Amount of H20 required for re hydration ???

[rocketsocks]

So I cooked, pulverized and dehydrated some pinto beans to make some "bark" for re-fried beans. It came out ok, little bland, but something I hadn't planned for was...how much water to add back in when re-hydrating to get it to a re-fried beans consistency. The way I went about it was to get one the pre-made packages of dehydrated food I had laying around (chili mac) and see what it required, weight to ounces of water, just as a jumping off point...surprisingly that worked pretty well. (now the question)...

If making say a stew, or chili with different size pieces, of meat or veggies, rice or what have you, and those requiring different amounts of volumes of water to re-hydrating, how does one know how much to add.

Is there a formula or general rule in re-hydrating that I have just missed in my readings?

What do you DIY home dehydrators do?

thanks, guessing in gastronomy

[Pedaling Fool]

The short answer is: I don't know.

And I've never really tried to figure it out. My primary dinner meals are rice with a bunch of dehydrated ingredients, everything from various types of Jerky to a multitude of veggies. I have always just put too much water in and made a stew out of it. That was primarily because I didn't want to have a pot that needed a lot of cleaning.

However, I found that rehydrating everything, except the jerky, can be overdone. I use to throw my veggies in the pot when I first started boiling the water, but I found that that over-cooked the veggies, taking away the flavor. I now throw the veggies in when the rice is about half done and they are perfectly rehydrated and full of taste. Another reason to make a stew, then you don't have to figure out the perfect rehydration method, but it's been my experience that in rehydrating it's better to under rehydrate than over rehydrate (i.e. overcook), which is easy to do. It's a trial and error thing.

[Pedaling Fool]

So I cooked, pulverized and dehydrated some pinto beans to make some "bark" for re-fried beans. It came out ok, little bland...

BTW, I found that there are two ways to make dehydrated food bland, one I already mentioned above (over rehydrating) and the other is over dehydrating.

I've never dehydrated pinto beans, so I can't really comment on that, but WRT to most other dehydrated foods it is very important to NOT overdehydrate them to the point of being brittle, including Jerky. They should be supple and pliable; this also helps to preserve the foods nutritional value.

[Venchka]

The solution:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...+refried+beans

Want me to send you a case from HEB?

Wayne

[rocketsocks]

The short answer is: I don't know.

And I've never really tried to figure it out. My primary dinner meals are rice with a bunch of dehydrated ingredients, everything from various types of Jerky to a multitude of veggies. I have always just put too much water in and made a stew out of it. That was primarily because I didn't want to have a pot that needed a lot of cleaning.

However, I found that rehydrating everything, except the jerky, can be overdone. I use to throw my veggies in the pot when I first started boiling the water, but I found that that over-cooked the veggies, taking away the flavor. I now throw the veggies in when the rice is about half done and they are perfectly rehydrated and full of taste. Another reason to make a stew, then you don't have to figure out the perfect rehydration method, but it's been my experience that in rehydrating it's better to under rehydrate than over rehydrate (i.e. overcook), which is easy to do. It's a trial and error thing.

Yep, I like Stews and just wanting to avoid ending up with a Chutney and having to then add more water, then to find out I've ended up with a mess on my hands(not that I wouldn't eat a mess) hehe. Experimentation always gits er done, just thought maybe I had missed the obvious in my pokings around,

BTW, I found that there are two ways to make dehydrated food bland, one I already mentioned above (over rehydrating) and the other is over dehydrating.

I've never dehydrated pinto beans, so I can't really comment on that, but WRT to most other dehydrated foods it is very important to NOT overdehydrate them to the point of being brittle, including Jerky. They should be supple and pliable; this also helps to preserve the foods nutritional value.

This is likely a great source of my blandness, as my dehydrator is from the 80's, no fan, no heat control...I just plug it in a dry the devil out of it. Perhaps I need to practice on pulling the pin/plug sooner.

The solution:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...+refried+beans

Want me to send you a case from HEB?

Wayne

Thanks Wayne what a nice offer, kinda just wanting to do it myself, though what a great resource with in that link, had no idea there were that many different varieties of refried beans and I'll likely try some of those in the future. Oddly enough while perusing the images link, I was able to see the instruction on one of the packages where a 1:1 ratio is recommended for the beans...Cool


https://www.google.com/search?q=instant+refried+beans&tbm=isch&tbo=u&sour ce=univ&sa=X&ei=UjebU6L1H4ucyASg0YGQBA&ved=0CFIQ7A k&biw=1242&bih=585&dpr=1.1#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc= 1GcmdtnykdG7MM%253A%3B3hwSGYH_6B-k5M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fww1.prweb.com%252Fprfiles %252F2013%252F05%252F22%252F10757210%252FSanta_Fe_ Culinary.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.prweb.com%25 2Freleases%252FInstantRefriedBeans%252FSantaFeBean Company%252Fprweb10757210.htm%3B441%3B520

[Just Bill]

Socks-
Like all rules of thumb, there are four other fingers on the attached hand to consider, but generally speaking 2-1 for soups (water to food), 1-1 for solid foods.

I am also guilty of the over dehydration problem- other than a $$$$excaliber- one of them fancy dancy "look neighbor's I'm not on vacation" outlet timers to shut it off is the best option. Shuffling the trays once per hour is unfortunately mandatory for the fanless models though.

For over hydration- Oregeno, dried chiptole flakes, garlic salt solve many problems. When in doubt go with the nuclear option- hot sauce.

