Dehydrating food

[Ms_Mudd]

Would it be over the top to unseal the bags, removed the cashews and then reseal the bags?

Too late. 5 second rule.

Yes, the 3 hours later 'having a lightbulb moment and realising my rookie error' has definitely missed the 5 second rule

Okay, I am stepping away from my freezer with the scissors . I shall leave them be and as you say , eat that meal on the first night or two out. The price I must pay for getting all fancy and over-confident with my meal prepping.

[Gadgetgeek]

I've had good luck with long term freezer storage of vac-ed foods. You should be fine. Cashews also are not the worst things when stale, they don't go bitter like some other nuts. Or at least they havn't in my experience of eating things found lost in the back of the pantry.

[Warin]

I shall leave them be and as you say , eat that meal on the first night or two out. The price I must pay for getting all fancy and over-confident with my meal prepping.

I am 'mixed' on putting all the meal in one bag. I think it might be better to separate out things so that I can mix and match a bit at camp. That would also mean any thing 'off' could be excluded and I could also add things bought locally. For example I like to keep the mince separate from the veg etc ..

[Ms_Mudd]

I have so much to learn, but really enjoying the process. So stoked with my dehydrator.

[Heremeahappy1]

When I first started dehydrating for bushwalking, I dehydrated and kept ingredients seperate to mix and match at camp.
Im too lazy so I now make large batches of actual meals, dehydrate and bag. I do dehyde meat seperate and add before vac sealing.
Before a walk I open the chest freezer, remove box of dehydes and choose my food chili con carne, chicken curry, boston baked beans etc etc.
Only additions at cam are olive oil, s&p, parmesan cheese for spag bol and doritos for chili cc.
Cheers

[Ms_Mudd]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to give my chicken cashew green curry a whirl this weekend, hopefully it is okay. I did chock block it full of vegies, will be interesting to see how it rehydraytes as have mostly done meat ones with only finely chopped spinach. Wish me luck

[jobell]

Happy to volunteer if you need a taste tester Ms_Mudd!

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[Ms_Mudd]

Happy to volunteer if you need a taste tester Ms_Mudd!

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As long as you have a tent to yourself afterward, you are welcome to some . It was filling, the added chilli flakes and coconut milk powder were definitely needed for flavour, the cashews were okay, but not overly exciting, bit 'meh' as they were raw but at least added some crunch, I should have toasted them first for a bit more flavour. So not as much kick to the meal as hoped, but there was certainly some *ahem* nostril burning a few hours later. Although of course, ladies don't ever pass wind....

[jobell]

Sounds like it turned out well Ms_Mudd!

I think it's vastly preferrable to have my own tent, especially when eating mainly dehydrated foods. Mind you I think I gave up being a lady when I became a bushwalker....

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[Warin]

Interesting info in the BBC news
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2020 ... apocalypse

[GregG]

A good BBC article Warin. I was very interested to read the the US Army rates their MREs at three years shelf life. The oldest Australian 24 hour ration packs in my larder are 15 years old and contain the same sort of retort pouches as the US MREs (although the aussie ones are made in NZ for whatever bizzare reason). I should open one and try it, preferably at home where the hospital is only 15 minutes away haha. I have eaten army issue freez-dried tuna and rice that was twenty years old and it was perfectly ok and tasted ok too, same experience with twenty year old freez-dried rice, which supports the proposition that absence of moisture and air is the best means of preserving food.

[lachmac]

Hi all

I have an Aldi dehydrator, looking for silicon liners that fit, to dry liquids - fruit leather, yoghurt etc. The tray is roughly 32cm with a 7cm hole.
Anyone have any idea what might fit?

Regards
Lachlan

[north-north-west]

I have an Aldi dehydrator, looking for silicon liners that fit, to dry liquids - fruit leather, yoghurt etc. The tray is roughly 32cm with a 7cm hole.
Anyone have any idea what might fit?

Can't you use wax paper?

