Besides canning and freezing, dehydrating is another good method of preserving food. Some items work better dehydrated than others.
As with most any appliance or gadget, there are expensive and not so expensive models. For dehydrators, I think it’s worth spending the extra money and getting a good one. I’ve had several dehydrators through the years and the Excalibur is, without a doubt, so much better than any of the inexpensive models I’ve had that I can hardly believe the difference. I like it so much and use it so much that I recently bought a second one. If you click on the link, it will take you to the model I use. There is another very similar model, but it has a timer. I never saw the use in the timer because:
- You can’t really burn anything in the dehydrator.
- Depending on so many factors, there’s no accurate way to know exactly how long something takes to dehydrate. Tomatoes being done on the same day can take longer or less time, depending on the water content of the variety of tomatoes being dehydrated.
- Once the dehydrator is shut off, since I dehydrate on the porch, the food needs to come in before bugs find their way into the dehydrator and onto my food.
So, I don’t spend the extra money to get the one with the timer. Our dehydrating is done on the porch because:
- It heats up the house a bit.
- Sometimes there’s a pretty strong smell, depending on what’s being dehydrated.
- There’s just no room in our tiny little house to have the dehydrator running most of the summer.
Below is the dehydrator loaded with mushrooms I got on sale.
The reason I bought a second dehydrator is that last summer, I had the one dehydrator going day and night. With the solar panels, if I can run two during the day, with free electricity, that will cost less in the long run than having one dehydrator running on free power during the day, reloading it and having it run all night on purchased electricity.
Excalibur Dehydrator
Some vegetables I feel more confident buying than others. I’m a bit apprehensive about buying root vegetables, such as beets, carrots, potatoes, etc. They grow totally in the dirt and may absorb any contaminants. I’m sure above the ground veggies absorb through the root system too but in my mind, those growing in the ground seem worse. Organic options are available but the more I read about “organic”, the less confident I am in that option too. What’s a girl to do? Grow your own! We had a bumper crop of potatoes last summer, and then I planted a late crop and though it didn’t make as well as the spring crop, we had fresh potatoes through December and by then we had started our diet and weren’t eating potatoes.
I don’t mind canning small potatoes. I don’t like frozen potatoes at all so I tried dehydrating them and wrote this blog post about it.
Dehydrated Potatoes
Some I put in zipper bags, and then put those in the vacuum seal bags but at some point, I began putting them in jars and vacuum sealing them, and the jars worked so much better.
Dehydrated Potatoes
Last year when I had so much okra in the garden, I sliced some of it, seasoned it with cajun seasoning and dehydrated it. We’ve loved having it as snacks . . it reminds me a bit of a thick potato chip. Some of my home canned tomatoes have a lot of liquid in them and it works great to open a jar of tomatoes, dump it in a bowl, add the dehydrated okra and let it sit for a couple of hours in the fridge, and then cook it all together. Also, when making gumbo, I poured a bit of the okra into the gumbo and it work great for thickening the gumbo and cooking the okra at the same time.
I’ve successfully dehydrated the following vegetables, in addition to the okra and potatoes mentioned above, which is certainly not an all inclusive list and does not include fruit, meats/jerky, etc.
- Squash – rehydrated to make casseroles or sauteed squash
- Onions – can be ground in the blender to make onion powder or used in any dish calling for onions
- Green onions – chopped before dehydrating
- Peppers – all kinds of peppers. They can also be powdered. They can be sliced into rings or chopped before dehydrating and used in dishes that are being cooked
- Tomatoes – Oh, how I love dehydrating tomatoes! They can be ground into powder for adding to soups, gravies, etc. They can be dehydrated as thick slices and used for soups and stews or any dish where you want noticeable chunks of tomato. They can be chopped and used in any dish that requires chopped tomatoes.
- Eggplant – Last year we marinated eggplant in various flavored “sauces” and dehydrated it to end up with something I would describe as eggplant jerky. The flavor of the marinade is about all you taste when eating this.
- Carrots – These were sliced and dehydrated. I mostly use these for soups and stews. I have not tried making just boiled carrots from the dehydrated carrots.
What other vegetables can you think of to dehydrate . . or what vegetables have you successfully dehydrated?
In another post, I will share some results of rehydrated vegetables, just so you know what to expect. We really do love our dehydrators and find them quite useful.
sharon says
I have a question about the tomatoes. Last summer I dehydrated some and when I went to use them, they taste bitter. Why would that happen?
thanks
JudyL says
Some people say leaving the seeds in causes them to taste bitter. I try to remove the seeds and as much of the “juicy stuff” as I can before dehydrating because that just adds to the length of time to dehydrate. Did you leave the seeds in yours? I have left the seeds sometimes and have not noticed a bitter flavor. Some varieties of tomatoes are better for dehydrating so before giving up, you might want to try a different variety.
Helen Koenig1 says
I dehydrated my tomatoes last year – both the red and the green.
The Roma tomatoes I halved, cut stem end off and just dropped it onto the dehydrating tray. I’m eating the last of them probably this month!
The “regular” tomatoes (and the green ones I love to fry!) I sliced like I usually would – them put those in the dehydrator. They dried quite nicely – but I found I DEFINITELY needed the fine screen there or everything would stick to the trays! Ugh! Screens are easier to clean up! Those are completely gone – and I’m DEFINITELY doing that one again! And no – I did NOT scoop out the seeds., although it probably would have taken less dryer time if I had!
