Cooking Before Dehydrating. There is no need to cook a vegetable before drying if it is one that you would eat raw in a salad such as pepper, tomato, mushroom or onion. All you have to do is clean, cut uniformly and spread in a single layer on dehydrator trays. You can go either way with carrots, but steaming them will turn them a nice dark orange when dried.
A vegetable that you would normally cook before eating such as corn, peas, broccoli and green beans will usually rehydrate better if you steam them for eight minutes before drying, but it is not always necessary. It depends on how you will cook them on the trail.
It is not necessary to steam the vegetable before drying if included in meals where you bring it to a boil for one minute and let it sit insulated in the pot for ten minutes. (Exception is corn)
If rehydrating in a freezer bag by adding boiled water to the bag, steaming the vegetables for eight minutes before drying will give you more tender vegetables than if dried raw.
Steaming corn for eight minutes before drying makes it more digestible in trail meals. Steam frozen mixed vegetables if they include corn. Avoid drying mixed vegetables with lima beans because they rehydrate poorly.
Cooking vegetables in a stew is another method of dehydrating vegetables. The ratatouille recipe includes eggplant, onions, peppers, zucchini and tomatoes. Serve it as a side or as a main meal with rice. When dried, the color will be darker.
Dehydrating times may depend on type of dehydrator, humidity (depends on time of year).
Potatoes. Sweet or white potatoes too hard to snack on. Chewy when rehydrated but soften with longer simmer times or in soup that cooks for a while.
Peeling optional. Slice crosswise ⅛” thick like scalloped potatoes or dice into ⅜” cubes.
Steam or boil 10 min. Enhance flavor by soaking sliced potatoes in balsamic vinegar and salt for ten minutes before drying.
Salt. Dry 125° 6-8 hours. Hard when dry.
Tomatoes. Wash. Cut out the hard spot. Slice four or five times across and then dice into pieces about a ½ inch square.
Salt. Dehydrate 135° for approximately eight to ten hours until dry and leathery.
Dried tomatoes are bendable, not brittle. You can start out at 145° for the first two hours to speed things up.
Cherry tomatoes can be cut into ⅛ inch thick slices using a sharp knife. Dehydrate the same as diced tomatoes.
Dehydrating Tomatoes Cut in Half. San Marzano tomatoes, with their oblong shape and meaty texture, are ideal for drying in halves. Each tomato half can be seasoned for outstanding taste. The end product is intensly flavored tomato jerky, which makes a great snack. The dried halves can easily be cut into smaller pieces to use in meals.
Peppers. Use colour possibilities to brighten your meals. Wash and cut into ½” pieces, dehydrate with the skin side down at 125° for 6-8 hours.
Jalapeño Peppers. Wash and cut into rings crosswise. The fleshy inside part and seeds can be removed or included for more heat. Dry 125° for 6 hours. Use with caution as the heat concentrates in the dried pepper.
Onions. Dice onions into pieces about a ½ inch long. Separate any layers, dehydrate at 145° for 2 hours. Reduce to 135° for 6-8more hours or until pliable. Move the onions around every couple of hours to speed up drying. Onions smell pretty strong when drying, so you might want to open a window.
Mushrooms. Baby bella or small white mushrooms are good sizes to dry. Wash the dirt off in cold water, cut off the ends if hard or brown, and cut mushrooms into ⅛ inch thick slices. Dehydrate at 125° for six to eight hours until dry and leathery.
Mushrooms absorb flavors well. To make savory mushrooms, heat 1 cup of water with a ½ cube of beef or vegetable bouillon in a pan. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Add one pound of sliced mushrooms to the broth and stir around for a few minutes. Savory mushrooms take about an hour longer to dry than uncooked mushrooms.
Zucchini. Wash and remove any dark spots on the skin. It is not necessary to peel. Tasty in a meal combined with tomatoes, mushrooms and onions. Cut into ⅛ inch thick slices and then cut the slices into quarters. Skip the quartering if drying zucchini into chips for snacking. Dehydrate at 135° for 8 hours.
