REhydrating food

[Cassie]

I've had trouble rehydrating foods on the trail. Vegetables come out tough and chewy. Sauces (like spaghetti) end up a mealy mush. Tofu was a complete disaster, it remained rock-hard little cubes no matter how long I soaked it. Am I over-dehydrating or something?

[LaurieAnn]

A few questions Cassie and then maybe I can be of more help.

First of all are you using boiling water to rehydrate? Are you rehydrating in a ziplock, pot or Nalgene? Are you using a cozy? How long are you rehydrating for?

You could be over-drying or you could need to change how you are rehydrating. There are many factors that can affect this.

[Phreak]

I always add my dehydrated meals to boiling water and let it soak for 15-30 minutes (typically while I'm setting up camp), then heat up for a few minutes on my stove. I haven't had any issues with anything rehydrating so far.

[Cassie]

I usually put the dehydrated food in a screw-top container with water a few hours before dinner. Then I boil it with whatever else I'm cooking, like noodles.

I use a Nesco dehydrator and save the food in vacuum-sealed bags.

[Phreak]

I have tried doing something similar with marginal results. I've found the key is to use boiling water to rehydrate my meals.

[HeartFire]

Cassie,
Are you dehydrating the meal or the individual food items? I"m not really sure if this makes any difference. I make the meal and then dehydrate it - so the pasta and sauce and cheese is all mixed up when it goes into the dehydrator. in camp, I pour boiling water into the zip lock or vacuum seal bag and put the bag into a cozy. It sits for about 10 or 15 min and is ready to eat. I've never had problems with tofu or anything else.

[summermike]

Individual items like the ones I mentioned: vegetables, tofu, some sauces.

[summermike]

Whoops, hit enter too soon: check the instructions for your dehydrator for the individual foods you mentioned, vegetables, tofu, some sauces. Maybe you're doing something wrong in the dehydrating process.

[sarbar]

Tofu can be a real issue with rehdyrating. It doesn't always take well to drying. On pasta? Undercook it a bit before drying. I shave about 2-3 minutes off the cook time. It finishes cooking as it rehdyrates in boiling water.

[LaurieAnn]

I usually put the dehydrated food in a screw-top container with water a few hours before dinner. Then I boil it with whatever else I'm cooking, like noodles.

I use a Nesco dehydrator and save the food in vacuum-sealed bags.

What temperature is your water? And how large are the pieces you are trying to rehydrate?

Sorry for the multitude of questions - but it will help narrow down what the issue is.

I've never had problems rehydrating tofu or most veggies.

[Cassie]

Np with questions, LaurieAnn, I'd like to figure out what I'm doing wrong!

Most vegetables are cut into bite-sized pieces about an inch across: broccoli, zucchini, carrots, cabbage. Onions and garlic are cut a little smaller. Tofu also starts out as 1" cubes. I use extra firm tofu.

To rehydrate I just put them in tepid water for a few hours to soak then I bring the water to a boiling and add the pasta or rice or whatever else it is I'm cooking with the vegetables and tofu.

[LaurieAnn]

You might want to try cutting the pieces smaller if that is an after cooking or after blanching size... about 1/2 inch... same with the tofu. I usually keep tofu between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. I'd also recommend boiling water for rehydrating the tofu. The long soak should work fine for the veggies at 1/2 inch size.

I've never had an issue with spaghetti sauce turning to mush... then again mine is a straight tomato-basil sauce (a finer texture) and I dehydrate/rehydrate or cook pasta separately.

Sorry I'm not much more help.

[Cassie]

How do you know which vegetables should be blanched before dehydrating?

Do you do anything to your tofu before dehydrating it?

[LaurieAnn]

most fresh veggies need blanching... zuchinni, grated carrot, shredded cabbage, tomato (okay so its a fruit) and other soft veggies don't but things like brocolli, corn, and such do. I generally cook whole meals then dry them so tofu is generally cooked first.

[Allen1901]

How do you know which vegetables should be blanched before dehydrating?

I think I see the problem. Cook the food before drying, then use boiling water to rehydrate. Use a cozy if You need to to keep the food hot, but in most cases You don't need to soak the food before adding boiling water.

Cheers!

[njordan2]

Yes, most importantly cook everything before dehydrating. This breaks down the cellular walls. Going raw, dehydrating then rehydrating takes about 12 hours for rehydration when soaking in room temperature water. Think of making soup beans or lentals; you let them sit overnight and then simmer all day.

The best way is to cook everything, mash it all into a paste, cook it down to a very heavy paste, then spread that paste out on the dehydrator rack and dehydrate until it is completely solid. Then completely pulverise it into a dust, and package it. It will then rehydrate in about 10 minutes in boiling water. Tofu works like this, carrots, sweet potatoes; all of the difficult veggies.

This turns everything you eat into a soup or a paste, but that is all that you do when you chew it up anyway.

With this method there are no preservatives except for the salt and spices you add while cooking. Which, by the way, add while cooking so the flavors have a chance to meld.

Remember: "It's all fuel"

[sarbar]

I think I see the problem. Cook the food before drying, then use boiling water to rehydrate. Use a cozy if You need to to keep the food hot, but in most cases You don't need to soak the food before adding boiling water.

Cheers!

+1

I rarely soak foods (unless for a cold meal), rather I cover with boiling water and cozy. Then eat. The food is precooked so ready to go.