The humble dehydrator and things I learned this year.. I started using a dehydrator around the house about 10 years ago. For years I only used it for specialty preserving like sun dried tomatoes and the occasional fruit. I've always hung my herbs on a rack, in the kitchen, to dry. I dried them slowly partly because I think they are pretty hanging there and I LOVE the smell. But this last year or so I've had too many to dry slowly. There wasn't enough space in the kitchen to dry them all so I pulled out the dehydrators and took the drying process down to 12 hours instead of a few weeks. Yes I said dehydrators because DD bought her mother a second one for a gift. A trip to eastern WA with DD to pick cherries spurred on more usage. On the way home with a trunk full of cherries for canning and freezing we stopped at one of eastern Wa's famous produce stands. It was WallaWalla sweet season and I couldn't stop myself from buying that 25 pound bag. When I got home I realized that I would never use them all before they went bad. Even after I shared some with the neighbors, I still had too many so I pulled out the food processor and sliced up a good 15 pounds. It only took one day to get them all dehydrated and into a half gallon jar. One day of watery, tearful eyes and runny noses. I learned : When dehydrating onions do it outside or in the laundry room.....or anywhere that isn't a common space. The whole house smelled like onions for a week.
Then came the two 15 pound bags of potatoes on sale. Couldn't resist the purchase of one red and one russet. With only two people to eat them ,it didn't take long for those little eyes to show up. The dehydrators were sitting idle at the time so I spent a half hour of my life peeling potatoes and putting them in food processor to slice. I naively put the first batch in and then kept a watchful eye as they slowly turned gray while they dried. Yuck. Nothing actually wrong with them but definitely not visually appealing and as I learned later they take a long time to rehydrate. So I ran to professor google and found out that potatoes need to be blanched before drying. I did the whole process again, this time with a big pot of boiling water to drop them in for 3 minutes. The blanched potatoes came out a beautiful yellow color. 15 pounds of potatoes filled up a two gallon ziplock bag. And they cook up really fast. Mashed potatoes take 5 minutes of boiling instead of 15 or 20. I learned : Always blanch potatoes before cooking.
Leeks. Jimmy requested potato leek soup one rainy day. Most of the time leeks are sold in bunches like green onions. So, I bought a bunch and only used one. The choice was obvious. I was prepared for another eye watering round but leeks are way less pungent and they only took about 7 hours to dry completely. 5 large leeks dry down to fit in a one pint jar. I learned: Leeks dry fast and don't burn your eyes.
Celery: I tried a little experiment with celery. I bought a bunch for a recipe and only used two stalks. It went into the vegetable crisper and a few days later started looking a little wilty. It was in that state of 'use now' or it becomes chicken food. Into the dehydrator it went. The next day it went into a pint jar and has since all been used for soups and flavoring. I learned: Dehydrators are a great way to rescue a vegetable before it goes bad.
Over the year I have learned to leave the dehydrator on the counter (or a little table in the corner) so it became a common, usable,small appliance in the kitchen. I admit I was surprised at how much the dehydrator has cut down on food waste. I learned that pretty much anything (except leafy greens, but I suppose you could) can be dehydrated and stored easily. It took very little research to discover that root vegetables, apples and pears should be blanched before dehydrating. Its also a real space saver. One of the most appealing advantages to me is that the dried foods don't need electricity to to remain viable. Living in an area where the electricity goes out every time someone sneezes it is a real plus. Don't get me wrong, I love my freezer. But, some things just don't freeze well and its nice to know that not everything I have stored needs to be thrown away after a storm..
These underappreciated little machines are not just for making healthy snacks. Fully integrated into your kitchen they can save money, cut down on waste and cut down on meal prep time. They also cut down on chemicals in your food. When you buy commercially dried foods one of the most commonly used preservatives is sodium bisulphite (soap) along with many others. Seriously read the ingredients next time you buy dry potatoes or craisens.