[Aardvark]

My Ezi-dry unit uses plastic trays. They're 35.5cm in diameter with an inner circle that's 5.5cm in diameter. Quite thin ones but with a raised edge for both the inner circle and the outer circle. This allows for a more liquid mix of stewed fruit or yoghurt. The grade of plastic would be very relevant as some plastics only get more brittle under heat OR softer to the point of melting. It is advised they be oiled slightly and NOT washed with soap or detergents.
Silicone, i would imagine would be quite thick. Given its nature to greatly mitigate heat transference , i would also imagine it as less suitable.
I would also suggest trying wax paper but ensuring the mixture applied was relatively thick (less water content).
Maybe even the plastic sheeting you buy to use in the machines for vacuum sealing food.
That is short of the Aldi unit having its own version from the manufacturer.

[ofuros]

Fruit roll up sheet - ebay... you'll have to search through the sizes

[jobell]

Hi all

I have an Aldi dehydrator, looking for silicon liners that fit, to dry liquids - fruit leather, yoghurt etc. The tray is roughly 32cm with a 7cm hole.
Anyone have any idea what might fit?

Regards
Lachlan

I used regular baking paper to line the trays of my Aldi dehydrator. I just cut to size. Worked a treat.


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[Heremeahappy1]

I was a long time user of baking paper. I do all dehydes for camping, fruit, biltong, jerky, dips, tapenades etc. Tracing and cutting baking paper ended up annoying, and wasteful. After so many years I bought the trays, $9 each, less hassle. Much better for fruit leathers and wetter mixtures like sauces. Tried cutting my own from plastic placemats and so forth. Forget it. The inner and outer edge lips on the bought trays allow for maximum area use. If costly go halvies with a mate.

[Eremophila]

I was a long time user of baking paper. I do all dehydes for camping, fruit, biltong, jerky, dips, tapenades etc. Tracing and cutting baking paper ended up annoying, and wasteful. After so many years I bought the trays, $9 each, less hassle. Much better for fruit leathers and wetter mixtures like sauces. Tried cutting my own from plastic placemats and so forth. Forget it. The inner and outer edge lips on the bought trays allow for maximum area use. If costly go halvies with a mate.

Are they round trays? Where did you source them?

I've recently experimented with foil instead of baking paper, so I could fashion a lip on the edge. Using foil seems even more wasteful though.

Here's a tip: don't use fish stock as a base for soup if you're going to dehydrate it. Didn't smell much/smelt fine during cooking, but the end product smells disgusting, even after putting into ziplock bags. Now my whole pantry stinks! I'm using it as a base for fish casseroles to get rid of it

[Aardvark]

Here's a tip: don't use fish stock as a base for soup if you're going to dehydrate it. Didn't smell much/smelt fine during cooking, but the end product smells disgusting, even after putting into ziplock bags. Now my whole pantry stinks! I'm using it as a base for fish casseroles to get rid of it

Try using oven bags instead of ziplock. It blocks the smell more effectively.

[Heremeahappy1]

Eremophila, yes they are round tray liners. I sourced them from https://www.ezidri.com.au/Products/Ezid ... maker.aspx The old ezidri has been superseded, the new 'solid sheet tray' liner fits the old model and $9.95 each. I bought four as the original unit with five trays had one solid liner. $65 for 4 and postage seems high but I have had the unit for 11 years and dehydrate all my hiking meals, sauces, fruit leathers and the cost of single use baking paper seemed unsustainable.

[north-north-west]

Eremophila, yes they are round tray liners. I sourced them from https://www.ezidri.com.au/Products/Ezid ... maker.aspx The old ezidri has been superseded, the new 'solid sheet tray' liner fits the old model and $9.95 each. I bought four as the original unit with five trays had one solid liner. $65 for 4 and postage seems high but I have had the unit for 11 years and dehydrate all my hiking meals, sauces, fruit leathers and the cost of single use baking paper seemed unsustainable.

Thanks. I think they'll fit my dehydrator. I have too pull that thing out and start using it one of these days . . .

[Eremophila]

Thanks HMAH1, that's exactly what I need! I've emailed them for dimensions as there are none on their website. I think I'll buy one of the mesh sheets as well.

[Kott]

I've always just dehydrated individual items: capsicums, bananas, applies etc etc but never actual meals.

I should try to do some meals afterall I'm a decent cook

How do you store your spag bols and curries? Do we need to vacuum seal or can we just leave them in jars or ziplog bags?

