Rehydrating questions

[Crotalus]

How do i know how much water to use to rehydrate? I made spaghetti a few weeks ago and dehydrated the left overs, same with some taco soup i made.

Now i have to idea how much water it will take to rehydrate them.

Also can anyone point me to a good website dealing with de/re-hydrating? I tried google but didnt really come up with any that seemed like they were definitive. Maybe I was using the wrong terms.


Thanks
Joe

[Pedaling Fool]

I just learned from trial and error, some at home and some on the trail. Never really read too much on the web about it, just the cookbooks that came with the dehydrator.

The way I cook there's not a real issue of using a precise amount of water to rehydrate. When I'm on the trail I make stews using pasta or rice as the staple ingredient. I do this because it's far easier to clean the pot, especially when cooking rice meals. I simply throw the dehydrated veggies/jerky into the stew. The left over water is full of flavor and nutrients, so I just drink it.

One lesson I learned is that it's easy to overcook the dehydrated food robbing it of flavor, so I usually throw the stuff in during the last 10 or so minutes of simmer time for the rice, jerky I throw in a little earlier.

[russb]

Since my method is to rehydrate/cook/eat in my pot (instead of pouring boiling water into a baggie) it is much more forgiving with water amounts:

How *I* do it:

Add dehydrated meal to pot,
add water to cover plus an additional quarter inch*,
prepare stove and light,
bring pot to a boil (add more water if needed),
let it sit till ready to eat.

*in a taller/skinnier pot more water is necessary. The same is true if making a soup. If it is too runny, adding potato flakes is a good thickener as are other ingredients.

Basically it "boils" down to this mantra for me: "it is easier to add more water than to remove it".

[shelterbuilder]

When you dehydrate your sauces, if you know about how much you are starting with (a pint, a quart, etc.), then write this down, and keep that with the dehydrated stuff ("makes a pint" written in marker on the zip-lok bag, for instance). That way, even if you need to add more water during the cooking process, at least you have a starting point.

I'm "old school" - I prefer to use traditional cooking methods (a stove that can simmer) rather than a cozy, so YMMV.

As for "cooking school", ask someone like sarbar (here at WhiteBlaze) for some help and suggestions.

[HeartFire]

Like Russb said, I generally pour water in the bag to cover the food, if I want soup - add more, if I want a thick stew, water goes just to the top., and yes, you can always add more. Trial and error will get you where you want to be.

[Bags4266]

I cook in the pot. Not much clean up afterwards. Fill to just over the food, then wait 15 mins this gives the food some time to absorb the water. I then add more water to just above food. Bring to a boil then check again to see if it needs more water or not.
Foods are different they absorb water according to your ingredients. Your not splitting atoms here, play as you go you'll figure it out.

[sarbar]

Typically a 1:1 ratio works well. If it is a sauce 2 parts water to 1 part dry, soup can be as much as 3:1.
Start with less, add more water as needed - play with it at home first so you get used to it.

Also...if it is ever too much water you can thicken it with Parmesan cheese (shaker kind) or instant potato flakes....

[Crotalus]

Thanks for the info, time to do some experimenting.

[CampGirl]

Here is a rehydration ratio (http://www.packitgourmet.com/Rehydration+Ratios-sp108.html) chart that might be helpful. This lists the amount of water needed to rehydrate specific ingredients rather than a meal.

Hope it helps!