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newhunterette
07-04-2008, 12:27 PM
I have been given a chore to experiment making my own dehydrated foods as purhcasing these foods and storing them can become quite costly. Peter has been talking more and more about doing long term hiking/hunting trips and preparing his food packs will not be a simple fair if he is not having a base camp where he will have access to a camp outdoor kitchen or even the cabin

I have begun trying some different ideas for dehydrating and adding the foods to recipes which I will gladly share but I am also wondering if anyone else has made their own dehydrated meals and what your resources are and how you do the process and if you could share some of your recipes as well.

There is the norm of making jerkied meats and dried fruits or fruit leathers but what about a complete healthy full course meal.

newhunterette
07-04-2008, 12:35 PM
Drying methods I have found usefull:
Sun Drying This is rather difficult unless you live in the hotter regions of BC like Osoyoos or the Okanagan because you need three to four sunny days of at least 100 degrees in a row.

Oven Drying method of drying food, but it isn't very energy efficient, and foods aren't very flavorful in the end. If your oven can't obtain temperatures below 200 degrees farenheit, use another method for food dehydration. You will need to prop open the oven door to maintain air circulation during the drying process. A gas oven is usually more successful in this method

Electric Dehydrating method of dehydrating food. An electric dehydrator is energy efficient and can be operated at low temperatures needed to maintain nutrition in the food. Your electric food dehydrator should have some sort of heat control and a fan to maintain air circulation during the drying process.

The Drying Process - a few notes to keep in mind when dehydrating foods

When drying food, don't keep temperatures too low or too high. Temperatures too low may result in the groth of bacteria on the food. Temperatures too high will result in the food being cooked instead of dried. Food that is underdried will spoil, and food that is overdried will lose its flavor and nutritional value.
Food should be dehydrated between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. You can begin drying your food at higher temperatures, but turn the temperature down after the first hour or so. The last hour or so of drying time should be turned down on a lower setting. You must turn the food and rotate the trays while the food is drying.
You will know your food is dried when when you touch it, and it is leathery with no pockets of moisture. If you are testing fruit, you can tear a piece in half. If you see moisture beads along the tear, it is not dry enough. Meat should be tough, but shouldn't snap apart. Vegetables should also be tough but can also be crisp. When storing your dried product, keep in mind that no moisture should be allowed to enter the container...ever. Dried food absorbs moisture from the air, so the storage container must be airtight. Some acceptable storage containers are jars and plastic freezer bags. If storing fruit leather, wrap in plastic wrap and store in a another airtight container. Store your containers of dried food in a cool, dark, dry place. 60 degrees Fahrenheit or below is best.

Gateholio
07-04-2008, 12:37 PM
We used to do them before the freeze dried meals got so conveineint and tasted decent.

There are lots of websites that have lots of recipes for do it yourself dehydrated meals.

newhunterette
07-04-2008, 01:12 PM
I found an old book that was in a box from my Grandma - she had so many canning and preserve books that were passed down and written in and this is some information I found in one of the books:

VEGETABLES:
All vegetables except onions and peppers,and mushrooms should be washed, sliced, and blanched. Dry vegetables in single layers on trays. Depending of drying conditions, drying times make take longer. Dry vegetables at 130-degrees Fahrenheit.
Beans, green:Stem and break beans into 1-inch pieces.Blanch. Dry 6-12 hours until brittle.

Beets: Cook and peel beets. Cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Dry 3-10 hours until leathery.

Broccoli: Cut and dry 4-10 hours.

Carrots: Peel, slice or shred. Dry 6-12 hours until almost brittle.

Cauliflower: Cut and dry 6-14 hours.

Corn:Cut corn off cob after blanching and dry 6-12 hours until brittle.

Mushrooms: Brush off, don't wash. Dry at 90 degrees for 3 hours, and then 125 degrees for the remaining drying time. Dry 4-10 hours until brittle.

Onions: Slice 1/4-inch thick. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.

Peas: Dry 5-14 hours until brittle.

Peppers, sweet: Remove seeds and chop. Dry 5-12 hours until leathery.

Potatoes: Slice 1/8-inch thick. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.

Tomatoes: Dip in boiling water to loosen skins, peel,slice or quarter. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.

Zucchini: Slice 1/8-inch thick and dry 5-10 hours until brittle.

