Introduction to Dehydrating – Preservation 101
All about dehydrating! Different methods for dehydrating, what food works best, plus tips and tricks!
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Dehydration is another great option for getting food on your shelf, plus it’s also super convenient, lightweight, and really takes the bulk down on your food to help maximize your space.
In this episode of the Panty Chat, Josh and Carolyn continue their series on preservation methods with an introduction to dehydration. They cover the pros and cons of dehydration, what foods it really works best on, the different types of dehydration, and the basic steps you need to follow in order to get started.
In this Episode:
– Grandma Jeanie is recovering after having to go to the ER for pelvic pain caused by pneumonia.
– Harvest season is still in full swing as Josh and Carolyn continue to make plans to prep for winter.
– Why would somebody dehydrate and what are the benefits of doing it over other preservation methods?
– What are the types of food you can dehydrate and what are the nutritional benefits?
– What foods should not be dehydrated at home and why?
– What are the grades of different electric dehydrators and what features should you look for when buying one?
– Josh and Carolyn discuss the different types of dehydration methods (electric, solar, and oven).
– What are the basic steps you need to know before you start dehydrating food?
– Carolyn provides some tips on how to reconstitute tomatoes and use them to make a great sauce.
Links Mentioned:
Preservation 101 – Canning: https://homesteadingfamily.com/preservation-101-intro-to-canning/
Preservation 101 – Fermenting: https://homesteadingfamily.com/preservation-101-intro-to-fermentation/
Time Stamps:
0:00 – Chit Chat
7:40 – My canned food grew mold, what went wrong?
10:23 – What is dehydrating?
11:55 – Benefits of dehydrating food
17:19 – What we dehydrate
19:21 – What CAN'T you dehydrate?
24:44 – Methods of dehydration
27:44 – Dehydrating basics
33:18 – How to use dehydrated food
36:25 – The BEST fruit leather tip
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#dehydrating #dehydrate #dehydratedfood #howtodehydrate
We used to call that “walking pneumonia”. Prayers for your lived one’s recovery. We care for my husbands Mom, she’s 96. She from the countryside outside London and survived the Germans bombing England. Makes what we’re going through look like nothing!
Dehydrated hash browns?!?!? I hope there will be a recipe coming for that!
I hope there is a video – tried and was not successful.
@Sebrina Luc did you blanch the potatoes before dehydrating?
@Roberta Dunaway I did! I was able to eat them but they were not that tasteful. I only did a small batch because I was not sure how they would turn out.
there are some good videos on here for that, shred, blanch 6 min. rinse, dry til crunchy.
@Nola Lewis I will have to try that – thanks
Very interesting video how to dehydrating ( preservation 101), lovely homestead can grow many kind veggies and can preservation all these veggies to eat for long term, i will learn something new from you
I love the idea of drying tomatoes instead of canning. Do you have a video about making sauce from them?
Speedy recovery to Grandma!
Oops! Just needed to keep watching. Thank you!
Dehydrating bone broth is my preferred method. I use about 1 tsp per cup to reconstitute. I like space saving, preserving the collagen, and not having to use up jars in this time of scarcity.
Wow! Never thought of that. Do you make sure all the fat is skimmed off the broth before you dry it?
Yes ,I do that,but I first boil it down to a sirup and the it takes not that long to dehydrate.
After that it goes in the vitamix,you can use it anyway you want.Make sure all the fat is removed.
karlicia Berry Yes. I refrigerate overnight and get off as much fat as possible. Then I dehydrate in the oven in a parchment paper lined pan. I’ve found it too messy for my dehydrator and without parchment it is too hard to remove from the pan. Then I Powder it in my spice grinder.
I’m so happy I took the time to watch this morning … I’m processing some of our pears today and one of the things on the list today is pear fruit leather !! First time doing this with my pears 🍐.. later will be pear butter and pear sauce and of course canned pears .. regular and spiced
I’ve been dehydrating since I was 20 (I’m 63) and my first dehydrator was a Ronco that used a light bulb, no fan, no thermostat. Crazy. I now have two Nesco Gardenmasters and they work great for me. I also have been using that same cookbook. I have a number of different books but Mary Bell is my favorite. My favorite thing to dry is sliced mushrooms. I buy them on sale at Aldi and slice and throw them on trays and I always have mushrooms to use in any dish. I really love this series and I’m hoping to get into fermenting.
