View Full Version : Dehydrating Pasta sauce
So I just spent 12 hours trying to dehydrate 6 cups of pasta sauce. Temp was in 170 F (as low as it would go) the oven was cracked open about an inch (i do not have a dehydrator on my oven) and the sauce was still wet on the bottom. I dont think i put too much in there, it was about 1/4- 1/2 inch deep. is is supposed to still be moist?
MintakaCat
05-11-2009, 05:24
Could be it has a large amount of oil or margarine in it. If thats the case it will never dehydrate. I know how you feel, the same thing happened to me when I tried to dehydrate some store bought alfredo sauce. It came out the same way, ended up tossing it in the trash. The one thing I did learn is that not everything can be dehydrated.
half inch deep is a lot! Use 1/4 inch as the maximum, not the minimum. Also, part way though you will want to "flip" it, you will know when.
Agree with russb, you have to flip the sauce leather todry the bottom.
Now that you mention it, I think I too flipped the "leather" to finish drying it.
Also, I set the temp higher (midway between 200 and "W") and watched pretty close.
Did you prop the door open a bit to let water vapor escape??
I do remember chopping up the leather in a food processor when dry, to get a powder that reconstituted better/faster.
When I dry sauces I line with parchment paper (makes it a lot easier to remove!). Once the top is set (no wet areas, tacky is OK) I flip it over to get the back side dry evenly. Not everyone does that step, but for me, I like doing it :)
Then once dry I let cool, break up the leather, freeze for an hour or so, then whirl in my blender to get a powder.
Hmmmm how long does it normally take?
Hmmmm how long does it normally take?
Depends on the sauce, humidity and your dehydrator really (and how thick it is spread).
Figure at least 6 hours and up.
Also, sauces with corn syrup can take longer to dry.
LaurieAnn
05-12-2009, 18:38
Keep the sauce thinner in the middle of your tray where sauces tend to pool a bit too and never more than 1/4" thick. Others have mentioned flipping and that is helpful.
Good sauce shouldn't have corn syrup or margarine... only a little olive oil and not enough oil to impede drying (sorry - I'm a bit of a sauce snob - lol)
medicjimr
05-12-2009, 18:57
I did a batch for the first time last night started it at 5 pm and stopped it at 9 am today when I got up. I just threw it in food processor did'nt get turned totally to powder but close vacuum sealed individual servings and now stored in freezer.
On the corn syrup: that is an American thing. Fortunately due to backlash from consumers in the past year, HFCS is rapidly disappearing from products. Particularly Kraft has pulled it out of quite a bit - from sauces, to salad dressings, to drinks and more.
Of course they will ignore the fact that corn prices had gone through the ceiling last year ....
Until recently corn syrup has been one of the cheapest sweeteners on the market in the US. No one else uses it like the US does.
borntobeoutdoors
05-14-2009, 23:53
Best to spread it as thin as you can over as many trays as you have.
As the others have said, it dehydrates better and faster if you flip it. I usually do it half way through.
Even if your dehydrator has a fan, it helps to rotate the trays.
In the case of the excalibur type dehydratos with the fan in the back, rotate the tray 180 degrees half way through the dehydrating process. Remember the outside will dehydrate faster then the center so make the center thinner then the outside.
Finally, the most important part of the dehydration is the flow of air, not the temperature. The temperature is to kill bacteria, the air flow is for the dehydration.
Hawk
Instead of dehydrating pasta sauce, try dehydrating tomato sauce and then bringing the packets of dry spaghetti sauce to add to mix during re-hydration. I've done it alot and my "Backpacker spaghetti" is one of my kids favorite trail meals. :)
sixhusbands
05-15-2009, 08:34
If you have a garden or even a few patio grape tomato plants , try dehydrating them. One plant will yeild a few gallons and dehydrating is great way to use the excess. It takes a little work to halve the little grape tomatoes and scoop out the seeds. The flavor of these will ad to any meal out there and I have used a hand full , a little olive oil, some dry basil simmered until tender and mixed with pasta. yummy!
LaurieAnn
05-15-2009, 10:24
sixhusbands - it's also tasty if you halve the little tomatoes, drizzle them lightly with olive oil and then roast them in the oven before you dry them - we do this for a Roasted Tomato Dip and it's quite tasty
Then once dry I let cool, break up the leather, freeze for an hour or so, then whirl in my blender to get a powder.
yet another ingenious post from sarbar. you are my hero! :sun
charlie2008
05-15-2009, 14:12
Instead of dehydrating pasta sauce, try dehydrating tomato sauce and then bringing the packets of dry spaghetti sauce to add to mix during re-hydration. I've done it alot and my "Backpacker spaghetti" is one of my kids favorite trail meals. :)
:sun
Along the same lines, could you use the tomato paste in a tube and water? Tubes are small and conentrate goes a long way. Gonna get a tube to practice with.