It might take a bit to fully integrate the drying process into your kitchen routine. Some of that is getting past the marketing of the machine that shows cute little kiwis, shiny red strawberries and delicious bananas drying out for 'snacks'. Unless you have a banana tree in your back yard or grow a whole field full of strawberries , the marketed use of the machine can be cumbersome and expensive. I guess the marketers that come up with the ideas don't think trays full of potatoes ,celery, onions or parsley would sell very well. To use a dehydrator well, you have to think past the marketing. I'm all about making my kitchen time as fast and efficient as possible. With the appliance out on the counter I can take the extra minute and chop up the whole bunch of celery, put a handful into whatever I am making and throw the rest into the dehydrator. Its sad but, it took me ten years to integrate the dehydrator as a small kitchen appliance instead of a specialty gadget. I had to rethink my kitchen routine a little . Now I'm a convert ;)
Then came the two 15 pound bags of potatoes on sale. Couldn't resist the purchase of one red and one russet. With only two people to eat them ,it didn't take long for those little eyes to show up. The dehydrators were sitting idle at the time so I spent a half hour of my life peeling potatoes and putting them in food processor to slice. I naively put the first batch in and then kept a watchful eye as they slowly turned gray while they dried. Yuck. Nothing actually wrong with them but definitely not visually appealing and as I learned later they take a long time to rehydrate. So I ran to professor google and found out that potatoes need to be blanched before drying. I did the whole process again, this time with a big pot of boiling water to drop them in for 3 minutes. The blanched potatoes came out a beautiful yellow color. 15 pounds of potatoes filled up a two gallon ziplock bag. And they cook up really fast. Mashed potatoes take 5 minutes of boiling instead of 15 or 20. I learned : Always blanch potatoes before cooking.
Leeks. Jimmy requested potato leek soup one rainy day. Most of the time leeks are sold in bunches like green onions. So, I bought a bunch and only used one. The choice was obvious. I was prepared for another eye watering round but leeks are way less pungent and they only took about 7 hours to dry completely. 5 large leeks dry down to fit in a one pint jar. I learned: Leeks dry fast and don't burn your eyes.
Celery: I tried a little experiment with celery. I bought a bunch for a recipe and only used two stalks. It went into the vegetable crisper and a few days later started looking a little wilty. It was in that state of 'use now' or it becomes chicken food. Into the dehydrator it went. The next day it went into a pint jar and has since all been used for soups and flavoring. I learned: Dehydrators are a great way to rescue a vegetable before it goes bad.
Over the year I have learned to leave the dehydrator on the counter (or a little table in the corner) so it became a common, usable,small appliance in the kitchen. I admit I was surprised at how much the dehydrator has cut down on food waste. I learned that pretty much anything (except leafy greens, but I suppose you could) can be dehydrated and stored easily. It took very little research to discover that root vegetables, apples and pears should be blanched before dehydrating. Its also a real space saver. One of the most appealing advantages to me is that the dried foods don't need electricity to to remain viable. Living in an area where the electricity goes out every time someone sneezes it is a real plus. Don't get me wrong, I love my freezer. But, some things just don't freeze well and its nice to know that not everything I have stored needs to be thrown away after a storm..
These underappreciated little machines are not just for making healthy snacks. Fully integrated into your kitchen they can save money, cut down on waste and cut down on meal prep time. They also cut down on chemicals in your food. When you buy commercially dried foods one of the most commonly used preservatives is sodium bisulphite (soap) along with many others. Seriously read the ingredients next time you buy dry potatoes or craisens.
It might take a bit to fully integrate the drying process into your kitchen routine. Some of that is getting past the marketing of the machine that shows cute little kiwis, shiny red strawberries and delicious bananas drying out for 'snacks'. Unless you have a banana tree in your back yard or grow a whole field full of strawberries , the marketed use of the machine can be cumbersome and expensive. I guess the marketers that come up with the ideas don't think trays full of potatoes ,celery, onions or parsley would sell very well. To use a dehydrator well, you have to think past the marketing. I'm all about making my kitchen time as fast and efficient as possible. With the appliance out on the counter I can take the extra minute and chop up the whole bunch of celery, put a handful into whatever I am making and throw the rest into the dehydrator. Its sad but, it took me ten years to integrate the dehydrator as a small kitchen appliance instead of a specialty gadget. I had to rethink my kitchen routine a little . Now I'm a convert ;)
Yes, I just emojied you on my blog!
