Yes, we do! Here’s our video on how to rehydrate dried foods: czcams.com/video/pFgwxXrpLHs/video.htmlsi=fJAnUTqCQydQzEXz And we actually have a whole “meal in a jar” meal plan over on our site - foodprepguide.com/shop/food-storage/food-storage-meals-meal-in-jar/
Binge watching still, but getting tired tonight, may have to resume tomorrow. Something I learned from Darcy is to do the same thing with elbow macaroni that you do with rice if you cook your pasta and then dehydrate it all you have to do is rehydrate your pasta. You don’t have to add the cooking time in because it’s already cooked. I’ve done it and it works great.
Your attention to detail makes your videos exceptional. When you stated a no.10 can of dehydrated bell peppers equals 2 qt. plus a pint, that's valuable information. Thanks for putting all of this together your efforts are appreciated.
Thanks again.. (subscribed).. I do grow all my own veggies.. but the same principles apply.. i just have to grow a LOT of veggies.. I invested in a water bath canner, a pressure canner, and a fementer setup.. but none of those methods retain that fresh taste and canning can kill much of the nutritional value of veggies and the fresh taste.. I've got a simple dehydrator but i think I'll upgrade so i can bulk store more stuff.. AGAIN .. thanks for sharing your knowledge.. its a big deal..
I am just getting into dehydrating. I am mostly interested in fruit, but I sm missing so much more. I am subscribed and will be visiting your channel often.
Welcome to the channel! 👋 We have a Dehydrating Playlist with all of our dehydrating videos in one place in case that's helpful to you - czcams.com/video/7WFuMRbrvtE/video.html&pp=iAQB
It's different for each vegetable unfortunately lol. We have a Printable Blanching Chart on our site if you're interested - foodprepguide.com/shop/food-storage/blanching-chart/
I've actually thought a lot about this. All of my thoughts are too long to post in a comment. Perhaps we'll write an article about it soon. But, to give you some thoughts now, here's a short list: - Most versatile for the widest range of people & uses: a dehydrator - For experienced gardeners who need to preserve a large amount of garden produce: a freeze dryer - For powders: a freeze dryer produces a smoother result, but a dehydrator still gets the job done - For meats: a freezer dryer - For virtually everything else: a dehydrator does a fine job - For ease of use: a dehydrator (Freeze dryers & packaging freeze-dried food can be a little finicky.) - For preserving complete meals: a freeze dryer Overall, for beginner-to-immediate growers & preservers, I recommend a dehydrator. For experienced gardeners building a 1-year+ pantry, I recommend a dehydrator plus a freeze dryer. I was blessed to work out a deal with a family member, so they funded the machine, and I do the labor to provide both families with food, so I didn't have to pay for it. And, to be honest, I'm still undecided on if the freezer drier is worth that high price tag. But a dehydrator? 100%, no-second-thoughts worth it. Hope that helps!
@@foodprepguide I’m exactly where you are (sort of)! I have a freeze dryer (and not sorry that I have it - I got it mostly for milk and eggs (jury still out on eggs). My dehydrator is a round ancient one … so I’m debating if I want to treat myself to a new dehydrator or FD most all things. And thank you so much for your thoughtful response!❤️
The shelf-life of properly dehydrated food is practically indefinite. It won't "spoil" unless moisture gets to it and it molds. It will simply lose nutrients over time. We try to rotate through all of our dehydrated foods within 2 years. To keep dried foods at their best, it's recommended to vacuum seal or use an O2 absorber (you don't need both). We usually choose to vacuum seal in Mason jars. Here's a tutorial for that! foodprepguide.com/how-to-vacuum-seal-a-mason-jar/
This maybe a silly question for those who are experienced with dehydrating and food preservation, I am a total newbie. Are you able to rehydrate the diced potatoes and make mashed potatoes? Or will they be best used for only soups and stews?
Not a silly question at all! While technically you could, I will say that rehydrated diced potatoes don't mash well. My family didn't like the texture of them, but your family may, so maybe experiment and see! :)
When using the dehydrated vegetables in a recipe, how do you calculate the ratio of dehydrated to hydrated vegetables? For instance, if the recipe calls for 2 cups of hydrated vegetables how many cups of dehydrated vegetables would I need?
Although exact volume varies from food to food, you can estimate that dehydrated food will double in size once rehydrated. If a recipe calls for 2 cups of hydrated vegetables, you would use 1 cup of dehydrated vegetables.