[Farr Away]

You can try weighing your food before and after dehydration. The difference is the water weight. I usually go a little less when I'm re-hydrating.

Another way is to measure out servings onto your trays. For example, I put half cups of salsa on my trays, then bag the leather in snack bags that I write "makes 1/2 cup" on.

-FA

[rocketsocks]

Socks-
Like all rules of thumb, there are four other fingers on the attached hand to consider, but generally speaking 2-1 for soups (water to food), 1-1 for solid foods.

I am also guilty of the over dehydration problem- other than a $$$$excaliber- one of them fancy dancy "look neighbor's I'm not on vacation" outlet timers to shut it off is the best option. Shuffling the trays once per hour is unfortunately mandatory for the fanless models though.

For over hydration- Oregeno, dried chiptole flakes, garlic salt solve many problems. When in doubt go with the nuclear option- hot sauce.

"Like all rules of thumb, there are four other fingers on the attached hand to consider"

"generally speaking 2-1 for soups (water to food), 1-1 for solid foods"

...I like it
...and the hot sauce idea toatomic.gif

You can try weighing your food before and after dehydration. The difference is the water weight. I usually go a little less when I'm re-hydrating.

Another way is to measure out servings onto your trays. For example, I put half cups of salsa on my trays, then bag the leather in snack bags that I write "makes 1/2 cup" on.

-FA

"You can try weighing your food before and after dehydration. The difference is the water weight"

Brilliant! I have the technology to do that, thanks -FA

[The Old Boot]

You can try weighing your food before and after dehydration. The difference is the water weight. I usually go a little less when I'm re-hydrating.

Another way is to measure out servings onto your trays. For example, I put half cups of salsa on my trays, then bag the leather in snack bags that I write "makes 1/2 cup" on.

-FA

This and for something like dehydrated spaghetti or chili dinner I just put the dry food in my pot then add water to just cover it. Heat until boiling, put in the cozy and let it sit. If there's not enough water after ten minutes, add some more, re-heat. If there's excess water, I'll bring it back to a boil with no lid and let the excess water boil off.

If it's a stew then you can always throw some thickener at it if you're fussy about consistency. Tomato paste works well, so does either flour or cornstarch.

[chfdwolfpack]

I'm the same as Farr Away...I weigh whatever I'm going to dehydrate first, then weigh it again post-dehydration. The difference in weight is the amount of water I add when rehydrating. This has served me well over the years with freezer bag cooking, Sometimes it's a little off, but not enough to make a difference, in my opinion...I'm usually hungry as hell and the fact that it may be a little dry or a little wet really doesn't phase me.

[rocketsocks]

I'm the same as Farr Away...I weigh whatever I'm going to dehydrate first, then weigh it again post-dehydration. The difference in weight is the amount of water I add when rehydrating. This has served me well over the years with freezer bag cooking, Sometimes it's a little off, but not enough to make a difference, in my opinion...I'm usually hungry as hell and the fact that it may be a little dry or a little wet really doesn't phase me.

ah better still, weigh for and aft, yep just wanted to avoid having a refried bean "Slurpee"...although that could be pretty tasty too.

...Now, re-reading Far Away's post, I see she mentions before and aft....Thanks again folks

[perdidochas]

So I cooked, pulverized and dehydrated some pinto beans to make some "bark" for re-fried beans. It came out ok, little bland, but something I hadn't planned for was...how much water to add back in when re-hydrating to get it to a re-fried beans consistency. The way I went about it was to get one the pre-made packages of dehydrated food I had laying around (chili mac) and see what it required, weight to ounces of water, just as a jumping off point...surprisingly that worked pretty well. (now the question)...

If making say a stew, or chili with different size pieces, of meat or veggies, rice or what have you, and those requiring different amounts of volumes of water to re-hydrating, how does one know how much to add.

Is there a formula or general rule in re-hydrating that I have just missed in my readings?

What do you DIY home dehydrators do?

thanks, guessing in gastronomy

The scientific way to determine that woudl be to weigh it before you dehydrate it. Then weight it after you dehydrate it. The difference in weight is the number of grams of water you need to use. A gram of water=a ml of water. Add a little extra, and you should be good to go.

[rocketsocks]

The scientific way to determine that woudl be to weigh it before you dehydrate it. Then weight it after you dehydrate it. The difference in weight is the number of grams of water you need to use. A gram of water=a ml of water. Add a little extra, and you should be good to go.

My dried and thirsty beans thank you.

[Venchka]

Data point: 6 ounce package instant refrained beans. 2 1/2 cups water.
I have an unopened bag of instant refried beans in Houston. I will check the water ratio when I get back. Time to start sampling the stuff I have been squirreling away.


Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[Venchka]

Data point: 6 ounce package instant refrained beans. 2 1/2 cups water.
I have an unopened bag of instant refried beans in Houston. I will check the water ratio when I get back. Time to start sampling the stuff I have been squirreling away.


Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

I checked two more brands, the one in my pantry and a fancy organic, GF version. No correlation between weight of beans and volume of water. I give up.
I did find the hashbrowns from the other thread. Planning a beans and hashbrowns hiker burrito this week.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[rocketsocks]

er ya go, thanks Wayne!

[lemon b]

I always go a few ozs. less that the directions call for. I have friends who go a few more. Product with no directions I test at home.

[Just Bill]

For you sir and any others- one of the best general resources- although the specific answer you wanted is more recipe by recipe-
http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-food.html