Your favorite dehydrated foods (1 Viewer)

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i dehydrate a variety of vegetables to add to soups or stews but also other things for snacks etc. An unusual one I use is to dehydrate portabella mushrooms. When they are dry I powder them in a coffee grinder. It's a good flavoring agent for beef and costs a mint if you buy it on line.
 
We don't do any dehydrating but I'm interested in getting into it. What are you guys using for equipment?
 
Currently using a big one from Cabela's. You can use an oven on low temp but it's expensive. I've seen pictures of a home made set up using a fan and no heat source. Several advantages to the store bought ones. Easy clean trays already made and temperature control are the primary ones.
 
Currently using a big one from Cabela's. You can use an oven on low temp but it's expensive. I've seen pictures of a home made set up using a fan and no heat source. Several advantages to the store bought ones. Easy clean trays already made and temperature control are the primary ones.
Propane smoker with just enough flame to keep the wind from blowing it out and the bugs away. May and June here are ideal.
 
We also have the Excalibur nine tray and had just finished drying shredded sweet potatoes, shredded carrots and currey lentil soup.
How do you use the finished products? The sweet taters and carrots I mean.
 
If you need to boost the nutritional content of any main dish, you just add it in. Also if you have any soup, stews or grains, you can toss some in for added variety. Being shredded, they reconsitiute very quickly.

As you can probably tell, we are plant based whole food eaters and we make most of our meals. We have a huge list of easy to make one pot (or bag, if we're backpacking) meals. We go from pasta to falafels, beans and rice to muesli.
 
the excalibur is the way to go. they're built in sacramento.
I don't have one, but would like to get one some day. they come up on craigslist from time to time, but get snapped up pretty quickly.
 
the excalibur is the way to go. they're built in sacramento.
I don't have one, but would like to get one some day. they come up on craigslist from time to time, but get snapped up pretty quickly.
I have the 5 tray model. I bought it years ago...
 
While not intended as a primary function the refrigerator doe s a fairly good job at dehydrating food.
We usually keep plastic bags with oregano, parsley and cilantro in the freezer. I chop them up and throw them in soups or other dishes.
Of course it does not work for everything. Beef is usually dehydrated (aged) in big refrigerators at restaurants, but it takes weeks. I don't go beyond that simple seasoning trick with anything else.
 
...and how often do you use it?
Good question, I hate storing things I only use occasionally.
When I strip cast iron I make a disposable electrolysis tank out of a fruit box and a contractors trash bag.

I'm sure I could knock up a functional dehydrator out of a cardboard box, some dollar store cake racks, and a PC fan.
 
Good question, I hate storing things I only use occasionally.
When I strip cast iron I make a disposable electrolysis tank out of a fruit box and a contractors trash bag.

I'm sure I could knock up a functional dehydrator out of a cardboard box, some dollar store cake racks, and a PC fan.
Where you live, you can just pull a window screen off the house for a few hours.









:flipoff2:
 
That's funny. My dad loves home made sausages and he dries them out inside the house. All windows open and the fans going at full blast. In December usually, which is still warm around here.
 

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