View Full Version : More dehydrating today:
I spent yesterday doing a big batch of hummus, today I spent time drying organic spinach, brocoli and rigatoni pasta.
I started with 1 lb (after cooking, so 8 ounces raw) of the pasta and 1 lb each of the vegetables.
The pasta took about 5 hours to dry, the vegetables took about 7 hours. The spinach was last off, as it was pretty wet to start off with.
To save time and money, I started off with frozen vegetables. Both were already blanched for me, so were just put on parchment lined paper. The paper works well as it helps absorb excess water. I did trim the brocoli florets a bit, as I don't like large stem pieces.
I divided the pasta into two freezer bags. Each one has about 4 ounces of pasta before it was cooked and dried. When ready to eat, all I have to do is add boiling water to cover, and let sit in a cozy for 10 minutes or so.
The brocoli I divided up into 4 servings, one of which is shwon in a meal I was making up. 16 ounces dries down to a shy 2 ounces.
The light colored bags each have 1/2 cup of dried hummus.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/driedfoods.jpg
Mountain Maiden
11-05-2006, 21:48
I spent yesterday doing a big batch of hummus, today I spent time drying organic spinach, brocoli and rigatoni pasta.
I started with 1 lb (after cooking, so 8 ounces raw) of the pasta and 1 lb each of the vegetables.
The pasta took about 5 hours to dry, the vegetables took about 7 hours. The spinach was last off, as it was pretty wet to start off with.
To save time and money, I started off with frozen vegetables. Both were already blanched for me, so were just put on parchment lined paper. The paper works well as it helps absorb excess water. I did trim the brocoli florets a bit, as I don't like large stem pieces.
I divided the pasta into two freezer bags. Each one has about 4 ounces of pasta before it was cooked and dried. When ready to eat, all I have to do is add boiling water to cover, and let sit in a cozy for 10 minutes or so.
The brocoli I divided up into 4 servings, one of which is shwon in a meal I was making up. 16 ounces dries down to a shy 2 ounces.
The light colored bags each have 1/2 cup of dried hummus.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/driedfoods.jpg
Great pics Sarbar! Question--does pre-cooking the pasta make for quicker rehydration on the Trail?
THX--Sunrise:sun
Great pics Sarbar! Question--does pre-cooking the pasta make for quicker rehydration on the Trail?
THX--Sunrise:sun
It does! All you have to do is soak the pasta for a few minutes and it comes back :) No boiling in a pan needed. So it saves fuel and you can use one smaller pan instead of needing a larger pot to cook pasta. You can also do whole wheat pasta, which has long boiling times.
little bear
11-06-2006, 01:47
when dehydrating foods do you need to cook them first and then dehyrate them ie; vegatables, meats and pastas.
when dehydrating foods do you need to cook them first and then dehyrate them ie; vegatables, meats and pastas.
I do usually, so they are good to go. Makes bringing them back easy, all you need is boiling water and 5-10 minutes of soaking time.
Most frozen vegetables are blanched so they finish cooking in the water soak. Meat is fully cooked out of safety. Precooked pasta gives you instant pasta!
I like the store bought already mixed hummus. I have tried the Fantastic Foods hummus you make at home. Makes way to much for the trail and I didn't care for it vs the already made version.
What or how do you dehydrate it at home?
I like the store bought already mixed hummus. I have tried the Fantastic Foods hummus you make at home. Makes way to much for the trail and I didn't care for it vs the already made version.
What or how do you dehydrate it at home?
You could take the store bought stuff and dry it, if you wanted to. Just spread it on parchment paper, and dry till dry. No different than doing homemade. Just try to avoid store bought that is high in fat.
Skidsteer
11-06-2006, 19:54
Sarbar, is OK to eat spinach again? :D
Seriously, I haven't kept track of the latest news wrt spinach. But I've been missing it!
Sarbar, is OK to eat spinach again? :D
Seriously, I haven't kept track of the latest news wrt spinach. But I've been missing it!
Yes! I love fresh spinach salads. It was cleared a couple weeks ago :)
Best of all though, even during the crisis, frozen spinach was ok.
starryliza
11-11-2006, 16:29
ok so to dehydrate frozen vegetables do I just put them straight from the freezer into the dehydrator (minus bag obviously)? or should I let them defrost first?
ok so to dehydrate frozen vegetables do I just put them straight from the freezer into the dehydrator (minus bag obviously)? or should I let them defrost first?
Straight on :) Let the dryer defrost them ;)
I read some where you should cook frozen veggies first then dehydrate. The reason they gave is that you can cook them the way you want (spices, etc) instead of having bland veggies
I read some where you should cook frozen veggies first then dehydrate. The reason they gave is that you can cook them the way you want (spices, etc) instead of having bland veggies
You could, but if you are using the vegetables in a recipe, chances are you will be seasoning the recipe.
For me, well, I am so used to low sodium that for me frozen vegetables have flavor now ;) I eat all my vegetables, freah or frozen salt free-after a couple weeks of this you start tasting the product, especially if you buy high end. I had a bag of frozen organic green beans last night that were really good!