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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: BWCA Food and Recipes :: is too long too much?
 
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merlyn
02/21/2020 11:54AM
  
Can you dehydrate foods too much? I worry about not drying long enough and having meals spoil. I have a small (5 or 6 tray) dryer and since I'm drying complete meals I made I don't have a timing guide. Can I just leave it on over night?
 
marsonite
02/23/2020 07:52AM
  
merlyn: "Can you dehydrate foods too much? I worry about not drying long enough and having meals spoil. I have a small (5 or 6 tray) dryer and since I'm drying complete meals I made I don't have a timing guide. Can I just leave it on over night?"


I have heard a few people say that overdrying removes flavor, but I don't think that's anything other than an opinion. I often leave my dehydrator going overnight and haven't noticed an issue. It isn't like dehydrated food is super flavorful anyway, and out in the woods it all tastes pretty good.


For some foods, like apples and such, if you want food to be a bit chewy, then you don't want to over dry them.
 
TrailZen
02/21/2020 12:34PM
  
We've certainly over-dried some of our home-dehydrated foods, but it was usually from poor prep rather than leaving the food in the dryer too long. The worst experience was some spiral-cut ham that we didn't dice small enough--even after a couple hours rehydration before cooking, the meat was like shoe leather! After that we tried running the same type ham through a meat grinder before dehydrating, and the resulting meals were wonderful. A few years ago we found a small plastic container with a clamp-on lid (each side of the lid has a plastic clamp lock) and during breakfast put our dinner meat (or meal, if a dehydrated casserole) in it with enough water for rehydration. We've never had a leak issue with the container, and the longer (usually 7+ hours) rehydration time makes for better meals.


Play with each recipe at home so you don't have a bad meal on an otherwise great trip!


TZ
 
mirth
02/24/2020 10:27AM
  
Jerky is something I'd say you can dry too much. I did exactly that one of my first times making it. Same goes for fruit leather. Too dry it'll just crack and crunch vs being chewy and pliable.

But if I'm drying meals for freezer bag cooking? The drier the better.

Also, a tip I learned recently - If you have 1 or 2 trays of food you want to dry, stick an extra empty tray or two in there to increase air circulation.