Anyone do any dehydrating? Books? Sites?

[Diomedes Industries]

I am reading a lot on www.trailcooking.com - but I want to get books and other resources for some dehydrated trail food...


Help?

TF

 

[Pritch]

TF, do a search for episodes of the Food Network's Good Eats that deals with dehydrating. He shows how to use a box fan and a couple of cheap furnace filters rather than a commercial dehydrator, arguing that it was a superior method.

Here is one I found. Jerky

-- FLIX

 

[mkhop]

I will have to search the basement for the book but it says basicly cook what you like to eat then dehydrate and seperate into portions , to cook cover in pot with water bring to a boil and its done. I will have to put up the title and author.

 

[Bushman5]

I have used old oven wire shelves, spaced 2" apart, in a box with a 100watt lightbulb and fan. Window screen over the intake and outtake vents to keep the flies out.

did hot beef jerky and dried fruits and veggies.

 

[RedbeAR15]

Did some apples on an old window screen in the sun a couple of days - not real high tech Takes alot more than you think

 

[kr1]

I have an American harvest. It works great and I have done, bananas, fruit roll ups (my boys use to love those), beans, spaghetti sauce, hamburger, jerky, apples, strawberries, blueberries (the funniest fruit), pears, and other stuff I probably have forgotten. What I love in particular is the hamburger. Cook 90% lean hamburger and drain and then dehydrate. It turns into like a gravel. But, cook some food like spaghetti and add a little more water and throw in a handful of "gravel" and it rehydrate great and really adds taste, calories and nutrition. I store all of my dehydrated food in the freezer and take it out as needed. It doesn't really freeze because there is such a small amount of moisture left but it seems to prolong its life which I measure in years. I kid you not. I have used the hamburger many years (I have the dates it was created on the bag) after I have dehydrated it with no ill effect.

The food I make is lighter, tastier, and probably healthier than the other foods that I take camping.

KR

 

[storl]

I do fruit and, as kr1 mentioned above, hamburger quite a bit. I have a Nesco FD-75R that I bought based on the recommendation of an author of a book about dehydrating meals for backpacking. She ran two of the constantly for a long time while writing the book. You can add some ridiculous number of trays, 12 total I think, if you are serious about dehydrating a ton at once. The FD-75R is more powerful than a lot of the units that I looked at, plus it has the adjustable thermostat that has been pretty accurate in my usage so far. I have been really happy with the unit and have put several hundred dollars of food through it.

What I usually do is go get a case or two of fruit during my once or twice a week Costco trips specifically for dehydrating. You do not need any preservatives, sugar, or anything else to make great tasting fruit. You might want to dip some fruits in lemon or other acidic juice before dehydrating just to preserve colors and texture, but it's not necessary. The FD-75R came with a booklet that had a really comprehensive list of foods and how to prepare and dehydrate them.

As mentioned, hamburger is a great choice. Thick soups/stews like chili also work really well. I haven't messed with jerky much, since really good stuff is so easy to buy and a heck of a lot cheaper. Fruits without a million preservatives and a pound of sugar are very hard to find outside of Trader Joe's though, so fruits are a good choice. Apples, pineapples, melons, cherries, and pitted fruits (plums, peaches, pluots, apricots, etc.) all work really well. Our favorite are granny smith apples and pluots (hybrid of plums and aprictors). I do not really like the way that bananas turn out, and citrus fruits will not work well in a dehydrator.

Follow the directions in the book of whatever unit you buy, and you'll be fine.

 

[guyfalks]

I make jerky and dehydrate various fruits and vegetables. This time of year, lots and lots of chiles. My hands are burning as I type.

Dehydrators: I have used American Harvest dehydrator, Excalibur dehydrator, the oven, and various contraptions. The Excalibur is my favorite over anything else I have used. The only downside is the cost; but it was worth it to me.

Books: I have "How to Dry Foods" by Deanna Long and "Just Jerky" by Mary Bell (I misplaced the book and may have got title/author incorrect).
The book by Deanna Long gives a lot of basic information about all aspects of dehydration. It does make certain things sound more complicated than they really are; I rarely bother with pretreatments and have not found temperatures to be that important. The book by Mary Bell gives lots of ideas for jerky, obviously.

 

[Diomedes Industries]

Storl,

I have that same dehydrator - based on your suggestion and that authors suggestion.

TF

 

[kr1]

melons, cherries, and pitted fruits (plums, peaches, pluots, apricots, etc.) all work really well.

Freaking melons. How could I have forgotten Cantaloupe. Turns into these little orange leathery things when cut up and dehydrated. Pop it in your mouth and let it rehydrate in there and it melts and tastes just incredible. A whole melon weights nothing and fits easily in a sandwich bag with room left over. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I have done watermelon also. That doesn't work quite as well because, I guess, it almost all water. You need to cut that up into pretty large pieces because if you don't it will almost disappear.

KR

 

[TreeChopper]

The Excalibur is my favorite over anything else I have used. The only downside is the cost; but it was worth it to me.

+1 on the Excalibur. :thumbup: Besides using it for drying just about everything, I take the shelves out and use it to make jars of yogurt.