The tiny, salad, grape, cherry, and pear tomatoes (including my favorite yellow pear) I sliced in half and popped onto the trays and dehydrated. Easy peasy! Haven’t eaten all those yet – but I’m working on it! LOL and they will probably tide me over until this year’s tomato crop comes in!
As for taste – if the “gooey” stuff and seeds are NOT in there – they will probably dehydrate faster. But as for taste – I didn’t taste any difference. However considering everything – that could be a failing in my taste buds too! (I’m 72 yyoung this year – and what do I know! LOL)
As for ease in dehydrating I would recommend the pasta, Italian or paste type tomatoes – like Roma is an example – there are a LOT of others! Not as much “juice” as others. And you might find you enjoy these a lot more!
Judy D in WA says
Recently I dehydrated cubed-using the Vidalia Chop Wizard-carrot, celery and sliced mushrooms to see how they would work in my knock off rice mixes and in soup. The worked fabulous! I will be doing lots more. I also had to use up a spaghetti squash so I baked it, shredded it and dried it. It was so good dry that I don’t know how it rehydrates. 🙂
Judy D in WA says
next time I do squash, I’ll season it before dehydrating.
JudyL says
I forgot about your Chop Wizard and I meant to get one of those! I’m going now to get one ordered. Thanks for reminding me.
liz says
Have you tried green beans and corn? I can see using the dried veggies in soups during the winter.
JudyL says
I do not because I don’t grow many green beans and I grow no corn except I’m trying popcorn this year.
Judy D in WA says
I tried green beans and they weren’t very good. I prefer to can them. I did dry some corn that I had frozen but haven’t tried it yet. I figure if it’s isn’t good, the chickens will love it. 🙂
Norece says
Yesterday, for the first time ever, I dehydrated basil, majoram, stevia and oregano. I will need quite a few plants of each to get enough for a year or two.
A few months back, Krogers had a sale on their frozen veggies. I had never dehydrated veggies before and thought this would be a inexpensive way to try it. I dried peas, corn, carrot, green beans and onions. I used the peas, carrots, corn in a casserole and they rehydrated perfectly. The green beans didn’t work out and the onions were cut so small that they disappeared when dried. I think my experiment was a success and will dehydrating many more veggies.
Tracy says
I am the proud owner of an excalibur dehydrator, with thanks to your blog. Last time you wrote about them, I went to look at Amazon and they had a good deal on the 9 tray model, with extra sheets and a book. It became my mothers day gift. So far I’ve dried kale and chard for chips and made some candied pineapple. Looking forward to apple season!
Sibyl Scott says
Judy
Thanks for this post. I purchased a dehydrator last week. I decided to try jalapenos first, thinking I would do the powdered jalapeno peppers. Well I thought putting the dehydrator on my clothes washer would have it out of the way, Well let me tell you after about an hour—we had a pretty strong aroma. So I had to figure out where to put it. I ended up putting it in our storage building, and put a electrical cord out to it. That way I would not have to worry about the smell, or ‘er aroma. It did dry nicely, now I have a nice jar of jalapeno powder. Now I need to figure out what to use with it. I know you said you put it in pinto beans. May I ask how much you use?
Sibyl
CJ says
Even though I’ve owned an Excalibur for years, I mostly just dry herbs, and make croutons in mine On fruits and veggies that I have dried, I’ve always vac sealed them and stored them in the freezer, being afraid they’d mold and ruin. I wanted to ask you, do you prefer the plastic mesh screens or the sold teflon sheets on your trays?
Joyce says
My parents dried apples frequently and herbs. I like using dried onions. It’s so much easier than chopping fresh ones. My mother used to make turkey jerky with the Thanksgiving leftovers too. Yummy! I need to get the dehydrator out…
Helen Koenig1 says
I’ve also dehydrated green beans – and like them a lot after re-hydrating them – whether I make soup or green beans for dinner!
I’ve also dehydrated sweet corn which I actually prefer – and use any way I want to – just rehydrate and yum! EASY to do – and blanching usually occurs when I’m fixing sweet corn for dinner anyway! LOL
Last year I also dehydrated tomatillos for making salsa. It was amazing the number of fruits that 6 little plants put out! LOL
In the past I’ve also successfullly dehydrated cabbage, greens of ANY description (ummmmmm – I have some reservations on this one – they do get stronger! Excellent in soups, dips BTW) which I also found I prefer to powder at least some. I know you can dehydrate salsify and parsnip – but never had an extra amount of these to preserve that way – besides I usually kept them in the garden with a bale of hay or straw across the top to keep them from freezing!
I’ve eaten freeze dried broccoli and cauliflower and green peas as well – but can’t take the credit for making them that way since I usually buy them in!
Fruits – I’ve dehydrated apples, peaches, pears, apricots, grapes (though I usually can these!), plums. I know of others who have dehydrated strawberries, and other berries – but they have so much WATER with them! I really would rather freeze and if I couldn’t do that – then can – or just – sigh – tough it out and eat them fresh! LOL
Marlene says
I’ve had an Excalibur for several years and love it! For those of us who don’t have a big garden frozen vegetables can be dehydrated. My favorite is hash brown potatoes which I mostly use in potato soup but also rehydrate and saute with onions. Chopped onions are too small to dehydrate though. I dehydrate a lot of apples when they are in season and canned pineapple slices or chunks when they are on sale. Of course I do fresh pineapple on the rare occasion I can find it at a reasonable price. blessings, marlene
Susan says
The Excaliber salesman at the prep fair agreed with you about the timer. =) That’s on my list of things to get when my ship comes in. In the meantime, it’s other methods of dehydrating for me.