Dehydrating with my oven?

[Fiddleback]

I've dried apples by just slicing them about 1/8 inch thick, 'threading' the rings onto a rod, and letting them air dry. I don't remember how long it took; that was about 20 years ago.

I do remember they were very tasty.

I can beat that...sort of.

In second grade we were studying Pilgrims and such and made candles and air dried apples. Take a look at my age...that was a long time ago (although, contrary to what some may think, not so far back that the teacher was an orginal Pilgrim).

My family took off on a Christmas trip to Denver and I never got to taste-test the apples...

FB

[weary]

I never drain pasta or rice when I cook on the trail. The basic rule is two cups of water for each cup of dry stuff. When most of the water is absorbed, the pasta, rice, oatmeal, whatever, is done. It's hard to make this work with long spaghetti, but the formula works fine with anything that can be measured in a small container.

Yes. It gets a little starchy. But it also preserves all the nutrients, and with a sauce or cheese added most people won't notice the difference.

As someone mentioned, a little extra water eases the cooking chore, especially if other dry stuff is added that needs hydration, also.

Adding water and cooking stuff at home that is already dry always struck me as a bit silly.

BTW I stopped draining pasta decades ago. I was supposed to feed 12 hikers at a campsite near Gulf Hagas in Maine. The pot slipped while draining away the water, dumping most of the ingredients onto the ground.

No one was watching so I rescued as much as I could and covered up the rest with some leaves.

Weary

[JAK]

I've made jerky and it was fun and easy. I just set the oven to its lowest temperature, which was a bit higher than recommended but still ok. 170F I think. Tonight I will try blueberries.

Blueberries worked great. The dehydrated at 170F in my convection oven to something very dry, almost crumbly. Next time I'll get some numbers, but great trail food.

I didn't add anything to them. Just spread them on a cookie sheet. The were frozen, which I think helps. Didn't have to poke them or anything. Fairly easy cleanup also. At 170F they don't burn to the sheet. You have to scrape them off, but it worked great.

[JAK]

I like the fact that blueberries are a traditional trail food.
Natives used to wrap them in birch bark, dehydrated.

[ShelterLeopard]

I never thought of blueberries... I might give those a go as well, good idea. Do you remember how long they took? And do you suggest putting them straight on the cookie sheet? Or putting parchment underneath?

[mudhead]

If you are buying them, might be cheaper to look for dried to purchase.

[LaurieAnn]

For blueberries it's good to give them a 1 minute blanch in boiling water and then a dunk in ice water before you dry them. This will keep them from case hardening (where the outside becomes dry but not the inside) and you will end up with a nicer end product which is more leathery like raisins or dried cranberries than a crispy product.

[LaurieAnn]

I never drain pasta or rice when I cook on the trail. The basic rule is two cups of water for each cup of dry stuff. When most of the water is absorbed, the pasta, rice, oatmeal, whatever, is done. It's hard to make this work with long spaghetti, but the formula works fine with anything that can be measured in a small container.

Weary

This is generally what I do and it works great. It also has much better texture that way and isn't mushy like drying and rehydrating pasta can sometimes turn out if you aren't careful.

[Many Walks]

Keep an eye on the second hand stores. I just picked up a perfect American Harvest 4 tray dehydrator for $9 at the Salvation Army outlet. Looking forward to trying some of the recipes in this thread. Great tip on the blueberries LaurieAnn!

[beakerman]

For my "pasta" dishes on the trail I always fall back to ramen noodles as the pasta. They cook up easy and typically have very little water left to deal with-the starch sets up and make a nice thick sauce base.

[sarbar]

The key in precooking and drying pasta is simple - undercook by a couple minutes, quickly drain and then dry. Then when you go to rehydrate they don't mush out. Not hard at all.....

[weary]

The key in precooking and drying pasta is simple - undercook by a couple minutes, quickly drain and then dry. Then when you go to rehydrate they don't mush out. Not hard at all.....

But, the question remains. Why bother? The difference in trail time is a minute or two -- and maybe a half ounce of alcohol.

But, then, what do I know? I use a Zip Stove that burns wood -- wood easily found along a trail. Thus no biggy.

Weary

[ShelterLeopard]

I'm all for buying normal pasta and just cooking it on the trail. Seems a bit pointless to me.

[Fiddleback]

...while others think carrying and cleaning a pot is ________ .

[ShelterLeopard]

I love carrying and cleaning pots and pans! (Well, more than freezer bags, anyway)

So, have some to a conclusion. Many other make far better dried fruit than I, and I prefer FREEZE dried fruit way more to dehydrated. Soo crispy! So, I've decided that the only thing I want to dehydrated before my thru (may get into dehydrating a bit after my thru, but not before) is spagetti sauce, unless someone can tell me where I can buy it already in a powder. I found tomato powder somewhere, but not spagetti sauce. Ideas???

[ShelterLeopard]

Wow, I must be tired, meant "others" not "other" and "dehydrate" not "dehydrated". Sorry. Ah, whatever. Ignore my grammar/ spelling correcting.

[Hikes in Rain]

I love carrying and cleaning pots and pans! (Well, more than freezer bags, anyway)

I found tomato powder somewhere, but not spagetti sauce. Ideas???

Carrying and using, yes. Cleaning, not so much. But it's not a big deal either way, as long as there's water nearby. If I have to carry the water to wash the pot, suddenly bags look awfully good.

Indea: Sure, tons of them. How about taking the tomato powder and using it to make the sauce with a little parsely, oregano and basil? The amounts of herbs, even fresh, would be negligable, weight-wise. Add either some fresh garlic or good garlic powder and some parmesaun cheese.

Where'd you find the powder, anyway? I can get tomato paste in tubes here in Tallahasse, but not the powder.

[ShelterLeopard]

Carrying and using, yes. Cleaning, not so much. But it's not a big deal either way, as long as there's water nearby. If I have to carry the water to wash the pot, suddenly bags look awfully good.

Indea: Sure, tons of them. How about taking the tomato powder and using it to make the sauce with a little parsely, oregano and basil? The amounts of herbs, even fresh, would be negligable, weight-wise. Add either some fresh garlic or good garlic powder and some parmesaun cheese.

Where'd you find the powder, anyway? I can get tomato paste in tubes here in Tallahasse, but not the powder.

I really don't mind cleaning near water. Gotten pretty good at it. (I just need to make sure I don't leave it for later and let it get disguting, which I've done in the past.) I tend to save my no cook meals for when I'm not near a water source, and often do try to camp within walking distance of water.

Great idea, thanks! I'll do that. Hold on a sec, I'll post the link. (I couldn't believe I found it, I've been looking in grocery stores, specialty stores and hiking/backpacking stores and could not find it, when I suddenly came across it by accident.

[ShelterLeopard]

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/...0226_200368409

Towards the bottom, alpineair tomato powder, could not believe it! (And if you buy them out of tomato powder before I get any...)

I can think of a LOT of good uses for tomato powder!!!

[Hikes in Rain]

Nah, I'm section hiking for now, and my next oportunity to go won't be until Spring sometime. The supply is safe for you. And thanks for the link! I'll definately use it when I do the Southern Balds next year.

I usually carry an old Campmor (I think) water bag, 1.5 or 2 gallons. It's not made anymore, and I don't remember how long I've had it nor how much exactly it holds. But if it looks like there's a nice mountain top to camp on, I'll fill it up at the last watering hole before the campsite. It's enough generally for supper, handling my contacts, and coffee the next morning.

I always carry a little herb kit, as well as this. Makes the blandest meals at least palitable, and good ones great.