Food drying - Dehydrators (merged)

allIcouldwishfor

ethansmum wrote:

Forgive my ignorance please, I am relatively new at this (os that is), But why would you dehydrate mushrooms, onions and garlic etc? Can you add them dried up to stews? Does it really taste better? I'm not very imaginative and can only think off sweet treats to make.

Thanks!

You can buy veg when it's cheap and dry them, they'll last forever and take up less storage space. You can add them straight to soups, stews and sauces.

I'm looking forward to the summer, we grow a lot of our own fruit and vegetables so the dehydrator will be great when we've got more tomatoes than we can eat.

I'm going to dry the currants from the garden to use in christmas cakes (I make loads as gifts) rather than making shedloads of jam, which is what I normally do to save wasting it.

I'm sure people who've had one for longer than me (a day - but I've been lusting after one for a year!) can explain other benefits I haven't thought of.

lil_me

One reason I have bought one is many veg I buy there is only me willingly eats it (if I don't hide it) so I was wasting a lot or buying tiny amounts which isn't usually cost effective. Now whatever I won't use before it goes off can be dried and used in soups, casseroles, stews, and blitzed hidden in other things I don't have a big freezer so couldn't just blanche and freeze them. Other is my kids adore dried fruit treats, they have them instead of sweets, and it was costing me a fortune.


Question for those with dehydrators, brocolli - can I dry it, any idea how long for, it's not in my book and I have a stack I got cheap and don't want to fling it and the freezer is full!

TIA

fizzyfeet_2

Woo hoo, mine arrived today, can't wait to try it out!

achtunglady

Just to let you know that this is on offer at Tchibo,

http://www.tchibo.co.uk/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/uk/-/GBP/TdUkDisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=0000618

ethansmum

Mines come too!

Dumping this up, incase others were intested in getting one from tchibo- theres a free postage code on this thread somewhere.

blue-kat

what do you make in your dehydrator ToxicLemon and other seasoned dehydrators ?

I've not used mine in ages and looking for inspiration. I used to make mediterranean flax seed crackers

I've got a Excalibur, bought on ebay some time ago.

TIA

ethansmum

Am I right in thinking you can make veggie crisps with these? Do I need to cook them first? sorry if this sounds daft but I thought that you had to boil the potatoes/carrots first?
Thanks

MrsTinks

To apple crisps!!! :rotfl: My dehydator from Tchibo arrived and last night I fille dit up with slizes of golden delishious apples and I've been munching all morning - tonight I'm going to try pineapple half my staff have been stealing my aple crisps and I've told them to go and get their own dehydrators lol - in all fairness some of them have seen the possibilities that this opens for healthy snacks for their kids too

So thanks OS for talking me into getting one of these after all it's probably going to result in a healthier diet for me and apparently a LOT of childrens school lunches too :T

lil_me

I've loved using mine so far, the veg I dried made a fab soup over the weekend, I didn't have the freezer space at that point to make it. Apple is nice isn't it, how long did you dry yours for, think I didn't leave the last lot long enough as they were a little squidgy. Grapes I only got one as my son ate the lot, he won't usually eat grapes so this was definately a bonus but it did give him wind :rotfl:

MrsTinks

I just stuck mine on last night at about 10 and at 7 this morning they were crisp Maybe try slicing it thinner?

I made soup with the onion , leek and courgette I dried friday as an experiment and it seems to have come out well (I wanted to know the results before embarking on a mass drying spree lol)