FRUIT:

All fruit should be washed,pitted and sliced. Arrange in single layers on trays. Dry fruit at 135 degrees Fahrenheit. You may wish to pretreat your fruit with lemon juice or ascorbic acid or it won't darken while you are preparing it for drying. Just slice the fruit into the solution and soak for 5 minutes.
Apples:Peel, core and slice into 3/8-inch rings, or cut into 1/4-inch slices. Pretreat and dry 6-12 hours until pliable.

Apricots: Cut in half and turn inside out to dry. Pretreat and dry 8-20 hours until pliable.

Bananas: Peel, cut into 1/4-inch slices and pretreat. Dry 8-16 hours until plialbe or almost crisp.

Blueberries: Dry 10-20 hours until leathery.

Cherries: Cut in half and dry 18-26 hours until leathery and slightly sticky.

Peaches: Peel, halve or quarter. Pretreat and dry 6-20 hours until pliable.

Pears: Peel, cut into 1/4-inch slices, and pretreat. Dry 6-20 hours until leathery.

Pineapple: Core and slice 1/4-inch thick. Dry 6-16 hours until leathery and not sticky.

Strawberries: Halve or cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Dry 6-16 hours until pliable and almost crisp.

newhunterette
07-04-2008, 01:20 PM
FRUIT LEATHER:
Fruit leather is easy to make if you have a blender of food processor. The fruit leather is like a "fruit roll-up" and is made out of pureed fruit. Applesauce works great for fruit leather since it is already in puree form. Overripe fruits can also be used since these are easily pureed. For an added flare, you can add coconut,raisins,poppy seeds,seasame seeds, or sunflower seeds to the fruit leather. If you add any type of garnish to your fruit leather however, you will have to store them in the freezer or refrigerator. Otherwise, you can store fruit leather in an airtight container. Just roll up the fruit leather into a roll after it has dried, wrap in plastic, and store them altogether in an appropriate container.
To make fruit leather, puree your fruit. Apples, pears, peaches, and nectarines should be cooked before pureeing. Pour the fruit puree about 1/4-inch deep on special fruit leather drying sheets, or drying trays that have been lined with plastic wrap. Since the center does not dry as quickly as the edges, Only pour the puree 1/8-inch deep towards the center.Dry at 135 degrees Fahrenheit until pliable and leathery. The center should also be dry and have no wet or sticky spots.

MEAT:
Meats should be dried at 145-150 degrees Fahrenheit. Jerky should dry between 6-20 hours until pliable. It shoud not be brittle. Wipe fat off of the jerky while it is drying. Jerky does not store as long as fruits and vegetables. For long term storage longer than a month, store in the freezer or refrigerator. To aid in the curing of jerky, meat must be marinaded in salt and spices. The pioneers used 1 1/2 cups pickling salt to 1 gallon of water and soaked the meat strips in this for a couple of days. As an alternative to soaking, they also rubbed the meat with salt and spices (like garlic and pepper) before drying. There have been many jerky marinade recipes on the HBC forums as well as in the HBC cookbook to try.

USING DRY VEGIES AND FRUITS FOR RECIPES:
You will need to soak or cook your dried foods before using them in recipes. Some foods require soaking and cooking.Vegetables are usually soaked btween 1/2 to 1-1/2 hours and then simmered. Some vegetables can be rehydrated while they are cooking. Fruits are soaked, and then cooked in the water they were soaked in. Don't add extra sugar until the fruit is cooked;otherwise, the fruit may be tough. Fruits are sometimes eaten in their dry state as snacks. You must remember that after a food is rehydrated, it may spoil quickly, so use it promptly. To cook dried food, use the following information and simmer until tender.

Apples: Add 1 1/2 C. warm water to 1 C. apples and soak for 1/2 hour.

Beans, green: Add 2 1/4 C. boiling water to 1 C. beans and soak for 1 1/2 hours.

Beets: Add 2 3/4 C. boiling water to 1 C. beets and soak for 1 1/2 hours.

Carrots: Add 2 1/4 C. boiling water to 1 C. carrots and soak for 1 hour.

Corn: Add 2 1/4 C. boiling water to 1 C. Corn and soak for 1/2 hour.

Onions: Add 2 C. boiling water to 1 C. onions and soak for 1 hour.

Peaches: Add 2 C. warm water to 1 C. peaches and soak for 1 1/4 hour.

Pears: Add 1 3/4 C. warm water to 1 C. pears and soak for 1 hour.

