Do I Blanch Before Freezing or Dehydrating?
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- čas přidán 12. 07. 2024
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Heidi, I am a 73 year old widower. My wife died in 2018 and I was simply lost for a while. Many of the things I see you do, she did. From canning, sewing, cooking, she did it all. I was too busy to pay any attention to how she did all these things, so I remained ignorant until I found your channel. This is just a brief comment to let you know how much all of the things you do and the advice you are so generous with, mean to me. I have taken to dry canning and am planning a raised bed garden for the spring. Thank you for being such an inspiration to an old guy and for reminding me of just how much my wife did for me that I am ashamed to say, I did not appreciate nearly enough. Take care and stay safe. PAY
I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for your kind comment
I hope you are okay and have family around.
Wow, this really touched me. ❤ I can often feel sad that these things are not valued more in our society. That the homemaking and gardening is regarded as “nothing” in many ways. Disregarded and undervalued. I am coming to believe that it can be such an amazing foundation for a balanced, healthy and kind way of living for those choose to live more self sustained. The over focusing on chasing dreams and being ambitious really can come crashing down with age as a limited value of the use of a life time. The gentleness, the giving, the growing, the nurturing and the connecting with nature through working with it can really change you and those around you.
I fell so touched that you acknowledged what your wife all did even though it was after her passing. It is never too late to love someone ❤❤❤
This brought tears to my eyes ❤ Hope you are doing well and your garden is flourishing!
I dehydrate zucchini every summer. I dry strips and make lasagna with the strips in the winter.
Now that's an idea!
I shredded potatoes and threw them in lemon water. Then I dehydrated them. They dehydrated beautifully and rehydrated beautifully. No lemon taste was detected when I cooked them.
I'm a canning & dehydrating newbie. I want you to know how helpful your "Answering Questions" videos are for people like me. Your videos answer the many questions we have, and they give newbies the confidence needed to follow through. It also helps us worry less about wasting our time & money in the process. Thank you so much for giving us your time & teaching us your well developed skills! :)
🥰
I agree 100%
I don’t blanch potatoes before dehydrating them but I bake them until they are about 3/4 of the way done, then refrigerate them overnight. The next day I peel and slice them (the peels come off very easily) and put them on the trays to dehydrate. Same with sweet potatoes.
Don't know if you'll see this, but do you powder them after drying? Or leave them diced or sliced? I actually cooked mine, mashed them (didn't add anything like the usual butter or milk, just a little salt); and slathered them onto my drying mats for the food dryer; incredibly difficult afterwards to break them into usuable chunks and they seem to take forever to actually soften up (I used them in a crock pot meal); I still count potatoes as my biggest fail in food drying.
@@Kayenne54 I leave mine sliced after dehydrating and just pack them into mason jars and then vacuum-seal them.
I've done both ways but prefer my celery, beans, and carrots blanched before dehydrating; they turn out nicer. I dehydrate apple and potato slices and find just 2 minutes blanching is fine, or they're mushy. Everything else goes in raw. I rarely freeze any fruit or veg these days, precious freezer space is dedicated to meats, dairy, and delicate fruit like raspberries and blueberries.
I agree, Heidi, no blanching. It is a waste of time. I plan on washing my 43 assorded vegetables and herbs from my garden this coming summer, putting them in zip lock baggies, making sure the air is out and stacking them in my freezer. Grandma didn't blanch and neither will I and the woman faired wonderfully. I make sure before I do ANYTHING on my farm, I ask myself about my grandparents and how they did stuff. If it works, don't fix it. By the way, I LOVE you name, it's my youngest daughters name, Heidi.
I'm really glad you made this video. I've blanched to dehydrate and YUK! thank you and I'm not blanching anymore😊
Your skin is so beautiful. I'll have to watch your skin care videos.
Have you ever tried growing Chayote (we call them "Chokos" in Australia). I grew them up against the chicken pen; they went crazy, chickens love the leaves, and the choko has a consistency when steamed like button squash; it can be sliced or chopped up to make apple go further in apple pies; a rather famous apple pie maker most definitely bulks up their apple pies with choko chunks. Pretty sure they'd be fine just sliced or in chunks and dried to add to soups, stews and casseroles...Chokos were used during depression years in Australia to make mashed potato go further, and to thicken stews when flour was scarce. They're basically plant and forget (unless it's very dry soil or not much rain); ripe they are still green skinned.
In agreement with you, ma'am. The only food I would blanch is potato. Which is why they aren't getting in dehydrated at this homestead! Maybe "someday."