Cucumbers. Dried cucumber chips are fair for snacking. If cucumbers have a thick waxy coating, peel first and then cut into ⅛ inch thick slices. If the cucumbers have large seeds, consider cutting the cucumbers in half longwise, scraping out the seeds, and then slicing the halves. Arrange in a single layer and sprinkle with salt if desired. Dehydrate at 135° for 8 hours if you want them crispy like a chip or at 125° for six hours if you want them chewy.
Spinach. Dried spinach tastes great in pasta or rice meals with tomato or cheddar cheese sauce. It combines well with beans and lends a nice flavour to soups and scrambled eggs. Choose fresh spinach without any dark mushy spots. Wash leaves and pat dry with paper towels. There is no need to trim the stems.
Spinach leaves take up a lot of space on the dehydrator tray, so start off with the spinach doubled up in two layers. Dehydrate at 125° for 4 hours. After two hours the leaves will have shrunk enough to spread them out in a single layer. Place a mesh sheet over the spinach leaves when they are half dry because they may start blowing around.
DEHYDRATING VEGETABLES – STEAMED
Carrots, green beans, and broccoli, hold a darker colour if they are steamed before drying. They rehydrate well in trail meals with minimal heating, and they make the meals more festive.
Carrots. The stick cut: Peel carrots and cut into 1½ – 2 inch long pieces (4 – 5 cm). Turn each cut carrot piece so that a cut end is facing up. Make two to four slices down the carrot, depending on carrot thickness, then rotate the carrot a quarter-turn, holding the first slices together, and slice down again two to four times. It’s not hard once you get the hang of it. Carrots may alternatively be cut crosswise into ⅛-inch thick coin shapes.
Steam cut carrots for five minutes. Steamed carrots hold a darker orange colour.
Dry at 125°F (51° C) to 135° F for 6 – 10 hours. Dried carrots will still be pliable like leather.
Green Beans. Pick or purchase green beans that are not too fat and fibrous. Wash and dry green beans. Cut off the ends and cut beans into ½ inch to 1 inch lengths. Steam for five to eight minutes before drying. Spread in a single layer on dehydrator tray and dry at 125° for approximately eight hours. Dried green beans will be hard. If drying frozen green beans, you will find that French-cut green beans rehydrate faster and are less chewy in a meal than regular-cut green beans.
Broccoli & Cauliflower. Soak broccoli for ten minutes in salt water and rinse to remove any insect eggs and grit. Cut the florets into smaller ½” bouquets. The stalk may also be dried. Cut half of an inch off the bottom and peel and discard the outer layer of the stalk. Cut the stalk crosswise into three sections about an inch to an inch and a half long. Turn each section on its end and cut down into four or five rows. Rotate a quarter turn and repeat so you end up with rectangular strips. Steam the broccoli for five minutes to bring out the dark green color of the florets. Place some parchment paper or a non-stick sheet on the bottom tray to catch any dried pieces of the florets that may fall through. Dehydrate at 125° for approximately eight hours. Dehydrated broccoli and cauliflower will be brittle when done.
DEHYDRATING VEGETABLES – FROZEN
Frozen vegetables are available year round and save time in the kitchen because they require little or no trimming before drying. Frozen mixed vegetables, corn, peas, French-cut green beans and okra all dry well.
Thaw and spread in a single layer on dehydrator tray and dry at 125° for approximately six to eight hours. Pre-cook only if your trail cooking method doesn’t maintain a boil for at least a minute, although corn is always better if you pre-cook it.
When drying mixed vegetables, snap the green beans in half so they finish drying at the same time as the carrots, corn and peas.
Lima beans remain hard when rehydrated in meals, so use mixed vegetables without them.
French-cut green beans are less chewy in meals than regular cut green beans.
Peas shrink a lot when dried, so dry larger peas, not the petite size.
Canned vegetables are generally soft from sitting in salted water. You will get better results and retain more nutrients dehydrating vegetables that are fresh or frozen.
