Quick and Dirty Dehydrating

I'm one of those people who hates to read instruction manuals and any device that says "some assembly required."  I just want whatever it is I got to start working immediately.  I don't want to figure out what to plug in where or why it's not doing its job yet.  I don't want to have to wait for the instant ice cream maker to freeze before I can make the ice cream.  Which means I'm probably better suited to buying ice cream from the store.  But then I wouldn't be a prepper.

So today's post on getting a quick start to dehydrating is for people like me.  And these people will probably fall into one of the following four categories:

1.  You've got a dehydrator that you have never used and wonder if you will ever use.
2.  You have a dehydrator, but you aren't currently using it because it's winter and there's nothing from the garden to dehydrate.
3.  You don't even know how to dehydrate.
4.  You wonder whether you would actually use a dehydrator and whether it would be a wise investment, because you don't want to be like the people in #1 above.  

Short answers:
1.  We'll make it super easy to get started.
2.  That's what grocery stores are for.
3.  Can you buy a bag of frozen veggies?  Can you open the bag?  Can you pour the veggies on the dehydrator trays?  Can you turn the dehydrator on?  If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you know enough.
4.  Garage sale season is coming up, and Craigslist is always open.  You can pick up the round tabletop Nesco dehydrators for five bucks or less at garage sales.  They aren't my favorite for a few reasons, but for getting started the price is right and they do the job.

You basically do what is outlined in answer #3 above, but I'll provide a few more details here so that you are confident and your results are perfect.

Now's a great time to be using your dehydrator to preserve produce since in much of the country the garden isn't producing anything yet.  (At least, that is what I choose to believe.  We got another six inches of snow here on Monday.)  All you have to do is buy your bags of frozen veggies.  Of course, buy in bulk bags for the best deals.  Commercially packaged and frozen vegetables are already perfectly blanched so you don't have to do that step like you do with your own garden produce.  And they're perfectly uniformly diced or sliced or whatever for even drying.

Dump the bags of veggies on your trays and spread in a single layer.  Set the temperature to 125-135°F if you want to follow the usual directions for dehydrating vegetables.  I set mine to 110-115°F to preserve vitamin content and color better.

Drying times will vary based on temperature, humidity, size of the veggies, the efficiency of your unit, and possibly on whether you rotate your trays.  It will average between six and twelve hours.  It's perfectly acceptable to over-dry just to be on the safe side; these are for longer-term storage.  It's never a good idea to under-dry.  You'll just waste everything because the food will spoil.  So, what if it's bedtime and your food isn't quite dry?  Just turn the temperature down to 90-100°F degrees and go to bed.

When your veggies are brittle and crispy, they're done.  Let them cool completely before storing.  I prefer to vacuum seal mine in canning jars, but using Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers also works.

That's all there is to it!  Your veggies may take up to a few hours to re-hydrate when you're ready to use them, so you'll have to plan ahead for that.  They're perfect for adding to soups and casseroles.  And the beauty of dehydrated foods is that they weigh far less and take less space.

Links to related posts:
Dehydrated Tomatoes
Instant Rice
Fruit Rolls  
Dehydrated Pineapple
Hamburger Rocks 
  14 february 2019