I don't blanch my potatoes for dehydrating and they don't go black they stay looking good and they rehydrate well and taste good... the secret? I soak in water with lemon juice for about 30min
@@muttonchop271 Oh. My. Goodness. Trying that today. Thank you!
Late ty for this video. This year I'm praying to both dehydrate and can. Blessings
Thanks so much. I’m new to the game and was confused by all the videos. I love your explanation! Thanks for the video.. a few years later lol.💐🙏🏼
Carrots seem to get a bit of black without blanching before I dehydrate. Same with sweet potatoes. Thanks so much for your your channel, Heidi. So rich and comprehensive. And you are right. God is good. All the time. :)
Great video as always!! Thank you for all the great information!!
I've always frozen my foods and never blanched anything. Recently I purchased a dehydrator. Thus far, I've dehydrated: zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, kale, kiwi, oranges, apples, pears, and oranges. Right now, I've got Ruby Red grapefruit drying. Everything has turned out fine. I buy spring water to drink. There's no way! I could afford to blanch too. It makes sense (imo) not to blanch. Why would I wet down foods I'm going to dry anyway? That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it. lol Thanks, Heidi. I'm learning so much from you. God bless you too.
I don’t blanch either. But I’m still quite a newbie when it comes to preserving the harvest. Last summer I was overwhelmed with green beans and after canning two batches, my husband said I should freeze the rest. Big mistake. I tried steaming or boiling them to eat as a side dish and didn’t like the texture or the water coming out of them with each bite. So my frozen ones are used in the many soups I make this time of year. As a side dish, I use my canned beans. I’ve learned so much from you in the past 1+ years. Thank you so much for your videos. I can’t wait to expand my herb garden to add the seeds I bought from you. You are such a blessing for people like me. God bless.
Wow. So glad to find I'm not the only one who had "failures" blanching things, and that blanching isn't necessary to get good results from dehydrating/reconstituting (the only thing I ever do with the dehydrated things is soups and stews). Really helpful video, and has given me much more confidence in dehydrating things again. Thank you!
We zoodled our extra zucchini and just froze it. Absolutely love it in place of pasta. Turns out perfect and not mushy. Thanks for the video.
Thank you ! I have blanched and not blanched Chard and Beet tops and they do hold their colour better if you blanch but that is probably it. I used your tips on the beans last year and you were RIGHT ! Better not to. I love zucchini and cucumber chips seasoned they are wonderful snacks and of course you would not blanch. Thanks so much I love your vids
Your are the best! You save me so much time trying to figure out various homesteading stuff. Thank you for ALL of the knowledge you share! ❤
Yup! I'm in lockstep with you! 🙂💜
And I thought I was doing it all wrong! Thank you, thank you 😊 God bless you and your family!
Thank you, being disabled I need less steps to do, not to mention I don't have an ice maker so won't have to waste the little I get from trays! 😉👍
Great information, thank you. You saved me time researching online AND mistakes Found non gmo seeds and can't wait to dehydrate my harvest.
My boyfriend asked for a five tray dehydrator for venison but use it all the time 😇
Love the "individual question" videos. Great idea - easy to do a quick refresher when we need it - because they're easy to find this way. Thanks!
They have made it easier on me as well and gives those asking the questions something that is more to the point. I am glad I finally thought to do something like this!
I agree with you 100%! I don't like much of anything blanched first. ♥☼
I learned the hard way about potatoes... I didn't blanch first however my pits didn't mind that they were brown 😅😁 and God Bless you and your family from middle GA 🙏 Kendra
I don’t blanch before dehydration either Heidi. Thanks for your super advice !!!
Hello Heidi! I don’t think anyone could ask from a better teacher/person to learn from! I definitely couldn’t ask for anyone better than u!!! N all ur videos, u r truthful on what u say, u have always been patient, kind and understanding with anything I didn’t understand, u never gave up on me till I understood (it’s hard for me to admit that somethings r hard for me to comprehend when others catch on so easily) u never made me feel stupid (as many have) for it. Though we r not friends n person, u (and Patrick) have been great friends to me n the CZcams life! I said all that, because this video brought many memories. Thank u Heidi, for being Real !!!
Thank you Joy!
Heidi when I do Dehydrate with the veggies I don't anymore blanch what I do. Heidi, you have me hooked on Mother Earth potatoes and I just don't want to dehydrate my potatoes, it is easy to order them. IF you decide to do potatoes I can't wait to see what you thoughts on the potatoes. Thank you Heidi for more good information you give us.