Beets. Beets are the one root vegetable that is easier to dry from the can than fresh since it takes a long time to cook fresh beets. Choose sliced beets for even drying. Cut any large slices into halves or quarters so that all slices are about the same size. Spread in a single layer on dehydrator trays and dry at 135° for eight to ten hours.
Sauerkraut. Dried sauerkraut adds a nice little zing to backpacking meals and goes well with ramen noodles. It can even be snacked on dry. Drain liquid and spread out on dehydrator tray. Dry at 125° for approximately four to six hours until crispy. Stir once or twice.
Beans. Beans are actually legumes. Drying canned beans saves time compared to cooking the beans yourself and produces beans that rehydrate well in meals. Home cooked dried beans stay hard and don’t rehydrate as well as canned beans. The pressure cooking method used to cook canned beans makes them rehydrate better.
Rinse first if the liquid seems syrupy. Dehydrate at 125° for 6-8 hours. Dried canned beans usually split open. This helps with rehydration.
DEHYDRATING FRUIT
Dehydrating fruit reduces pounds of juicy goodness into ounces. Half a cup of dried apples is equivalent to one and a half small apples and weighs one ounce instead of half a pound.
Snack on dried fruit each day on the trail, and include it in oatmeal and dessert recipes. Rehydrate it with cold spring water back into refreshing fruit cocktail.
Choose mature, firm fruits for the highest sugar and nutritional content, but avoid bruised or overripe fruit.
Wash and rinse the fruit to remove wax and pesticides if dehydrating fruit with the skin on.
Cut fruit into small pieces about ⅛ inch thick and spread in a single layer on the dehydrator trays.
Most fruit will be pliable or leathery when done, meaning you can bend it and tear it, but it won’t be so dry that you can snap it.
Apples. Quarter the apples from top to bottom, cut out the core and stem. Slice the quarters crosswise into ⅛ inch thick pieces.
Apples will start to turn slightly brown within minutes of cutting and exposing the flesh to air in a process called oxidation. If you get your apples in the dehydrator right away, the colour change will be minimal and vitamin content and taste will be well preserved. Most fruits undergo some oxidation including pears, peaches, pineapples and bananas.
Over time, oxidation will diminish the vitamin content and flavour of fruit. Vacuum sealing or using oxygen absorbers will diminish the rate of oxidation if you need to store fruits for longer than a few months.
If you want to pre-treat before dehydrating apples, dissolve one tablespoon of pure crystalline ascorbic acid (available at health food stores) in one quart of cold water. Place fruit in solution for ten minutes and remove with slotted spoon. You may also pre-treat with lemon or pineapple juice, but this is much less effective and imparts a citrus flavor to the fruit.
Dehydrate at 135° until pliable (8 – 12 hours).
Pears. Dried pears are very sweet and melt in your mouth.
Wait until pears have ripened, but not softened too much before drying. Peel if desired. Cut the pears in half lengthwise. With a knife, trace the fibrous line leading from the stem down to the pit and make a shallow cut. Pull the fibrous part out. Slice the narrow part of the pear crosswise into ⅛ inch thick pieces. Cut the wide part of the pears lengthwise again and cut out the core. Slice the quarters crosswise into ⅛ inch thick pieces.
Dehydrate at 135° until pliable (8 – 12 hours).
Bananas. Choose bananas with some brown speckles on the peel for maximum sweetness, but avoid drying over-ripe, soft bananas. Peel the bananas and slice crosswise into ⅛ inch thick pieces.
Dehydrate at 135° until chip-like or leathery (8 – 12 hours). Home dried bananas are not crunchy like the dried bananas you find in store-bought trail mixes because they are not fried before drying.
Pineapples. Dried pineapple is good in pizza and goes well with rice and shrimp or ham.
Remove the fibrous skin. If you have a coring tool, you can remove the core before cutting. Otherwise remove the core as you slice the pineapple. Cut the pineapple crosswise into ¾ inch thick rings first and then slice the rings crosswise into thinner ⅛ inch thick pieces. Smaller pieces dry faster than larger chunks or rings and are the perfect size to use in recipes and trail mixes.
