How many hikers dehydrate food

[misterfloyd]

Hello to everyone,

I have been hiking a while and I would like to improve on my biggest weakness... food!

On the hikes I have taken before I have always bought the usual trail food. No problem, but I found that, at times, it can be heavy.

On that note I have been thinking about getting a dehydrator and doing a portion of my own foods.

question how many here dehydrate your own food? Can you share any adice for a newbie in this regard?

As always any input from you all is greatly appreciated and welcome.

Best,
Floyd

[Rocket Jones]

I just graduated to an Excalibur dehydrator, but my old cheapie Nesco did the job.

Check out Harmony House for an excellent "backpacker's kit" of dehydrated goodies.

Bring instant mashed potato flakes to thicken up a meal if it's too soupy. Instant refried beans work well too.

[Pedaling Fool]

I just graduated to an Excalibur dehydrator, but my old cheapie Nesco did the job.

Check out Harmony House for an excellent "backpacker's kit" of dehydrated goodies.

Bring instant mashed potato flakes to thicken up a meal if it's too soupy. Instant refried beans work well too.I second this. I also graduated to an Excalibur, but first started out with a cheap department store brand, just to get my feet wet and I did use it for preparing for hikes.

Also, the models available today are far better than the one I bought -- thanks to trickle down technology/design features -- so you could probably get a lot of life out of department store dehydrators nowadays.

The biggest mistake some make is over dehydrating their food, the second mistake is over cooking their dehydrated food in an attempt to reconstitue. Over cooking/dehydrating takes away from flavor and nutritional value. Reconstitution has never been a problem for me; I'm surprised at all the threads devoted to this issue. Dehydrated food should NOT snap-crack when you bend it, it should be pliable.

Probably the best place to start is reading your instuction/cookbook that comes with your dehydrator and then there is tons of stuff on the web. The important thing to know and always remember that there is no one correct way to dehydrate; it's a very forgiving practice.

An example is my chicken jerky, almost everything I've read has you pre or post cook in the interest of gurading against salmonella and maybe you should but I only did my first batch like that and have never since. However, I do presoak it in a marinade over night that has a very generous serving of salt. My version of a disclaimer, so HM doesn't jump all over me :D

I also don't blanch many of the vegetables, one example are tomatoes that my cookbook had me boil so I could remove the skin; I don't do that anymore, I just leave the skin on, but don't do whole cherry tomatoes, you have to at least slice them in half or else the skin will prevent proper dehydration.

However, I found that blanching potatoes is a must and certain fruits, such as bananas should be pre-soaked in a citric solution, such as lemon juice; I'm sure this will be in your cookbook.

[Wise Old Owl]

I use a standard 1/2 hour increment AC timer to shut off the Nesco to avoid over drying. Generous salt? Don't need it.

Don't worry about salmonella, fresh chicken breast washed, cut into thin slices or strips uncooked marinaded for 5 hours in a dense high quality Italian salad dressing and 5 hours at 160 Nesco is just fine. Remember tray rotation every hour is still important. You are imparting flavor with the oil, vinegar, and peppers and spices. The vinegar adds acid to the surfaces to reduce mold and bacteria, acting as a growth inhibitor. Soy sauces do the same thing, avoid La Choy as its water down cheap stuff for the masses. Remember you are imparting additional flavor and not all soy is the same. Avoid Corn Syrup it becomes sticky and goo like and prevents quality drying. Most foods have a natural sodium level a dash of salt if you think you need it - I prefer Kosher or Sea Salt for my needs. Play around with additional spices sparingly.

[daddytwosticks]

I've dehydrated home-made chilli and home-made spagetti sause with great results. Both were awesome. :)

[HikerMom58]

I've dehydrated home-made chilli and home-made spagetti sause with great results. Both were awesome. :)

Yes sir... right there with ya! :)

[gsingjane]

One thought for you, look at Good Will or Salvation Army and see if you can find a dehydrator there before you buy one for full price. Mine cost $7. People often buy them (like bread machines) thinking they will use them and then don't. If you like dehydrating, great - go buy a really nice one, but if you don't, then you can re-donate it.

[Just Bill]

The single best spot I can think of to start is-
http://www.backpackingchef.com/

[Sierra2015]

I was a dehydrator sooooo badly!

[MDSection12]

I dehydrate all my own camp foods. The only stuff I buy is the occasional Knorr or instant mashed potatoes as a side for my main meal.

I do a lot of Mexican food on the trail. Taco meat is super easy to dehydrate and can be added to just about anything. :)

[Farr Away]

Salsa dehydrates really well too. Some dehydrated salsa, gravel (dehydrated hamburger), and dehydrated vegetarian refried bean flakes make a great trail chili. The original recipe was supposed to be a tortilla filling, but we liked it so well, I do it on purpose now. :)

Dehydrating your own trail foods gives you options and control over what you're eating. If I want pineapple blueberry leather, I can have it - without spending a fortune. If I don't want added salt, that's up to me.

I think my favorite is veggie powder though. Dump a bag of frozen veggies in the dehydrator; dry, and then powder when done. Dump a couple of spoons in pretty much anything. I use it at work with a bouillon cube for cup of soup. Great way to get veggies into your trail diet too.

