Dehydrating canned veggies and fruits

I've had my cheap wallyworld dehydrator (nesco) for at least 8 years and used it so much I bought a second one. Then I figured out I could put all 8 racks/shelves together and only run one motor. Still works just as well, especially if I don't crowd the food too much. That way I have the other motor (the top, lid-type cover with built in motor and blower) as a spare.

I keep expecting the first one to burn out. I've dehdrated just about everything that can be dehydrated and run it for hours and hours. Keeps on ticking!

I bought large sheets of plastic canvas years ago in the craft dept. at wallyworld and cut them to fit the dehydrator racks so food wouldn't fall through the spaces on the racks that came with it. Got the idea from someone else.

I'll be looking forward to your progress reports. My dehydrating has been pretty much fresh and frozen items. Keep up posted!

 

Dehydrating is good [/QUOTE]

Yep! It's my favorite any day over canning and freezing!

 

Riverdale (or anyone else who cares to add to this), what's the most unusual thing you've dehydrated, and how did it work out?

This year I've started dehydrating the extra eggs from my chickens so I won't have to buy eggs next winter when the chickens slack off. I beat them (the eggs, not the chickens!), then pour them onto the drying racks, which I line with parchment paper (and can use it over and over). After they're dry I make the dry eggs into a powder in my blender and store it in jars. When I use them I mix equal parts water and egg, and use them for scrambled eggs or omelettes. Took some of the dry eggs camping in April and they were great!

I don't know if that counts as unusal. I'd love to hear other ideas for dehydrating.

 

Its probably not unusual but I've done canned soups (racks lined with plastic wrap) and homemade taco soup. They turned out ok, but the leftover spaghetti.....well I'll have to try something different there.

 

Leftover soup? That is so cool! (and unusual!) Does it come out like fruit leather? Mmmm, taco soup, nummy! Tell me more about dehydrating soup, please. The plastic wrap you lined the racks with, do you mean seran wrap? What do you do when you want to use the dried soup?

 

riverdale i do the same thing -we have a save a lot near us but instead if dehydrating canned veggies i buy the frozen veggies as the nutrients have not been cooked out of them yet and they seem to dry better

 

I did my first round of deer jerky yesterday, and it turned out pretty good. No, its not unusual, just a first for me. I've never dehydrated anything, so I was pretty proud of myself, lol. Got the dehydrator for $10 at a yard sale with 7 extra trays. Anyway, it would be interesting to follow this thread.

Not meaning to hijack it by any means but I do have a question....

Peas dried naturally on the vine can be used as seed stock later (so I'm told), but can I get the same result if I dehydrate them?

 

I'd be worried about too much heat when dehydrating them. If you just use circulating air it shouldn't be a problem. The easiest way to dry them is just leave them in the garden if you can. Otherwise, when the peas are mature pull the plants and hang them someplace dry.

 

I let a bunch of the pods stay on the vine toward the end of summer, then picked the pods when they were brown and dry. I tossed them in a bucket, which sat in the shed all winter. Shelled them this spring and planted them. Very good germination rate, probably 90%.

Like MMM said above, too much heat in a dehydrator could damage them, so watch your temperature. You're in a rather humid location, so a bit of help drying them out wouldn't hurt.

Bet that deer jerky was good! And the person on the last page who dries frozen veggies over canned, I agree. And you are lucky to have a Save-a-lot nearby. I miss them and Aldis. Nothing cheap like that out here.

 

How did it work out drying food that had been commercially canned? I have thought about trying this myself.

 

Thanx everyone...sorry I butted in on this thread....

 

butted in??? Heck no, pioneergirl, we value your posts!

And I envy you that $10 dehydrator find! Good deal!

 

I have dried canned foods, and they turned out just fine. Same with the frozen ones. Canned potatoes are easily sliced and dried for scalloped potatoes, but unless I am buying large dent cans from the cannery at $1 each, I tend to just buy scalloped potato mix.
Canned fruits also dry well. Pineapple is excellent, peaches are OK too. Pears can get grainy, so expect a different texture.
As for soups - I have dehydrated home made chili and split pea, along with baked beans, and leftover rice. All were awsome - I cant abide cup-o-soup anymore after drying homemade chili.

 

I have and still do dehydrate store bought canned veggies, they do come out pretty good. The space required IS considerably less and is much lighter as suggested above.

Corn is good
Green Beans are good
Sweet Green Peas - good
Beans - regular and even Ranch Style


I have gone through my jars of home canned foods and have even dehydrated some of those when I came up short on jars. Most do well, greens and squash, not so good though.

I have dehydrated leftover spaghetti and it did ok, We used BowTie noodles and mixed the leftover sauce together with them and put it on fruit leather trays.

We make the sauce with very fat so it all dehydrates fairly well. Because the dry pasta will poke holes in bags, we store it in 1/2 gallon jars.

 

I dry canned er frozen all the time. They do just fine. Even the sweet taters work great.

 

Ya know Coot, come to think about it, I'll bet canned sweet potatoes are pretty good dehydrated. I guess I'm going to have to add them to my list of things to get when they go on sale.

Geeze I love this place, you learn something new all the time.