keeperofthehome
Senior Member
"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her...She will do him good & not evil..."
Posts: 840
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Post by keeperofthehome on Oct 22, 2007 15:09:23 GMT -5
My dad went to my sister's house the other day and she had bought a food dehydrator. Well she didn't really want it and said she wasn't going to use it she jut thought it was a good price so she bought it. My dad mentioned to her that he had wanted one so she gave it to him. Well he thought about it and said since it's just him at the house he didn't really need one so he gave it to us. Ok, I never had one before and although I have the instructions for it....I don;t really know what I am going to do with it. I am thankful that we were blessed with it so I want to see if any of you that have one or have used one could give me suggestions on what all I can do with it.
My first thought was "Oh boy! Homemade jerky and dried fruit." But I am sure there are other ideas on how to use it to it's full potential. So thanks in advance for your help.
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tbhas6
Senior Member
Posts: 1,146
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Post by tbhas6 on Oct 23, 2007 10:05:14 GMT -5
How exciting ... I have given some thought to purchasing a food dehydrator for some time now. I collect cookbooks and a friend of mine gave me "The Dehydrator Cookbook" by Joanna White several years ago even though I don't have a dehydrator.
Besides fruit and jerkys, you can also dehydrate vegetables, make fruit and vegetable leathers, granola, herbal teas, potpourri, herbs, croutons, puddings and yougart. If your family is the outdoor type, you can also dehydrate stews, soups, pasta dishes, rice dishes, casseroles,etc. You can dehydrate just about anything! Once dehydrated they make GREAT light weight backpacking, camping, fishing, hiking and travel foods. All you have to do is some heat water and rehydrate a favorite homemade meal.
Did you know that astronauts eat all sorts of yummy dehydrated meals? They take up a small amount of space, are light weight, preserved for a long period of time, and can be prepared and served in less than 5 minutes.
Dehydrated meals can be a real blessing on those outrageously busy days, if mom is ill, if there is a family emergency or in the event of a natural disater.
I hope you enjoy your exciting new kitchen gadget! .. tb
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Post by keflavik on Oct 23, 2007 11:46:34 GMT -5
I have a dehydrator and don't use it enough quite honestly. I think probably because I think cost effectiveness. How much electricity will I use to run the thing for all that I need to. It is best to use it when fruits are in season and cheaper and fresher. Or on a great discount. I've done apples and my kids love to snack on them but, with so many mouths chomping down they go fast. This is my dilema of cost effectiveness! I've also made yogurt strips which were homemade yogurt flavored with Jello and dried. Yummy! We've done venison jerky which was a long time to dry and the seasoning smell stayed in the house for a couple of days! I've been tempted to do potatoes but have yet to try them. I've also done fruit leathers with apples and strawberries. I'm sure the instructions will tell you how to do some things and that you need a special sheet insert for leathers. I'd like to do some blueberries to help free up my freezer space and then use them in muffins and pancakes. Pretty much anything you can buy at a store can be done at home. I'm still looking for a good scallopped potatoe recipe though. I, too, have the Dehydrator Cookbook but I just got it this past summer and haven't yet used it. The information is easy to comprehend and follow through on as well as some recipes to reconstitute food and incorporate into dishes. Thinking on this has gotten me inspired again! Maybe I'll upgrade to a bigger one which is really my problem as the one I have just can't put out enough for us. Or, better yet, the Goodwill for another one! Maybe I'll try drying cranberries when they go on sale after the Holidays! Oh and maybe some herbs from the garden! Hope you have as much fun as I'm going to have!
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Post by cindylu on Oct 23, 2007 19:33:13 GMT -5
I too, have that book, in fact, I use to have two copies. Hubby likes to buy used books but sometimes forgets what we have. LOL
Keflavik, you will find that potatoes and blueberries will do wonderful in the dehydrator. It is a great way to reduce storage space for food. Onions and garlic are also a great thing to do. I like to do them and grind them up for my own powders. I also like to keep a jar of dehydrated garlic near the stove to throw in to soups and stews.
I use it at the end of the summer for my herbs and flowers. Right before I know there is going to be a frost I start dehydrating them and putting them in mason jars for usage throughout the winter. My kids love chives on their baked potatoes. :0)
I read somewhere that a small table kind of dehydrator, usually the round ones that you find in your local stores, only use pennies a day in electricity. If you put it in your garage or on maybe a patio, it would reduce the smell. My family only complains when I use it for onions, otherwise they like the short term air freshener. LOL
I have both a round, table kind and a huge box type with legs and screens. I haven't done such a large amount of food at one time to justify getting the box type out of storage but I think I might this week. All this talk of dehydrating has inspired me to do a big batch of jerky. Hubby is hunting as I speak and the kids love venison jerky.
Lucinda
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Post by momof3inva on Oct 25, 2007 7:51:40 GMT -5
I'm new to the group. So first off howdy to everybody. Next does anyone care to share the venison jerky recipe. We love it, but I've never tried making it. I just have a small round dehydrator <>< Dreama
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keeperofthehome
Senior Member
"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her...She will do him good & not evil..."