:sun
Along the same lines, could you use the tomato paste in a tube and water? Tubes are small and conentrate goes a long way. Gonna get a tube to practice with.
Even easier, get tomato powder. Found in health food stores or at online distributors like harmony house.
medicjimr
05-15-2009, 15:22
Even easier, get tomato powder. Found in health food stores or at online distributors like harmony house.
Well for me part of the fun of hiking is the preperation, I like to make use of those bad weather days .
LaurieAnn
05-17-2009, 09:55
I'm the same way medicjimr - it adds to the fun pre-trip and to the anticipation.
I'm just finishing a batch of tomato sauce.
This Time I lined a 12x9 in cake pan with parchment paper and poured a 1lb 10 oz of Ragu garden style sauce in it . I spread the sauce evenly. It was between 1/4 and 1/2 in deep.
I placed in the oven (with an iron griddle under it as a buffer, heat sink) and set the oven temp midway between off and W.
It took forever . I started at around lunch time and removed it to the fridge at 10 pm. In the morning I put it back in the oven and by noon it was leathery.
I have it in the freezer now and will food processor it this afternoon. ( thanks for that tip SARBAR! I never would have thought of it.)
I'll let you know how the chop turns out.
Darn!!
It wasn't dry enough.
After I ground it up it tended to clump up , like a snowball.
I put it back in the oven for additional drying..
Next time I'll try running the temperature on warm instead of below. I was afraid of burning the sauce.
Farr Away
01-28-2010, 10:49
When you put it in the refrigerator, did you put it in air tight packaging? I think refrigerators tend to be humid.
farraway,
No I didn't. Never even thought about it.
By noon it was drier feeling and I couldn't get it to clump anymore, so I declared it dry and got on with my life.
Next batch I will run the oven on Warm until it books "near dry" and then finish at half way between Warm and Off.
Ii just finished drying some sliced up meatballs! Now to go add them to my already dried macaroni and sauce. mmmm
skinewmexico
01-28-2010, 20:48
Then once dry I let cool, break up the leather, freeze for an hour or so, then whirl in my blender to get a powder.
That could revolutionize my food prep. Bless you! I'm ging to have to try slicing meatballs too, since I got a new dehydrator for Christmas. With a thermostat, so hopefully my veggies work now!
singingpilgrim
03-21-2010, 23:51
I love this site. I was just thinking earlier this evening "hmm.. I wonder if I could dehydrate spaghetti sauce.."
Jim Adams
03-22-2010, 00:51
I use the spaghetti sauce packets of dry powder but instead of adding a can of tomato paste per directions, I add dehydrated tomato quarters, dehydrated mushrooms and dehydrated cooked ground beef...good sauce.
geek
I use the spaghetti sauce packets of dry powder but instead of adding a can of tomato paste per directions, I add dehydrated tomato quarters, dehydrated mushrooms and dehydrated cooked ground beef...good sauce.
geek
You can also use tomato powder:
http://www.americanspice.com/catalog/21936/search/Tomato_Powder.html?SEARCH=3&WORDS=tomato%2Bpo&orig=30&PAGE=0&_ssess_=224b25102f34d4fb0dce5d687fc3fa33
and freeze dried ground beef:
http://www.packitgourmet.com/Freeze-Dried-Ground-Beef-p252.html
tothetrail
04-04-2010, 13:31
I use the spaghetti sauce packets of dry powder but instead of adding a can of tomato paste per directions, I add dehydrated tomato quarters, dehydrated mushrooms and dehydrated cooked ground beef...good sauce.
geek
Hmmm, that sounds great, thanks!
I'm in mid hike now and thought I'd report back on the spaghetti.
I ate a batch a few days ago and it was "to die for".
details
precooked and dried whole wheat spaghetti, broken into 1 1/2 in. pieces.
1/2 jar of prego veggy sauce, dried and ground to small chunks
1/2 cup of gravel (dehydrated ground beef)
Rehydrated with 2 cups of water
Try it, you'll like it.
sounds great I must try this
I'm drying food for this years hike (one month, start Hot Springs, NOBO)
Doing spaghetti now.I thought I'd report the details:
1. I use the oven on less than warm setting with a spoon propping the door
(while I'm sure a "real dehydrator" is nice and easier to use, you don't need to spend $60 to 100 to find out if it's for you)
2. This time I did a jar of RAGU chunky sauce. It fit on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Took about 12 hours to get to a good dry leather. I will grind the leather in a food processor. ( I'd appreciate advice on the grinding up part. My memory is foggy on the details. Normal blade or grater?? How much do you have to cut it up before loading into the processor?)