I would suggest starting with something simple that you'll enjoy eating - fruit leather or banana chips maybe?
Fruit leather - make a fruit smoothie and pour onto leather trays or parchment paper.
Banana chips - open a can of packed in 100% juice pineapple tidbits. Pour the juice into a shallow bowl, and the pineapple onto your dehydrator trays. Slice a banana into the pineapple juice. Dip the slices out; kind of shake them off, and put those on trays too. Repeat as desired.

-FA

[daddytwosticks]

There is a product called Just Veggies. It's a bunch of dehydrated and freeze dried vegetables (corn, peas, tomatoes, peppers, etc). You can get them at most REI's. They are awesome additions to just about any trail food, especially ramen. :)

[rustmd]

i dehydrate all my own hiking food, love having better choices and better variety, more healthy. i added a vacuum sealer to keep my foods sealed longer & better.

lots of websites about dehydrating/rehydrating. one of my favorite/unusual foods to dehydrate are blueberry muffins--those great big ones w/ lots of sugar! slice top to bottom making 3-4 slices, lay on trays, dehydrate around 130 degrees for about 2 hours. what a treat with a cup of coffee in the morning on the Trail!

.com

[The Old Boot]

I've ever only bought one packaged dehydrated food and it was a dessert that I couldn't resist trying out!

I do use a lot of regular dry household foods mixed with food that I dehydrate myself. For example - instant mashed potatoes with spices added (garlic and others) over home dehydrated veggies and ground beef with instant gravy mix to make shepherds pie.

I've taste tested the commercial brands of camp foods like MH and found them all way, way too salty for my taste.

The other thing I appreciate about making up my own meals is the ability to control portions. I test both the recipe and the portion at home and adjust accordingly. I took a 'regular portion' of a recipe from Backpackingchef out on a trip one time and found that for me, it would have served two meals.

I also buy as much of the foil pack meats as I can when I'm stateside and use them in meal planning wherever possible.

[slbirdnerd]

There is a product called Just Veggies. It's a bunch of dehydrated and freeze dried vegetables (corn, peas, tomatoes, peppers, etc). You can get them at most REI's. They are awesome additions to just about any trail food, especially ramen. :)

Just veggies are great! I put a handful in my ramen too, and any other dish that needs some umph.

[FarmerChef]

The single best spot I can think of to start is-
http://www.backpackingchef.com/

This is what got me started and is still my go to when I need another idea. But though I began dehydrating all my food, now I dehydrate the front part of the hike and then only carry extra proteins and veggies to mix in with store bought resupply. It's cheaper than shipping food ahead in my experience (except in New England where everything is expensive :) ). I use an old yardsale Nesco I got for a song and have an Excalibur also. The Nesco gets a bigger workout for me simply because I have all the liners, fruit rollup trays, and tons of add on trays and am used to it. If I have overflow, I fire the Ex up.

The great thing about doing your own dehydration is you can make your food the way YOU like it. You don't have to settle for average flavor/texture cuz that's what the masses are satisfied with. Plus one to chili and other sauce bases. You can make awesome desserts too. The world is your oyster :D

[Drybones]

There is a product called Just Veggies. It's a bunch of dehydrated and freeze dried vegetables (corn, peas, tomatoes, peppers, etc). You can get them at most REI's. They are awesome additions to just about any trail food, especially ramen. :)

I agree about the vegies, my favorite to add to ramen, didn't have them the last trip to REI, hopefully they'll have them when I go tomorrow.

[atraildreamer]

... An example is my chicken jerky, almost everything I've read has you pre or post cook in the interest of gurading against salmonella and maybe you should but I only did my first batch like that and have never since. However, I do presoak it in a marinade over night that has a very generous serving of salt. My version of a disclaimer, so HM doesn't jump all over me :D ...

I have pressure-cooked sliced chicken to kill any nasties that might be lurking in the chicken. I then dehydrated the chicken, sprinkling seasoning on the meat when it was on the drying racks. It worked out quite well. However, I don't know how long the finished product lasts as it is usually eaten up very rapidly at my house! :D

I also tried pressure cooking slices of a roast beef and then drying, in the same manner as the chicken. It tasted fine, but the jerky crumbled easily. :( The steam from the pressure-cooking breaks down the beef to a greater degree than the chicken. The finished dried beef flakes were better suited to being added to other ingredients as a source of protein.

[brian039]

I ate nothing but Knorr's on the AT and I just can't do it anymore so I dehydrate my own. I have the Excalibur 3900. Best beginner advice I have is to make sure you get one that can make jerky if you like having jerky on your hikes. A timer is also nice but not necessary.

[rafe]

I did, for a few of my section hikes years ago but it was really a lot of fuss and bother. Haven't used it in years.

[sarbar]

While I dry some of my fave "not going to find it commercially" foods, I mostly order from http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/

[Different Socks]

For my next hike, \I have dehydrated almost everything I will be eating: meats, veggies, fruits, and other things. Compared to past hikes, just the weight created by my foods is gonna be substantially affected as well as better tasting and larger variety.

[Hoop]

I de-hy different fruits, veggies and venison jerky, also spaghetti sauce & noodles (angel hair), sweet potatoes, most anything that strikes your fancy. Fiddle around and experiment - it's fun to take something on the trail you made yourself. Excaliburs are really nice but my Nesco does fine, too. I've got hundreds of hours on it.

[Rightfoot]

For a sweet treat, try dehydrating pears. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon on top!