On the dehydrated rice you said you cook the rice with equal parts of rice and water but usually rice is cooked with twice the amount of water than rice. Did you make a mistake or do you just cook partially with half the water?
Dehydrated rice is "instant" rice like the "Minute" rice you get at the store. It cooks much faster and with less water, so the one-to-one ratio is correct. :) We have a video about that here if you're interested! czcams.com/video/sVQCRJJLEy4/video.html
Yes, I understand that the rice that is already dehydrated would take less water to re-hydrate but I was wondering about when you precook it before dehydrating it? Would you use less water to cook it before hand or would you cook it the same way that you normally would cook rice with the 2 to 1 ratio and then dehydrate it? Thanks
Ooh, gotcha! I misunderstood. Yes, when prepping the rice for dehydrating, you would cook it as you normally would, which as you said, is usually 2-to-1, water to rice. That said, I always cook rice in my pressure cooker (like the Instant Pot), which actually uses equal parts water and rice to cook. 🙂
Has anyone factored in, the electricity costs, of drying all of these things. 🤣🤣🤣 Honestly, particularly with potatoes, if they're cheap, just buy them fresh.😂😂
Lol! Thankfully, home-use dehydrators don't pull too much energy. It's generally far cheaper to grow & preserve your own than purchasing from the store. One thing I particularly love about dehydrating as a means of preserving is that it's also meal prep! The potatoes are already peeled, blanched, chopped, and ready to be used. Woohoo! 🙌 Lol
You are adorable and very inspiring! Thank you for helping me see prepping from a different perspective! You have a great future on CZcams!
Thank you for your kind encouragement! ❤️
Thank you!
Yes!! You're right about the Cabbage I started doing that too thanks for confirming that it's nice to know I'm not the only one that discovered this!
Love it!
Thank you fir that rice tip!!! Didnt think if instant rice
It's so nice for quick taco nights & to toss into soups and such!
This is helpful! Do you have any tutorials on how to rehydrate and use them? Anything on meals in a jar?
Yes, we do! Here’s our video on how to rehydrate dried foods:
czcams.com/video/pFgwxXrpLHs/video.htmlsi=fJAnUTqCQydQzEXz
And we actually have a whole “meal in a jar” meal plan over on our site -
foodprepguide.com/shop/food-storage/food-storage-meals-meal-in-jar/
@@foodprepguide thanks! You convinced me to get a dehydrator 👏🏻
This is an excellent video. Exactly what I’m looking for. Thank you so much.
Glad it was helpful! ❤️
Binge watching still, but getting tired tonight, may have to resume tomorrow. Something I learned from Darcy is to do the same thing with elbow macaroni that you do with rice if you cook your pasta and then dehydrate it all you have to do is rehydrate your pasta. You don’t have to add the cooking time in because it’s already cooked. I’ve done it and it works great.
Great tip! Thank you for sharing. :)
Your attention to detail makes your videos exceptional. When you stated a no.10 can of dehydrated bell peppers equals 2 qt. plus a pint, that's valuable information. Thanks for putting all of this together your efforts are appreciated.
Thank you for your encouragement to keep going! :)
I totally agree with you ...
Thanks again.. (subscribed)..
I do grow all my own veggies.. but the same principles apply.. i just have to grow a LOT of veggies..
I invested in a water bath canner, a pressure canner, and a fementer setup.. but none of those methods retain that fresh taste and canning can kill much of the nutritional value of veggies and the fresh taste..
I've got a simple dehydrator but i think I'll upgrade so i can bulk store more stuff..
AGAIN .. thanks for sharing your knowledge.. its a big deal..
My pleasure. Welcome to the channel! 👋
Great tips!
I am just getting into dehydrating. I am mostly interested in fruit, but I sm missing so much more. I am subscribed and will be visiting your channel often.
Welcome to the channel! 👋 We have a Dehydrating Playlist with all of our dehydrating videos in one place in case that's helpful to you - czcams.com/video/7WFuMRbrvtE/video.html&pp=iAQB
How long do you blanche? Is it the same amount of time for each vegetable, or different depending on the vegetables?
It's different for each vegetable unfortunately lol. We have a Printable Blanching Chart on our site if you're interested - foodprepguide.com/shop/food-storage/blanching-chart/
You rock!!
I’m curious your thoughts on the freeze dryer versus dehydrating … or more likely the place/role they each play.