Great information .
Here's a recipe for you report zucchini
Grow your zucchini extra big cut the ends off core the seeds out stuff it with your best meatloaf recipe carpet with a good marinara sauce and bake it at 375° for an hour then uncover it top it with mozzarella cheese bake for another 15-20 minutes till a little bit Brown and then slice and joy
Ty
I blanche my corn before freezing, it was something my Mom always did and I learned from her, so just have always did it that way. We try and go to Amish and buy over a hundred ears, it is a job doing the shucking, silking and then blanching, maybe should try not doing it, and just see how it does. Thanks dear friend for all you do, blessings
I blanched green beans before and I like the not blanching so much better. I'm on the same page and am very interested in dehydrating. It sounds like a much better way when we buy meat in bulk from a farm.
Agree. I only blanch potatoes. I don’t want to lose nutrients in the water by blanching. I don’t care if the product looks dull in the jars...color will revive when rehydrated. Carrots not so orange...okay...cauliflower dingy and a little yellow...so? Potato issue...May be able to get around that by cutting potatoes and soaking in water with citric acid for an hour and a half to help starch settle at the bottom of the bowl, use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes, rinse them, then dehydrate...just a thought. Haven’t tried it...so, don’t take my advise. People can take frozen hash brown and dehydrate also...just not something I do as want non gmo and as organic as possible.
I had wondered about using an acid like lemon juice or vinegar as well. I may try it will a couple of slices just to see
You're going to lose a lot of potassium and other nutrients if soak potaoes that long in water. That's what they tell dialysis patients to do if they're going to eat potatoes, because damaged kidneys can't handle normal amounts of potassium.
So far the only things I always blanch are potatoes cauliflower and broccoli.
Thank you for making this video. I've always wondered if I was messing up by not blanching them. Thank you for all the shares from your stash.
Now can I dehydrate my frozen green beans? Will they still turn out good? 🤣🤣 so many questions rolling around in my head. Thank you Heidi❤️🙏❤️
I do it all the time works great.
Very interesting
Great information, I don't blanch
Did I miss you cover cabbage? I have been blanching to keep a pretty green before dehydrating. It hydrates great in soups! And, looks appetizing😉
I did not mention it no, because there was no way I could remember all the many veggies, haha. I have dehydrated cabbage, both red and green, NO blanching. They turn out beautiful, especially the red. No loss of color. I have even taken the red cabbage after it is dried and powdered it to use as a food coloring. Makes a lovely burgundy that can also be used in lip coloring and more
I've seen a You Tube video on blanching verses non blanching using green cabbage. I can't remember the outcome but there was noticable difference.
@@GardensLadyBug I blanched enough to remove outer leaves, put back in the hot water again taking outer leaves off...have a jar of whole leaves dehydrated to make cabbage rolls. Other cabbage, just chopped and dehydrated...look great! Not going for color...going for preserving nutrients. Color will come back once rehydrated.
@@RainCountryHomestead Great! I will try that! Thank you 🙏
I do agree that blanching for the most part is a waste of time. Have you ever made Garlic or Hot pickled zucchini? Both are fantastic! By the way... I LOVE, LOVE, your channel.
I do not remember if I have fermented zucchini but when I make pickles, I ferment them and always add lots of spice, including red pepper flakes
i tried to make zucchinia chips and they were alwful. Yours looked so pretty. I am going to try again, i am going to raise my heat to around 145 and a little longer and see if that helps. My apples are wonderful.
Hey there. Able to sit and dehydrate tonight! So happy Heidi. Im doing broccoli, cauliflower and carrots! Can't stand at the stove yet so blanching is OUT! On many supplements, minerals etc. So expensive! Yikes! Every mineral and nutrient I can save right now is being saved!
I watch you faithfully on TV because it's much easier. I don't get to comment as often but I'm here. (BTW...YOU look beautiful on big screen anyway.😊) I had my friend pick up some turnips for me the other day. My oldest son insists that every pot of vegetable soup must have a turnip in it.😳😳Whatever. Just figure his body must need turnip.❤I was thinking, when Im able soon, I will can seven or so quarts of turnips, as he loves them like mashed potatoes with a bit of gee. Do you know anything about canning turnips? Checked your playlist but must be overlooking. Miss commenting but Im here. Much love, Doc Susun🌞🌞💕💓💕🙏🙏🙏🙏💛💛💙
I have never canned turnips but it should not be any different that canning potatoes. Just peel, cut, and cold pack. I would assume the canning times are similar but it is easy enough to look that up in your browser or canning book
@@RainCountryHomestead yes. That just seems like a good thing to have on the pantry when you might like something different! ( if you even like them! Lol) I will attempt to can potatoes your way soon and throw in a few jars of turnips! Not throw!! Just place! Lol😊😊💞💞💓💞💞
I've dehydrated sweet potatoes. Raw will be fine if your going to add it to a soup or stew with a longer rehydration time. I preferred cooking them first and spreading it out on silicone trays. It was too tough for snacking so I ground it to a powder. And no way was I going to blanch zucchini.