Can you dehydrate mushrooms that have been sautéed, then frozen?? Thanks. A newbie here.
@Ardis Beach I am guessing they were sauteed in some kind of fat. A rule of thumb is not to dehydrate things with fat as they can go rancid over time. You could definitely do it but the shelf life is more limited. Maybe someone who has tried it could chime in.
@Patricia Riddle Thank you Patricia. This is all new to me. I tried tomatoes and think I left them in too long. They were so tiny and shriveled up. I kept them, but have not rehydrated them yet. Not sure how to do it. Just put them in warm water til they look like they’re supposed to?? I want to do herbs, fruit (what do they mean by “leathery”, veggies.
Townsend and sons has some great historical videos about “pocket soup” here on YouTube. Really interesting, I think you would really like it for your hiking/ hunting trips.
I love using powdered tomatoes instead of homemade tomato paste.
We just celebrated my great grandmother’s 98th birthday. She definitely has some stories to tell!
God Bless and Best wishes Grandma.
We have brought both my mom and mother in law in to our home, at different times. Sadly my kids think nursing homes are the best place for the elderly. I love the multi generational living, that is how it was and how it should be.
Their is a time and place for nursing homes, I am not saying they should be eliminated, but think they are being over utilized.
I am an RN and can tell you the elderly don’t present with typical signs and symptoms. I am not shocked by any of the symptoms your Great Grandma had. And that generation is tougher than nails. They don’t complain, they don’t use pain meds the way we are used to, they don’t slow down or stop for anything!!!! They most certainly are a different breed of people.
I just want to throw a little tip in here I never for decades have never cook my lasagna noodles and I don’t use those don’t cook noodles either. I use plane ole lasagna noodles. I just make sure when I do my layers of meat cheese and noodles and make sure that the sauce covers every bit of the noodles on top that there is no needles poking through and they cooked al dente every time.
Do you peel your tomatoes before dehydrating for the sauce? I use my peels with cores and dehydrate then grind to powder. Another GREAT use of dehydrated foods is being able to seal and then reseal with a hand held vacuum sealer to keep it air tight. I reuse ALL my canning lids for my dehydrated foods. Another great use is to make teas. I dehydrate all kinds of flowers and leaves for making tea – mint, roselle, lemon balm, lemon grass, etc. My favorite product turns out to be dehydrated onions which is blend to a powder when done and they taste even better when used in a recipe – almost meaty. SO good but do it outside – LOL. Great video! I have also bought bags of frozen potatoes when on sale, dehydrated them and then use in soups or grind to make instant mashed potatoes.
PORTABLE SOUP!! The great Townsends YouTube channel that covers 18th C recipes is an excellent food history source!
We are seeing a LOT of issues with lids failing and buckling, this year. The manufacturing quality is pathetic. The lids are very thin and the silicone is insufficient. I have been freezing my tomatoes until I have enough to process. Could I still dehydrate those once defrosted? I have an excaliber. Perhaps if I cook them down and then dehydrate to tomato leather and process to chunky in the food processor… Store as powdered tomatoes?
yes definitely
Used to live in Abilene when I was in elementary in the late 80’s. Moved to Ohio in 91 now Gods calling me to montana. Planning to move there in April. Currently in contract for a house on 20 acres. 😬 waiting to hear from the bank. Hoping to close before the election.
I live in Abilene, Texas.
Off subject, but I just noticed you have no ads. I love that.
I love dehydrating things from around my yard & garden. I make my own herb seasonings, garlic & onion & chili flakes/powders, dried apples & berries, kale chips, and OMG, homemade raisins from my own vines are amazing. I freeze & can things too, but dehydrating is so easy to do with so many foods.
How do you ‘de-scent” the Dehydrators between uses? . ie. I use mine for smoked peppers and fruit.
Clean it with baking powder?
@Natalie Butler I will try that. Thank you for responding
Every single time that I open a jar of food, I use a spoon and gently pry open the lid, listening carefully for the air suction. If I don’t hear the suction, I toss the food. THere should always be suction. Sometimes lids can be firmly adhered, but it can be by the stickiness of the food inside. Inspect your contents carefully each and every time. Some foods don’t mold or show any sign of degradation so by listening for the suction its just one more tool to keep you safe.