Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: BWCA Food and Recipes :: Dehyderating Veggies
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krohde |
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Mark Lawyer |
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Mark Lawyer |
I froze fresh sweet corn on the cob one time in summer (didn't blanch, didn't know I was supposed to) and we had wonderful sweet corn all winter so I've always doubted the need... but corn seems to be bullet proof, it doesn't really matter what you do to it. |
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Bannock |
It depends on how the veggies are cut, too. Whole green beans is a different time compared to french cut, etc. |
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Mark Lawyer |
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Bannock |
Doesn't matter, though you want them spread out nicely, ie, all pieces separated. So if there are frozen "clumps" you want to break them up and spread them out. |
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pghportager |
Corn: don’t do it anymore – they are hard as little rocks and take a long time to rehydrate. Peas: even worse than corn – turn into BBs. Tomatoes: roma or plum tomatoes are the best – they are meatier and more dense (less seeds and juicy spots, so less waste in the final product). You can leave skin on or remove, not much difference in the dehydration. I cut them cross-ways – so I have ¼-1/2 inch disks. Don’t overdry them, they’ll turn dark brown and black when overdone. They should be pliable/bendy when done, not brittle. Broccoli: cut florets into small-bite-sizes, blanche, and dehydrate. These will be hard and fragile when done. Cauliflower: roughly the same as broccoli. Peppers: similar to tomatoes. Can be skinned or leave skin on. If you leave the skin on, place the skin side down on the dehydrator tray. Strips, bite sized, doesn’t really matter as long as there is ample surface area exposed for drying. Don’t overdry these either – they will also turn black and get brittle. You want them dry, but not rocks. Mushrooms: easy. Slice ¼ inch thick and dry as is. Won’t take long to dry, rehydrates so-so – Won’t come all the way back - a little chewy. Beans – baked, pinto, navy, whatever – I use canned. Rinse, spread out on tray using the fruit roll up sheets, and dry until hard. They rehydrate well. Tomato sauce: spread across fruit roll up sheets and dry until leathery. Don’t dry until brittle/hard – that’s too far. Fruits is a whole other chapter, but very similar to the process above, but don’t need blanched. |
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Bannock |
Canned veggies don't need to be blanched either, but that's because they have already been cooked during the canning process. Canned veggies tend not to dehydrate as well. Exceptions to that are canned beans, like pork-n-beans or chili beans, not green beans. Canned chili beans dehydrate very well. |
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crappiefisher26 |
Thanks. |
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Bannock |
The easiest way to dehydrate them is to buy frozen veggies and dump them onto a dehydrator tray (with a fruit leather sheet for smaller items like corn). Turn the dehydrator on. Pour them into a plastic bag when dry. Seal. |
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crappiefisher26 |
Thanks, |