeyville for their prices and descriptions of each product. They even have customer's ratings on some of them, which is handy.
honeyvillegrains.com

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vet75fem

· #11 · Oct 19, 2012

In purchasing d.food or freeze dried is not too much different. Just keep in cool dark place. (I am saying that while in Alabama! lol) I purchase monthly stores and I shop between sites. Prices can really vary from month to month. A warning; do not fall for the pyramid smucks out there who want you to get friends to join. I learned a book full of info from the Mormons. In quick and simplified terms, their belief system urges members to store up for a year. Rotate all your stores.
Another idea is to make vacumed sealed meals-in-a-jar. Using your older stores or with new ones. These make great gifts too. You can make from dried soups to complete meals like chicken and stuffing with gravy. Though you may want to show off the pretty items; store them in cool, darken areas.

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vet75fem

· #12 · Oct 19, 2012

lisat said:
Do you think they will keep longer (than the opened expiration date) if we opened the containers and put them in vacuum sealed bags? It's a shame that opened they only last a year.

If canned eggs are still in their orig. container and have not be exposed to 70+ degrees; they should keep. I open mine and use them for baking, etc. My hubby says that muffins, cornbread all taste better with the re-hydrated eggs.
If you have an opened can of anything, it is better to vacume seal or put stores in a mason jar with an oxygen absorber than to just reseal the lid and put back in storage. This is also a way of making flour, sugar, pastas, beans, and rice last longer while making sure 'critter eggs' don't hatch!

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