[goshengirl]

It seems like whenever there's a thread on dehydrating, we get ideas from each other. Plus, it's just plain fun to see what others are doing. So I thought it would be fun to start a thread where people could post what they're dehydrating today (and tomorrow, and the next day, etc.), and maybe we'll all get some ideas!


Last night (overnight) I dehydrated meatless spaghetti sauce. Basically just tomato sauce/paste with a bunch of herbs it it. I wanted to see if I could make my own tomato powder. I'm definitely going to have to improve how I spread it out on the sheet, as I had some big differences in thickness. The stuff that was thin makes a nice powder (in the blender). The stuff that was thick makes a really yummy leather. I can see keeping a baggie full of this stuff in the car in case of emergencies (or kids just plain getting the munchies).

 

[*Andi]

Cherry pits ~ but boy is that a long story ... :gaah:

 

[OldCootHillbilly]

Next weekend be taters an beef jerky, well I hope, gotta be better then this weekend, shhhsh!

 

[Davarm]

Bananas tonight. Anytime I have idle time in the dehydrator, I put on bananas, eggs or potatos(sweet or white). When it gets chilly here the dehydrator keeps the kitchen warm without having to turn on the central heat.


goshengirl, if you get it figured out(dehydrating tomato based things) please share your discovery. I tried to dehydrate tomato paste a while back and it came out like plaster dried on a sidewalk. It may have been useable if I would have ran it through the grain mill but didn't have enough in the batch to make it worth messing up the grinder, it was one of the few food experiments that I have tossed.

 

[Salekdarling]

I dehydrated apple slices the other day. I'd love to dehydrate beef stew but not sure on how to store at the moment.

Question, I want to be able to use oxygen absorbers to store away my dehydrated food. Is using 100cc oxygen absorbers okay to use? I read that it was more for #10 cans. It's preferable to use 50cc but I can never find a site with 50cc. :dunno:

 

[mdprepper]

Beef Jerky going in the dehydrator tonight.

 

[JustCliff]

I have 100 lbs. of onions I need to get done.

 

[showmegal]

Celery and Onions this week.

 

[Ur5hittingMe]

How about liver? I purchased dog treats last week and the only ingredient is liver. I have a bunch of liver in the freezer and I am the only one who eats it. So I thought, why not make my own gourmet dog treats. Has anyone ever done this?

 

[cybergranny]

Bananas tonight. Anytime I have idle time in the dehydrator, I put on bananas, eggs or potatos(sweet or white). When it gets chilly here the dehydrator keeps the kitchen warm without having to turn on the central heat.

goshengirl, if you get it figured out(dehydrating tomato based things) please share your discovery. I tried to dehydrate tomato paste a while back and it came out like plaster dried on a sidewalk. It may have been useable if I would have ran it through the grain mill but didn't have enough in the batch to make it worth messing up the grinder, it was one of the few food experiments that I have tossed.

Made yogurt the other day.

Tomato powder. We put our tomatoes through a food mill when we canned and all the pulp, skins and seeds were put in the dehydrator and then the blender. No waste and tomato powder.

 

[Davarm]

Well, tonight its more beets. Was going through my jars and found a case that that I had forgotten about. 12 quart jars filled 9 racks in the dehydrator and will take until morning to dry thoroughly.

cybergranny, I have made yogurt and one step further, have even dehydrated it too. I have to say that I would probably have to be pretty hungry to eat it but it is edible. Will eat fresh until their is no more and I get desperate.

This summer when I make tomato sauce and juice, will try dehydrating the leftover solids and see how it works out for me. If I have trouble may wind up posting a help request.

 

[cybergranny]

Well, tonight its more beets. Was going through my jars and found a case that that I had forgotten about. 12 quart jars filled 9 racks in the dehydrator and will take until morning to dry thoroughly.

cybergranny, I have made yogurt and one step further, have even dehydrated it too. I have to say that I would probably have to be pretty hungry to eat it but it is edible. Will eat fresh until their is no more and I get desperate.

This summer when I make tomato sauce and juice, will try dehydrating the leftover solids and see how it works out for me. If I have trouble may wind up posting a help request.

I tried dehydrating sour cream, oy what a mess. Threw it all out.

If you need help, no problem, be glad to do what I can with the tomatoes. We added some tomato powder to our beef veggie soup this week and it was wonderful.

 

[Davarm]

I tried dehydrating sour cream, oy what a mess. Threw it all out.

If you need help, no problem, be glad to do what I can with the tomatoes. We added some tomato powder to our beef veggie soup this week and it was wonderful.

May take you up on the tomatoes this summer, thanks.

I tried sour cream too, yes, it was a mess. It cans though. It's a bit difficult, cook it too long and it will turn dark and It aint sour cream no more, not long enough and .......pretty sure you know or can figure out that story. It looses a little in the caning process but is still recognizable as sour cream and is pretty good with dehydrated potatoes.

 

[Davarm]

The Beets are all done, came out great. I went on one of my "foraging" trips to the grocery stores in town today and picked up 35 pounds of sweet potatoes for $.30 a pound.

I dehydrate them two ways, I peel them and grate them in the food processor, spread them on the drying racks and they will dry in a few hours. They can be used to make Sweet Potato Bread, casseroles and even made into soup, they pretty good fixed any of these ways.

The second way, I peel them and slice them about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick, boil them until they are about 1/2 cooked and spread the patties out on drying racks and dehydrate them for about 12-16 hours at about 130 degrees, at some point during the dry process I stab each slice with a fork to make sure they dry thoroughly. Drying them this way lets you boil them until done and candy them like fresh yams. The texture is a little dense but they come out pretty good.

In my book, Sweet Potatoes are one of the foods that are too good and too nutritious not to store as many as you can.

 

[tsrwivey]

I found 32 golden delicious for $2 on the rotten fruit sale at the grocery store so there's apple crisp in the oven & apple chips on the dehydrator. It will be awhile before they're done since my family likes them potato chip crisp. Nothing in the world wrong with those apples but some minor bruising. I'm sure glad folks are so picky, though!

 

[Davarm]

Its amazing what people will pitch, I started a thread a while back on wasted food when I saw a large chain store in Ft Worth emptying dumpsters of produce into a tractor trailer sized refuse bin.

When seeing that, it is not hard to see why the economy is in such bad shape and why the population is so spoiled when it comes to food.

 

[Davarm]

Tonight its going to be 40 pounds of bananas(over ripe and on sale), got them for bout $.18 per pound from 3 different stores today. The trip took about a gallon of gas.

 

[klickitat]

I have not done any since September, but turkey pastrami is one of the greatest things in the world when it is dried. I have it cut 1/4" thick and then use the oven on low to dehydrate it. It takes 8 to 12 hours depending on how dry you want it. Makes a great trail snack. The longer you want it to last, the longer you leave it in. Already cured and flavored for less than $4 per pound when on sale.

 

[RevWC]

My skin..

 

[Davarm]

I have not done any since September, but turkey pastrami is one of the greatest things in the world when it is dried. I have it cut 1/4" thick and then use the oven on low to dehydrate it. It takes 8 to 12 hours depending on how dry you want it. Makes a great trail snack. The longer you want it to last, the longer you leave it in. Already cured and flavored for less than $4 per pound when on sale.

That's one I have not tried, will put it on the list and the next time it goes on sale will test it out. Have plenty of beef dried and set back, have even dehydrated cooked chicken but didn't think much of that though.

Im one of those people who would dehydrate water if it didn't take so much to rehydrate it.