I've actually thought a lot about this. All of my thoughts are too long to post in a comment. Perhaps we'll write an article about it soon. But, to give you some thoughts now, here's a short list:
- Most versatile for the widest range of people & uses: a dehydrator
- For experienced gardeners who need to preserve a large amount of garden produce: a freeze dryer
- For powders: a freeze dryer produces a smoother result, but a dehydrator still gets the job done
- For meats: a freezer dryer
- For virtually everything else: a dehydrator does a fine job
- For ease of use: a dehydrator (Freeze dryers & packaging freeze-dried food can be a little finicky.)
- For preserving complete meals: a freeze dryer
Overall, for beginner-to-immediate growers & preservers, I recommend a dehydrator. For experienced gardeners building a 1-year+ pantry, I recommend a dehydrator plus a freeze dryer.
I was blessed to work out a deal with a family member, so they funded the machine, and I do the labor to provide both families with food, so I didn't have to pay for it. And, to be honest, I'm still undecided on if the freezer drier is worth that high price tag.
But a dehydrator? 100%, no-second-thoughts worth it. Hope that helps!
@@foodprepguide I’m exactly where you are (sort of)! I have a freeze dryer (and not sorry that I have it - I got it mostly for milk and eggs (jury still out on eggs). My dehydrator is a round ancient one … so I’m debating if I want to treat myself to a new dehydrator or FD most all things. And thank you so much for your thoughtful response!❤️
I'm new to dehydrating. How long can you store dehydrated food? Also, do you need to vacuum seal the jars or add oxygen absorbers?
The shelf-life of properly dehydrated food is practically indefinite. It won't "spoil" unless moisture gets to it and it molds. It will simply lose nutrients over time. We try to rotate through all of our dehydrated foods within 2 years.
To keep dried foods at their best, it's recommended to vacuum seal or use an O2 absorber (you don't need both). We usually choose to vacuum seal in Mason jars. Here's a tutorial for that! foodprepguide.com/how-to-vacuum-seal-a-mason-jar/
This maybe a silly question for those who are experienced with dehydrating and food preservation, I am a total newbie. Are you able to rehydrate the diced potatoes and make mashed potatoes? Or will they be best used for only soups and stews?
Not a silly question at all! While technically you could, I will say that rehydrated diced potatoes don't mash well. My family didn't like the texture of them, but your family may, so maybe experiment and see! :)
@@foodprepguide Thank you! 😉
When using the dehydrated vegetables in a recipe, how do you calculate the ratio of dehydrated to hydrated vegetables? For instance, if the recipe calls for 2 cups of hydrated vegetables how many cups of dehydrated vegetables would I need?
Although exact volume varies from food to food, you can estimate that dehydrated food will double in size once rehydrated. If a recipe calls for 2 cups of hydrated vegetables, you would use 1 cup of dehydrated vegetables.
On the dehydrated rice you said you cook the rice with equal parts of rice and water but usually rice is cooked with twice the amount of water than rice. Did you make a mistake or do you just cook partially with half the water?
Dehydrated rice is "instant" rice like the "Minute" rice you get at the store. It cooks much faster and with less water, so the one-to-one ratio is correct. :)
We have a video about that here if you're interested! czcams.com/video/sVQCRJJLEy4/video.html
Yes, I understand that the rice that is already dehydrated would take less water to re-hydrate but I was wondering about when you precook it before dehydrating it? Would you use less water to cook it before hand or would you cook it the same way that you normally would cook rice with the 2 to 1 ratio and then dehydrate it? Thanks
Ooh, gotcha! I misunderstood. Yes, when prepping the rice for dehydrating, you would cook it as you normally would, which as you said, is usually 2-to-1, water to rice.
That said, I always cook rice in my pressure cooker (like the Instant Pot), which actually uses equal parts water and rice to cook. 🙂
Has anyone factored in, the electricity costs, of drying all of these things. 🤣🤣🤣
Honestly, particularly with potatoes, if they're cheap, just buy them fresh.😂😂
Lol! Thankfully, home-use dehydrators don't pull too much energy. It's generally far cheaper to grow & preserve your own than purchasing from the store. One thing I particularly love about dehydrating as a means of preserving is that it's also meal prep! The potatoes are already peeled, blanched, chopped, and ready to be used. Woohoo! 🙌 Lol
Finally something to do with leftover cabbage!!
Yes! 👏