Butter beans/Lima beans I always blanch before freezing. I find the skins tough if I do not blanch.
I have also canned butter beans, but much prefer freezing. Canning seems to affect the texture.
I've blanched carrots before dehydrating. I hated it. Now I strictly dehydrate them.
Thank you so much for all your help with so much informative details. I was wondering if you have ever dehydrated frozen veggies and/other foods?
I have not dehydrated previously frozen produce but it can be done and will likely be easier to rehydrate if they have been frozen first. I have dehydrated some canned fruits before. Years ago I had some cans of fruit cocktail and was moving them around and one I must of dropped as it lost its seal so I opened it up and dehydrated the fruit. It turned out pretty good.
Yes, easy peasy. Can do blueberries this way too. Raspberries...did not like how they came out nor strawberries...those I personally like freeze-dried.
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you so much. I was dehydrating some leftover mushrooms and also had 1/2 bag frozen green beans so I decided to throw them in the dehydrator. The green beans were the long skinny beans and turned out awesome. Mt grandson ate some right out of the dehydrater. I thought I would just grind them up and add to his food since he is on the spectrum with eating disorder. I just wasn't sure how other items might work. I cant seem to grow anything well on my hard packed clay ground so I do purchase all veggies frozen or fresh. But my freezer is full and actually I didn't want to pull out the vacuum sealer to do just that one bag of green beans. I appreciate you so much... God Bless You!
I didn't realize how much better my celery, is after blanching them when i go and put them in my sauces, they don't have a rubbery texture to them. I found onions at my local Winco, for .99 cents a frozen bag, that I put them on my dehydrator, no crying, no onion smell win, win for me .
Did not like texture of celery dehydrated raw...chewy...I ground into a powder...fantastic! Did try blanching them...have not rehydrated...just don’t expect it to be much better and won’t do it again...can not take the idea of throwing out nutrients in the water; not about texture and how it looks...about being healthy while preserving nutrition. Put your dehydrator outside to do offensive-smelling things...for me, onions not so bad...number one thing to keep out of my home was horseradish, number two was garlic. Your eyes tear up, your home smells awful for days. Make sure what you store is the real food..not fake gmo, non-nutritious food...may be easier to deal with now but not so much later when you are ill when nutrients are not in the foods you store. Not preaching....thoughts. Old gal here...
I probably didn't save a huge amount of money, but bought frozen chopped onion, spinach and garlic, and came home and just tipped them out onto my drying trays and dried them. Made powdered for easier storage, because we get a lot of power outages here and freezer storage isn't always optimal. Not reliable.
I dehydrate my rhubarb all the time..but I turn mine into a powder after dehydrating them and use them in my shakes or baking recipes :)
The main question though is do you blanch it first or dry it raw like I do?
Thank you thank you!! I was looking for information on air drying/ sun drying. I will not be using this food for long-term storage. I will be traveling by van with my kids and I don’t want to use a refrigerator or a giant cooler. So I thought about dehydrating the food for preservation. Everything I have found has said I need to blanch a lot of the food first. I was trying to find if this was necessary, because people typically store the food long-term, because of bacteria, etc.. I have probably read at 10 to 12 articles in the past few hours and this is the first I have seen any information about this. It seems you are dehydrating your food for a fairly long term storage, so I think I should be good considering our food that I will dehydrate will only be stored for up to a month or so. I will also most likely be getting a rechargeable vacuum sealer for mason jars to put the food in, but still researching, if that’s necessary or would be helpful at all.
I like using the brake bleeder pump as it not only requires no electricity, it is smaller and more dependable than most electric pumps, at least more so than FoodSaver.
@@RainCountryHomestead I haven’t heard of this I’ll definitely look into it. Thank you so much for the info!
I canned my celery and did not like the color. It tasted just fine, but the color was off. I’m getting ready to dehydrate a large batch from Azure. I’m going to steam blanch first to try to preserve the green color, but will include a portion unblanched as an experiment.