Peas: Add 2 1/2 C. boiling water to 1 C. peas and soak for 1/2 hour.

Potatoes: Add 1 1/2 C. boiling water to 1 C. potatoes and soak for 1/2 hour.

I have been sifting through some recipes and once I get them all typed out I will share them and please anyone else share yours here as well.

newhunterette
07-04-2008, 05:14 PM
some recipes for using dehydrated foods - you can substitute milk for powedered milk as it is lighter in your pack of course. Also there are different variations for campfire baking (not always a need to have an oven) as ther have been threads in regards to this for example Dutch Ovens
Apple Pie
3 1/2 C. dried apples
2 C. water
3/4 C. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
Cook apples until tender. The apples wil rehydrate during the cooking and baking process. Add sugar and cinnamon. Fill and top with pie crust and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.


Cherry Pie
3 C. dried cherries
3 C. boiling water
1/2 C. flour
1 C. sugar
Cover cherries with water and let soak for 30 minutes. Simmer and add sugar and flour to thicken. Pour into pie crust and add top crust. Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes.


Peach Pie
3 C. dried peaches
3 C. boiling water
2/3 C. flour
1 C. sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
Cover fruit with water and let soak for 30 minutes. Simmer and add sugar, spices and flour to thicken. Pour into pie crust, dot with butter, and cover with pie top. Bake at 400 degress for 30 minutes.


Creamed Corn
1 C. dried corn
4 C. boiling water
2 t. sugar
1/2 C. milk
1 T. flour
1 T. margarine
salt and pepper to taste
Add corn to water and let stand for 30 minutes. Simmer corn until tender. This may take as long as an hour or so. Drain and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.


Green Bean Casserole
2 C. boiling water
1 C. dried beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Add beans to water and cook until tender. Add soup and simmer.


Cream of Tomatoe Soup
1 t. Dried Tomato powder
!/2 C. boiling water
1 T. flour
1/2 C. milk
To make tomato powder, blend dried tomatoes in food processor. Add powder to water and simmer. Add flour to milk and stir. Add flour/milk mixture to water and tomatoes. Simmer and stir to prevent scorching.


Cooked Fruit
3 C. dried fruit of your choice
2 C. boiling water
1 t. cinnamon
Sugar to taste
Let fruit soak in the boiled water for 20 minutes. Simmer for another 20 minutes and add cinnamon and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved and serve.


Vegetable Soup
1 C. diced cooked meat
3 C. dried mixed vegetables
salt and pepper
Cover dried vegetables with boiling water and soak 1 hour, then simmer for 2 hours or until tender. Remember you can add fresh vegetables, in case you don't have a particular dried one, to the pot as well.

fowl language
07-05-2008, 06:50 AM
the japanese commercial fisherman taught me to sun dry fish by cutting them into thin strips lightly salted the hung by a string with a swivel on it to allow it to spin in the wind if your in an area with wind ,we would just hang it in the rigging of the boat. i have also done it with meat the same way. when its not blowing at our barn i just use an electric fan on low.give it a try.....fowl

Elkhound
07-05-2008, 10:01 AM
My expertise is limited to jerky and some fruit.:oops:

newhunterette
07-05-2008, 10:49 AM
Easy Trail Foods:

Chicken Stew

1 package chicken noodle soup (ie.Lipton's)
2 - 3 tablespoons gravy flour
1 can 6.0 ounce canned chicken ( drained )

Prepare the chicken noodle soup as directed. After it is rehydrated, add the flour and stir consantly until it starts to thicken. Then add chicken and continue to stir until it reaches desired consistency. If a thicker stew is preferred, use a little more flour; if you like your stew thinner, use less.
Add some cajun seasoning and pepper, if wanted.

Hardtack

1 1/2 cups milk (powdered)
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Mix the ingredients into a dough and roll out to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Cut into squares, place on greased cookie sheets, and prick with a fork.
Or, you can grease a jelly roll pan, and simply press dough into it. Cut into squares while in the pan. Prick the dough with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Aluminum Foil can be sued to make a cookie sheet. Another alternative for breads.

Quick and Easy Meal

1 package Ramen noodles
1 cup instant rice
Several ounces Knorr Black Bean Soup Mix
Spices / seasoning of choice
1 ounce (or more) Parmesan cheese (dried can be purchased)
1 1/2 - 2 cups water

Combine all ingredients in your pot (except the Parmesan cheese), and let it soak for 15 minutes. This will allow all contents to rehydrate. Spices for this meal are curry powder, garlic salt, lemon/ pepper and/or a packet of Lipton Instant Cup-O-Soup.

