What are you dehydrating?

[Plymtom]

I'm tempted to do some onions if they are going to get scarce, plus they don't keep so well in this weather, no garage though sadly, still it makes a change from drying brass.

[Deeps]

I'm tempted to do some onions if they are going to get scarce, plus they don't keep so well in this weather, no garage though sadly, still it makes a change from drying brass.

Make sure its well aired or you have an understanding family.

[jansman]

Cheers Deeps!

[Plymtom]

I'm tempted to do some onions if they are going to get scarce, plus they don't keep so well in this weather, no garage though sadly, still it makes a change from drying brass.

Make sure its well aired or you have an understanding family.

All the windows are open in this weather, the smell of jerky is wafting around the street as I type I have some Kilner jars left so I am tempted to go for some stuff to fill them, what in your opinion are the best value things for dehydration, not just getting it cheap but in terms of quickest drying? 600 Watts for hours on end is a factor to consider, if We had a bigger place with a garden I reckon I'd build a solar dehydrator.

[Deeps]

I'm not sure on what's best value as such, I tend to buy stuff when its cheap or do our own. We've got solar panels so I try and do it through the day too. Sorry, not much help.

[Outdoorsy]

Well, I took your advice Deeps and got a dehydrator. Started simple with some apples and bananas. I added some cinnamon to the apples and put them an a kilner jar. The problem is, they're so delicious, I've been eating them on my cereal each morning! I'm going to have to make some more. The bananas turned out a little rubbery after 10 hours at 55ºC - are they meant to be hard? Should I leave them for a bit longer? A higher temperature. The guidelines say 8 - 38 hours which is a big vague!

[Deeps]

Nice one Outdoorsy, my banana's were hard (ooh err) but I haven't done any in a couple of years since I did them. Dipped them in lemony water to stop discolouring. I like the idea of adding cinnamon to the apples, got loads of apples stuck away too, I really should break some out and add to muesli.

I've found youtube really helpful with dehydrating, I'm far from an expert, I just have a play around, its more fun than it really should be, at least for me.

[Outdoorsy]

Thanks Deeps - I've found loads of helpful vids on YouTube. I'm trying another batch of bananas and apples, then onions

I'm not sure if you've answered this already but, how do you dehydrate bolognese?! Do you lay it out on parchment paper first to stop it falling through the gaps? What do you store it in and how long can you keep it for? How does it taste when rehydrated? Cheers.

[Deeps]

Thanks Deeps - I've found loads of helpful vids on YouTube. I'm trying another batch of bananas and apples, then onions

I'm not sure if you've answered this already but, how do you dehydrate bolognese?! Do you lay it out on parchment paper first to stop it falling through the gaps? What do you store it in and how long can you keep it for? How does it taste when rehydrated? Cheers.

We use Quorn mince anyway but for dehydrating the lower fat content helps preserve stuff longer. I just make it as usual but make sure I cut up the veg quite small so that it dries more evenly. Put it on parchment (pre cut to shape of dehydrator) and spread it as thin as I can. When its dry I break it up into small bits and double bag it in the vacc seal bags. I've put a layer of kitchen towel between the inner and outer layer in the past, I'm not sure if it makes much difference but some of the 'bits' are sharp and I don't want to pierce the vacc bags. I write what it is and the date on it and then forget about it until I need it. Its exactly the same with chilli etc. I've eaten some that was 2 years old and it was fine, tasted like it should have. It takes longer to rehydrate than the freeze dried stuff but you can cheat by adding a bit of water to it early on and letting it steep if you get a chance. Its a bit of playing around with adding the right amount of water, I tend to err on less as you can always add more.

Hope that helps mate.

[jansman]

Drying tomatoes at the moment,lots of them!