[Heremeahappy1]

Hi Kott, I've since purchased, actually have been gifted, a vaccum sealer as I also sous vide, so this is my go to for storing dehyde meals. Vaccum seal, label and store in chest freezer. I used ziplock bags for years. Same approach, bag, label, 3-4 bagged meals into a large ziplock bag and freeze for 6-12 mths. YMMV and everyone has an opinion on shelf life, nutrient degrading rates etc.
Care needs to be taken when vac sealing dehydes as the dried food, usually pasta, can pierce the packaging defeating the sealing purpose.
In terms of dehydrating whole meals, I've found that cooking and drying pasta/rice/cous cous/beans/barley seperate, then combining with meat/veg/sauce once dried gives the best result and greatest meal combos. I now also prefer to cook meat in the dish until fall apart tender, like a ragout, instead of mince meat or chicken seperate. This allows more tender rehydration. Try cooking a chasseur, cacciatore, stroganoff, bolognaise, any number of curries, chili con carne etc and once dried add desired starch to your preferred ratio, I'm a 80g meat/veg and 40g starch for 120g meals, vac seal/ziplock.
Last tip: in the field, put dehyde in pot add water and heat to a boil, flame out lid on and pot cozy for 15mins. Better result than a hard boil. Remember you spent time removing the water, it need time to rest and rehydrate. Also saves fuel.

[Ms_Mudd]

In terms of dehydrating whole meals, I've found that cooking and drying pasta/rice/cous cous/beans/barley seperate, then combining with meat/veg/sauce once dried gives the best result and greatest meal combos. .

I have found this to be true too. All the dehy mels I cooked as a complete dish and then dehydrated all ended up tasting very similar and lacked 'punch' with the flavours. Now if I dehydrate every item and then separately add each item in, the taste is so much more rich.
Doing it this way seems labour intensive, but isn't, as I now have jars full of various vegies, spices, yogurt powders etc that I can add to my protein before vac sealing into actual meals.

This may sound gross and defeat the purpose of dehy'ing your own to avoid processed food, but I have found that using canned chicken works super well. Just the sort that is in brine, like tuna. I rinse with hot water to get rid of any excess fat and then dehydrate. It reconstitutes better than any other chicken I have done before and also gives an option that isn't mince. I don't mind chicken mince, but do get sick of many meals being made of a minced meat when doing a longer trip.

[Heremeahappy1]

Ms_Mudd, I've been a home canner for years, bolognaise, chilli, stock and chicken. Shelf stable food in a jar is great for quick car camp trips. I found the canned chicken was always great for dehydrating, so I concluded that it was the cooking technique ie pressure cooking that produced the great result. Might be worth your while sourcing a small pressure cooking to cook you meats prior to dehydrating? Also choose less fibrous cuts of meat ie shorter muscle groups.

[Ms_Mudd]

You may be on to something there. Often when I cook meats in the slow cooker they fall apart, scrumptious. I suppose the issue to dehydrating these sort of cooked meats would be getting my family to not eat them first!

Home canner- awesome. I am insanely jealous. My house was a market garden when we moved here 10 years ago. An old Italian couple owned it and gifted us plenty of passata, olives , roasted capsicums etc from our place. I had grand plans of maintaining production, but alas am useless and only preserve the citrus each year.

[ofuros]

Ghostly white canned lychees, dried to a orange hue, fragrantly lychee, chewy & sweet. Moreish.

[gayet]

I dry the canned pineapple thins - dehydrates relatively quickly and easily and nicer than the dried pineapple available commercially. Mango is another that is better when dehydrated from tinned. Mango cheeks drained, sliced into thinner sheets/strips and bunged in the dehydrator. Far better than commercially dried stuff. Less old dry leather, more chewable intense mango. I've also tried tinned pear and peach. They also need slicing thinner from the tin but also work well.

Buy a stash when at a reduced price, keep for ages once dry.

[tom_brennan]

Need a little bit of advice. Trying to make some fruit leathers. I have a Fowlers dehydrator, but have misplaced the helpful book.

They're just rebranded Harvest Maid dehydrators - so you can find the Harvest Maid manual online eg

https://usermanual.wiki/Harvest-Maid/FD ... 256369.pdf