After rehydrating, bring contents to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to sit for 5 minutes, then garnish with Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Cream of Potato Soup


1/3 cup instant mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon instant dry milk powder
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/8 ts. garlic powder
1/8 ts. sage
1/4 ts. minced onions


Add one cup of hot water to this mix in a 12 ounce mug or bowl. Stir to disolve bouillon cube. This instant soup mix can be enhanced with butter, croutons, and shredded cheese for a heartier meal. Other things that would taste good in this soup would be instant rice, dried vegetables, crumbled dried meats and black bean soup mix

Hiker's Stew

Dehydrating vegtables and meats for stew mixes is a great way to use leftover cooked foods. Place well drained cooked vegetables on the dehydrator trays closely together. These will shrink remarkably, so its a good idea to have a large quantity to make it worth the effort. Any kind of vegetable makes a good candidate, including brocoli, cauliflower, sliced or cubed boiled potatoes, onions, and beans. Peas become almost invisible when dried, but they can still be used.

Meats for stew mixes may be done at the same time, on another tray. Slice the meat into small 1/4 inch strips. Roast beef, hamburger, chicken, and turkey are some favorites to use. Use cooked meats for the stew mixes. Dehydrating raw meats is fine for jerky, but it doesnt rehydrate well in stew.

Place vegetables and meat pieces on dehydrator trays. Choose the meat setting,or hottest setting, if your dehydrator has one. I have used a simple machine with no blower and it worked fine. The key is to rotate the trays because the bottom tray will dehydrate faster than the top one, and especially with meat it is important to encourage even drying . This prevents bacterial growth.

When all the vegetables and meat are dry, combine and divide into snack size zip-loc bags. You may want to break the meat into smaller chunks at this time.

Into each bag place:
1 unwrapped boullion cube
1/4 ts. garlic powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch of black pepper.
Pour contents into 2 cups of cold water, stirring well to disolve cornstarch. Bring to boil, stirring while cornstarch thickens and bubbles. Ramen noodles, instant rice, or croutons maybe added at this time.

Mrs.Elkhound
09-08-2008, 06:22 AM
thank you for the great ideas! I'm going to give some of them a try!:smile:

again we have only tried jerky and fruit!

spreerider
09-08-2008, 12:58 PM
my mom has a food dryer larger than a deep freezer and always made fruit leather (got in more fights at school defending my leather than anything else)
we also dried prune plums peaches apple slices, pinapple, jerkey, appricots, and wild mushrooms, tried some veggies like beans and tomatoes but they didnt turn out that well and never hydrated sufficiently again, tho we made some good soupmixes.
I am going to borrow her dryer next time is see fruit on sale or next time someone offers me buckets of apples for free.

Mrs.Elkhound
09-08-2008, 01:03 PM
how do you do fruit in there?

I know you make it liquid, do you add anything else?

spreerider
09-08-2008, 03:42 PM
we used an apple sauce base, then added berries or whatever other flavor, seasoned it with cinnamon and nutmeg.
we laid down saran wrap over the mesh trays and spooned the mix on then leveled it off, let it dry for 5 hours then rotated trays for 2 more hours then rotated again if needed.
some people add pectin to fruit leather to make it more jelly like but we liked ours a bit tougher and more dried.

Mrs.Elkhound
09-08-2008, 03:47 PM
thank you for the tips! I'm going to try to make some in the next couple of weeks!

Buckmeister
09-08-2008, 04:13 PM
If you want some tips of how to prepare meals, even desserts, by dehydration, then you should check out what Alissa Cohen does. My wife got her dvd from the local library titled "Living on Live food". Pretty cool stuff. She does alot of putting food into a food processor and then dehydrating different creations. It will blow your mind what she can create.
Just so you aren't alarmed, I will tell you that she is a raw foodist, which puts her into a catagory beyond vegetarian. I know that on a site like this one, the "V" word can be viewed as a dirty word. However, the food she creates is absolutely fantastic.
You can find more at www.alissacohen.com (http://www.alissacohen.com)

Mrs.Elkhound
09-08-2008, 06:04 PM
thank you for the info.....I will check it out!