Posts: 840
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Post by keeperofthehome on Oct 25, 2007 9:27:36 GMT -5
you will find that potatoes and blueberries will do wonderful in the dehydrator. It is a great way to reduce storage space for food. Onions and garlic are also a great thing to do. I like to do them and grind them up for my own powders. I also like to keep a jar of dehydrated garlic near the stove to throw in to soups and stews. I use it at the end of the summer for my herbs and flowers. Right before I know there is going to be a frost I start dehydrating them and putting them in mason jars for usage throughout the winter. My kids love chives on their baked potatoes. I am so happy you talked about doing onions, garlic and potatoes. Unfortunately we don't have a garden so we have to buy our veggies at the grocery store or the local farmers market. This is ok, but when I see a good sale on something I would love to buy a bulk of it but haven't done it as the veggies would go bad before I was able to use it up. You have given me great ideas on dehydrating them instead. Question though...when you dehydrate your garlic how do you do it? Just leave it in the whole cloves? Also on the potatoes do you slice them semi thinly or have you done chunks? Do they start to turn brown on you before the dehydrating time is up? I just wonder since this is all so new to me. Thanks for your help. ~Nichole
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Post by cindylu on Oct 25, 2007 16:49:28 GMT -5
When I do garlic I peel it, of course and then slice it, not too thin. With potatoes, I peel and slice then about 1/8 thick. It has been so long since I have done a batch I had to look it up on the internet. This is what I found. They then need to be blanched for eight minutes and cooled in ice water for 15. Then blot them dry on paper towels. Now they are ready for the dehydrator. If you have a dehydrator with a thermostat the temp needs to be 130 degrees. The website I am referring to is www.realfood4realpeople.com/potatoes.html On this site there are a few recipes on how to use dehydrated potatoes. My potatoes that I did, did turn brown but we didn't care, they stilled tasted good. Happy dehydrating! Lucinda
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keeperofthehome
Senior Member
"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her...She will do him good & not evil..."
Posts: 840
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Post by keeperofthehome on Oct 25, 2007 17:02:50 GMT -5
Thank you so much for the information. I am going to book mark that site right away.
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Post by joannaehughes on Nov 5, 2007 9:36:28 GMT -5
We really used the dehydrator this year. I had a small garden, but was blessed with mark-down veg from the store and farmer's market. I did celery, onion, and mushrooms - among other stuff. Love the way it did the mushrooms (cut thick), and celery (so expensive in winter)Also did discounted bell peppers....YUM!
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keeperofthehome
Senior Member
"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her...She will do him good & not evil..."
Posts: 840
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Post by keeperofthehome on Nov 5, 2007 16:27:40 GMT -5
Joanna, How did you do the celery? Large chopped pieces or such? What are you going to use it for? Just wanting to learn from you pro's. *Smile*
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Post by cindylu on Nov 6, 2007 19:21:24 GMT -5
Yea! My sweet dear husband just brought back my cabinet dehydrator. We have gotten a second deer so now I can use the extra meat to make jerky for the kids.
Luci
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keeperofthehome
Senior Member
"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her...She will do him good & not evil..."
Posts: 840
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Post by keeperofthehome on Nov 10, 2007 12:12:13 GMT -5
Ok I am going to try my hand at the potatoes today. I'll let you know how they turned out when they are done.
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Post by keflavik on Nov 10, 2007 12:41:54 GMT -5
I'm doing carrots and basil right now. I found a recipe for Turkey Noodle Soup Mix in a jar and it calls for two carrots cut up and cooked. I figure if they are dehydrated and just put in with the rest of the mix it will cut down on the prep time. After the last round of discussion on this topic, I was intent on going to the Goodwill to find another dehydrator. I stopped at a garage sale on the way and lo and behold, there was one for only $3.00! And it's bigger than the one I already have. Plus, this old couple who were having the sale just gave me some old mason jars because he didn't want to have to wash them. (You got to wash them anyway before using) So, I was thrilled with my finds. Now, I have extra jars to fill with mixes and give as gifts for the Holidays! Then, I decided to try out this new toy and dehydrated green peppers and mushrooms that were on sale. Now carrots. Later blueberries. We were also blessed to be given a deer yesterday too, so I'm looking for my jerky recipe. My husband is going to "deer camp" next week and want to send him off with some "space food", too. How hard can it be to boil water? I'm having fun with this idea can you tell?
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tbhas6
Senior Member
Posts: 1,146
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Post by tbhas6 on Nov 10, 2007 17:28:40 GMT -5
O.K. you ladies make these dehydrators sound just too much fun and so very practical ... I might have to request one on my Christmas list ... tb
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Post by keflavik on Nov 12, 2007 19:07:02 GMT -5
Nichole, How did your potatoes turn out? I just bought 5# today in the discount section for $.99. And want to play with those. Right now, I have the whole house smelling like jerky marinade. The boys love it!
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