Dehydrate at 135° until pliable (12 – 18 hours). If drying canned pineapple, it will take up to twice as long because of the extra juices. Shorten the time by running the dehydrator at 145° for the first two hours.
Peaches. Firm peaches are easier to process and will dry faster than soft peaches. However, peaches that are very firm may lack sweetness because they are not ripe. Look for peaches that have good colour and a little give when you squeeze them. If desired, remove the skin by dipping the peaches in boiling water for 30 – 60 seconds. Remove peaches with a slotted spoon and then dip in cold water. The skins will come right off.
Cut the peaches in half or quarters and remove the pits and the fibrous red parts around the pits. Then slice the halves or quarters crosswise into ⅛ inch thick pieces. It’s easier to remove the pits of clingstone peaches if you cut the peaches into quarters since the pits adhere to the flesh of the fruit. The pits of freestone peaches pop out easily.
Dehydrate at 135° until pliable (8 – 12 hours). Shorten the time by running the dehydrator at 145° for the first two hours.
Strawberries. Dried strawberries are only fair for snacking, but they are delicious when rehydrated and heated with a little sugar.
Wash strawberries and pat dry with paper towels. Cut off the leafy crown and slice strawberries crosswise into ⅛ inch to ¼ inch thick pieces. If you want to sweeten the strawberries, sprinkle with sugar after you place the slices on the trays. Sweetening the strawberries in a bowl first draws out juices and makes them messier to work with.
Dehydrate at 135° until leathery or crispy (8 – 12 hours).
Mangos. Orient the mango long ways with the narrow profile of the mango facing you. Make two cuts all the way down the mango about a quarter inch from centre left and right. You may bump into the pit, so just keep sliding the knife along the pit.
Cut the skin off the three sections. Cut the flesh off the pit in the centre section as best you can into ⅛ inch thick pieces. Lay the two outer sections flat-side down and cut in half lengthwise and then slice the quarters crosswise into ⅛ inch thick pieces.
Spread in a single layer on the dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 135° until pliable (8 – 12 hours). Shorten the time by running the dehydrator at 145° for the first two hours.
Blueberries. Blueberries take a long time to dry and are only fair for snacking on. They are pretty good in oatmeal or make a nice topping for dried angel food cake when rehydrated and warmed. Wash blueberries and remove the stems. Break the skins before drying. Place blueberries in a colander and dip in boiling water for 30 seconds and then in cold water to check (break) the skins. Blueberries will dry faster and turn out crispier if you skip the dip and cut the berries in half before drying. Place the berries in a single layer on the dehydrator tray with the skin side down.
Dehydrate at 135° until leathery (12 – 20 hours).
Sliced Seedless Grapes and Oranges for Fruit Cocktail. Sliced oranges don’t make good fruit snacks like apples and bananas. But, they rehydrate well in fruit cocktail!
Slice the oranges and cut away the skins. Then cut the fruit into small pieces, breaking into the cell walls in between the sections. A tip if you have particularly juicey oranges is to partially freeze them before cutting. The last four hours. (135F). Oranges take a long time to dry, at least 15 hours.
Slice the seedless grapes crosswise several times because they will not dry sufficiently if just cut in half. Sliced seedless grapes will take as long or a little longer to dry than orange pieces.
Fruit Cocktail – Warm. Combine one cup of any combination of dried fruit with one cup water. Soak for ten minutes and then heat slowly for ten more minutes. Try ½ cup dried pears, ¼ cup dried bananas, ⅛ cup dried pineapple, and ⅛ cup dried mango or peaches.
Fruit Cocktail – Cold. To make a juicy fruit cocktail, combine one cup of dried mixed fruit with two cups of cold water in a Thermos Food Jar. The result will be one cup of refreshing fruit juice and a tasty serving of rehydrated fruit. I add one teaspoon of sugar to my fruit mix to give me a little extra zip for the last miles of the day.