Dried Veggies

[Bootstrap]

Where do you get your dried veggies from? What do you get?

Jonathan

[bigcranky]

Did you have anything particular in mind? You can buy the "Just Veggies" brand at many supermarkets, and dried tomatoes are pretty common, too. Harmony House Foods (http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/) is also popular among hikers.

We dry a lot of our veggies for hiking. Mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cooked beans, pretty much anything you'd add to a trail dinner.

[Grinder]

sun dried tomatoes and Knorr's brand "vegetables" from the super market.

The rest pretty much mail order a "lifetime supply" from Mary Jane or similar on line supplier. (and UPS keeps getting richer.)

Sheesh!! Big Cranky , I forgot about DIY. I have done onion and green pepper and bananas before. Great reminder!!!!

Miles of Smiles
Tom

[Seeker]

i dry my own... mostly carrots and corn.

[hopefulhiker]

The trick with dehydrating your own vegetables is to cut them up in a uniform size.. When they are cut into smaller pieces, they will rehydrate quicker and you will be able to eat them quicker! The downside is when you do this it makes everything have the same kind of consistency.. You start to miss crackers, potato chips and other crunchy things..

[skinny minnie]

My uncle scored a dehydrator from the Salvation army.

Cost $12 bucks and it is awesome.

I'd rec. carrots, peas, zucchini, any fresh herbs from your garden - I have been experimenting with adding different spices and seasonings to my dried produce. Thus far the best result is the dried apples with sea salt, raw sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Have done a lot less with veggies so far. I'm a stickler about cutting them thin and the same width, though.

[minnesotasmith]

Some are easy to find in stores. Dried parsley and dried onion (NOT onion soup powder -- too much salt) are both easy to find in dollar stores. I also used dried tomatoes (in most full-size groceries now), sushi-grade seaweed from Oriental food stores, dried coarse chopped bell pepper from health food stores.

I also ordered a couple cases of freeze-dried broccoli and spinach from Emergency Essentials, adding some to all my maildrops. Split them into pint ziploc bags stuffed full, and you've got a serving to add to a Knorr's mix. Throw in some whole-wheat macaroni, olive oil, and powdered nonfat milk, (optional: small foil pack of salmon) and that's a pretty nutritious meal for being days out from resupply. :)

[bigcranky]

DIY works best (cheapest) when you grow your own, or get it in season from the farmer's market.

Strawberries are just coming into season here -- there is NOTHING in the world like the wonderful aroma of drying strawberries as it permeates the entire house. Mmmmm. We usually get 4-6 gallons and dry them, spread over two weekends. They last all year.

Apples are good, when in season, though you can get 5-lb bags of Granny Smiths on sale at a supermarket and dry those (good flavor when dry.)

OK, those are fruits, not veggies, but it still works.

[sarbar]

Harrony House Foods. I love them that much :p I still dry a few hard to find items...but honestly? They do a better job than I can do!
For certain things like sweet peas I do buy freeze dried by Just Tomatoes. (Dried just doesn't work so good)

[Wonder]

the "justs" are very pricey. If you hydrate all day, the home dried is soooooo yummy

[envirodiver]

Strawberries are just coming into season here -- there is NOTHING in the world like the wonderful aroma of drying strawberries as it permeates the entire house. Mmmmm.

Yes, there is...eating those DIY dehydrated strawberries. :D They are like candy...sooooo good.

[sarbar]

Ok, yeah, nothing tastes (or smells) like home dried strawberries! It has been so cold here that the berries are only now putting on flowers. It is going to be a couple weeks late this year.
I use an egg cutter to slice up fast. Y-U-M!!!!

[Skidsteer]

The trick with dehydrating your own vegetables is to cut them up in a uniform size.. When they are cut into smaller pieces, they will rehydrate quicker and you will be able to eat them quicker! The downside is when you do this it makes everything have the same kind of consistency.. You start to miss crackers, potato chips and other crunchy things..

Here's a trick:

Just buy frozen veggies of your choice and throw them in the dehydrator still frozen. Cheap, no salt, sugar, or preservatives, all pieces are of uniform size, and they rehydrate al dente.

Keep in mind I have been accused of having the palate of a Scotsman. I might be offended if I were French.

[sasquatch2014]

I have an organic store not too far from my home that carries something but I want to get a Dehydrator to set up for DIY. I get freeze dried Corn Tomato Chile Peas and Carrots from that store. I also get Barley flake but i guess that is more a grain than a veggie. Oh I almost forgot Mushrooms too.

[Pokey2006]

I dehydrate my own. Personal favs are zucchini and eggplant. They rehydrate well, and are tasty with spaghetti and tomato sauce.

[minnesotasmith]

Buy a hand grinder that's can handle dried beans. Put dried green or yellow split peas in it. Better yet, afterward, cook them, or at least soak them before drying. Should be easy to reconstitute on the trail. If need be, put them in a Nalgene with some water first thing in the morning, and they should be easy to cook come dinnertime.

(Admission: I have not yet done this, but intend to on my next LD hike.)

[Whiskyjo]

We learned real fast you don't dehydrate ramps inside. Even on the back porch it attracts more flies then a pile of cow manure. But they do add a nice flavor to meals.