3. I break spaghetti into fourths. (My first attempt was full length spaghetti. It dried into odd shapes that threatened to pierce the freezer bag the meal was stored in. Shorter lengths don't do that)
I will make four meals out of the jar of sauce and pound of pasta, adding 1/4 cup of gravel (deh. hamburger)
TTFN
Farr Away
03-09-2011, 12:34
If you freeze the leather before you try to powder it, it works better. YMMV.
-FA
WingedMonkey
03-09-2011, 13:06
3. I break spaghetti into fourths. (My first attempt was full length spaghetti. It dried into odd shapes that threatened to pierce the freezer bag the meal was stored in. Shorter lengths don't do that)
Instead of cooking and drying spaghetti I use Korean wheat noodles, they cook in one minute. Like Ramen but better flavor and texture with tomatoe sauce.
WingedMonkey
03-09-2011, 13:07
Oops forgot pic :sun
An option I just made is "Pasta Bark". I used the flip method when dehydrating. You can google "pasta bark" for the recipe/dehydrating directions. Rehydration was very quick.
dottie
This is a page I did many years ago to show how easy it is to DIY :)
http://www.trailcooking.com/dehydrating101/diy-meal-vs-commercial-freeze-dried-meal
What works well for me is to cook the pasta and then mix in pasta sauce of choice (Ragu). It seems to help to let sit in the frig overnight and absorb the sauce. Next put in dehydrator and dry it all together. I add other dry ingredients to make it more interesting. Add water and you are ready to go.
It also works great to make and bake a meatloaf as usual with your favorite recipe. Then slice it up and dehydrate the slices. Very versatile.
Just for giggles, I did a quick cost summary to compare with the $5.00 dry meals from Walmart.
sauce $2.00
whole wheat pasta $1.25
Ground chuck 1 1/3 lbs $3.20
Total $6.45
Per meal (1/4) $1.82
Not bad. I guess throw in a bit for parmesan
Just for giggles, I did a quick cost summary to compare with the $5.00 dry meals from Walmart.
sauce $2.00
whole wheat pasta $1.25
Ground chuck 1 1/3 lbs $3.20
Total $6.45
Per meal (1/4) $1.82
Not bad. I guess throw in a bit for parmesan
Yep and it tastes a million times better as well:banana And fills ya up!
Montana Mac
03-10-2011, 20:32
When I do my "sauce" I don't use sauce at all. I start with canned tomato paste. Mix in my spices - spread on parchment paper and dry until it is brittle. Once dry break it into chunks and grind it into a fine powder in my Magic Bullet.
I place this fine powder in a small zip lock, place the small zip lock into the large one that has the dehydrated pasta and sausage, add a small zip lock of cheese and close.
When I get to camp I heat the water, empty the "sauce" and sausage into the large bag - add the hot water and put the freezer bag into the cozy. When it is "cooking" I set up my tent.
By the time the tent is setup dinner is just about done.
Ii just finished drying some sliced up meatballs! Now to go add them to my already dried macaroni and sauce. mmmm
Oh man, good idea! Thanks Russb!
Wise Old Owl
03-10-2011, 21:14
I love this site. I was just thinking earlier this evening "hmm.. I wonder if I could dehydrate spaghetti sauce.."
Ahh it was you that could not grasp the pebble, and dug the thread from the past.
You must walk the trail in penance.......
Greenmountainguy
10-16-2017, 17:56
So I just spent 12 hours trying to dehydrate 6 cups of pasta sauce. Temp was in 170 F (as low as it would go) the oven was cracked open about an inch (i do not have a dehydrator on my oven) and the sauce was still wet on the bottom. I dont think i put too much in there, it was about 1/4- 1/2 inch deep. is is supposed to still be moist?
The texture in my product is like fruit leather. I have been told that it is best to use a sauce that has little or no oil and little or no cheese (do not add cheese, carry it separately). The batch I am drying as I write this is throwing a little oil around the edges, so I am thinking it had too much fat in it to be ideal. Never less, I am using it later this week, so as long as I can get it to the fruit leather stage, I will be good, I am sure.
Greenmountainguy
10-16-2017, 17:59
When I do my "sauce" I don't use sauce at all. I start with canned tomato paste. Mix in my spices - spread on parchment paper and dry until it is brittle. Once dry break it into chunks and grind it into a fine powder in my Magic Bullet.
I place this fine powder in a small zip lock, place the small zip lock into the large one that has the dehydrated pasta and sausage, add a small zip lock of cheese and close.
When I get to camp I heat the water, empty the "sauce" and sausage into the large bag - add the hot water and put the freezer bag into the cozy. .
This is an excellent idea and perhaps superior to simply drying bottled sauce as I have done. I guarantee, I will try it this winter. I would do it sooner but I have no more than a month of walking time so time is short.
Greenmountainguy
10-16-2017, 18:00
Ahh it was you that could not grasp the pebble, and dug the thread from the past.
You must walk the trail in penance.......
Personally, I cannot grasp the reasoning. I have not seen the thread before, therefore it is new to me. Those who have grown weary of a discussion of, say, spaghetti sauce can simply not read it, right?
So I just spent 12 hours trying to dehydrate 6 cups of pasta sauce. Temp was in 170 F (as low as it would go) the oven was cracked open about an inch (i do not have a dehydrator on my oven) and the sauce was still wet on the bottom. I dont think i put too much in there, it was about 1/4- 1/2 inch deep. is is supposed to still be moist?
I see a couple of causes here. A half inch deep spread is too deep. You need to get it thinner, to less than a quarter inch.
It’s best to have air flowing across the top of the tray to help drying, but I’m not sure how you could do this without a dehydrator.
Also, 170 F is a little high for dehydrating, and could cause the sauce to start cooking.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
RaslDasl
01-10-2018, 10:13
So after dehydrating the pasta and pasta sauce, can you just put it in a Ziploc bag and push the air out? Should I put an oxygen obsorber packet it with the Ziploc bag?
Tipi Walter
01-10-2018, 10:31
When I was into my heavy gluten phase I processed beaucoup vegetarian spaghetti for my backpacking trips. Here's how I did it---
** Cook up one box of spaghetti, drain water etc.
** Add sufficient pasta sauce from jars of your choice.
** Mix everything together, add some mushrooms if desired.
* The spaghetti meal is now ready to eat but don't eat it and instead place all of it on dehydrator trays with silicone sheets and have at it.
A full box of noodles with sauce once dried will fill a one gallon ziploc bag---see below---and this bag lasted me 9 days on the trail as dinners.
41519
Btw, to prepare just place a certain amt of dried spaghetti in cook pot, add sufficient water and bring to boil and shut off stove---place in pot cozy for 30 minutes and eat.
When I dry sauces I line with parchment paper (makes it a lot easier to remove!). Once the top is set (no wet areas, tacky is OK) I flip it over to get the back side dry evenly. Not everyone does that step, but for me, I like doing it :)
Then once dry I let cool, break up the leather, freeze for an hour or so, then whirl in my blender to get a powder.
Unless its real chunky and relatively dry I always use parchment paper on the trays to start. I do a top to bottom rotation and when the top is set, flip the food over without the parchment paper. It can be a juggling act.
Others are right, you need the airflow, that's important.
This week I've done jambalaya from the Hungry Hammock Hanger and Honeymoon Lake Cheese Noodles from "Backpack Gourmet". Waiting for plastic rolls to arrive so that I can vacuum seal the individual meals.
Making your own is better and cheaper than buying meals.
Horatio Cornblower
01-14-2018, 15:19
When I do my "sauce" I don't use sauce at all. I start with canned tomato paste. Mix in my spices - spread on parchment paper and dry until it is brittle. Once dry break it into chunks and grind it into a fine powder in my Magic Bullet.
I place this fine powder in a small zip lock, place the small zip lock into the large one that has the dehydrated pasta and sausage, add a small zip lock of cheese and close.
When I get to camp I heat the water, empty the "sauce" and sausage into the large bag - add the hot water and put the freezer bag into the cozy. When it is "cooking" I set up my tent.
By the time the tent is setup dinner is just about done.
This is almost exactly what I've been looking for!
Question: Do you think it's possible to use the powdered like a seasoning? I.e.: have a jar of the stuff to scoop out and add to plain Ramen noodles? I envision homemade (read healthy option) Italian, Curry, or Chinese-style powdered bark to liven up trail-bought staples.
nate.2346
03-01-2018, 17:50
Looks tasty!
rocketsocks
03-01-2018, 19:44
I drive off most of the water while it’s still in the pot, makes a huge difference.
tommaloney
05-06-2018, 08:47
...then whirl in my blender to get a powder.
does this make it easier to reconstitute it?
does this make it easier to reconstitute it?
Increasing the surface area of any dried food reduces the time needed for reconstituting.
Wayne