I did can up some red onions and while they are pretty good, the color turned more of a grey, not so pretty once canned up!
@@RainCountryHomestead dehydrating is likely the way to go for many things like that.
I'm looking into dehydration and wondered what make and model you use. I have an old one that doesn't hold much product and takes forever. I did garlic last summer. Thank heavens I put it out in the garage! It stunk for 2 weeks!
I do not know the exact models of the ones I have, they are all just a bit different. Two of them found at garage sales but here is a video that may be helpful: czcams.com/video/8t1GhIQKpyY/video.html
Potatoes need to blanched 3min and then lemon water dipped before dehydrating!! The extra steps are worth it.
I hope you took time to listen to the whole video as I DID cover that on the potatoes and even showed a photo of ones that had not been blanched first so people could see what happens
I don't blanch either!
Leeks and celery i blanched ended up greener than non blanched
We don't dehydrate (yet), and I don't like blanching unless we have to, like potatoes. I think the only other thing we blanch are purple hull peas.
Thank you Heidi for letting me know my kale powder that had dark water under it when letft in glass was still good. Can you tell me what I did wrong since I'm going to dehydrate more. I followed the Excalibur book on temp. Maybe the temp was too high.
To be clear, I can only assume there is nothing wrong with it and have no idea why the color turned the way it did or exactly what you may have done or not done. If it is dark green, then it is simply coming from the kale itself and seems unlikely you did anything wrong
It took our farming family years over generations of farming to discover blanching is not a requirement for everything. 🙂 Thank you for sharing and confirming. Do you ever use dehydrated green beans or snow peas in green powder?
I personally do not, those just get used in soups as is and I would prefer to keep them that way. Not big into using powdered greens in things but I have taken some of my dried zucchini and powdered it as it works great in breads and pancakes since the flavor is so mild but it adds a bit more nutrition
@@RainCountryHomestead Thank you!
@@RainCountryHomestead My partner absolutely hates "green any vegetable" so I dried frozen spinach, powdered it and use it in soups, stews etc. Also mushrooms. So he's getting that green stuff whether he likes it or not lol. I also dried fresh parsley, did the same = powdered. It's the only way I can get green vegetables into his diet. He has issues, yes.
found when I didn't blanch my carrots they took soooo much longer than the blanched, so will blanch them now every time
(but I don't ice bath them; just pull them out 30 sec to a minute less & spread on the tray to cool slightly before the dehydrator run)
I dont blanch anything, but theres a hanfull of things i completely cook before i dehydrate. I cook my snow/snap peas cause i find the peas in the middle are still dry and mealy when the outside is rehydrated. Maybe i harvest thdm when they are more mature than you do ?I completely cook beets, carrots, potatoes, rootcelery (all root crops i would guess)and meats just cause they rehydrate in poor shape or unevenly when i dehydrate them raw, in the same way meat does. But, to each their own, its all a preference. And i never tried rhubarb. I grow it to give away. Ive never found a nice rhubarb recipe that wasnt full of sugar.
When harvesting snow peas for eating or cooking with, yes, they are meant to be picked quite young before the peas on the inside start to get any size to them. The pea pods should still be flat. Even fresh snow peas when allowed to grow have a mealy flavor to them.
Onions. I have tried both ways and the blanched onions dry white instead of brown and it takes so much less time to dehydrate if they are blanched.
I have dried onions raw many times, they have stayed white (or red in the case of those). I do know if one dehydrates on too high of a heat, it can cause things to brown because they are burning
Funny..I found that blanching my green beans before freezing made them weird and squeaky when chewing…aweful texture I thought. Since I just wash and dry completely and ziplock…they are great as a plain side dish with just butter salt and pepper. I just cook them like if fresh.
I have found blanching to be pretty pointless for most things or even makes them gross. There are few things where it matters but mostly it is just a waste of time and energy
Heidi, what kind of white potatoes do you plant and how do you store them? I notice yours are not starting to sprout. I also notice it looks like you’ve washed yours. We plant Russets, do not wash them(as per all the storing videos I’ve watched.) I’m also certain the temps are warmer than should be.
I do not actually grow white potatoes, only purple and yellow. Here is my video on how I store mine and I do have some starting to sprout now (this video was shot three weeks ago): czcams.com/video/WrXWk36BT_o/video.html
Thank you, Heidi. 😃
HI Heidi how long would cook the potatoes for? and how long do I blanch the potatoes for?
As I said in the video, that is something I have not done yet so I recommend reading through comments of those that have. I did so far see one good one where someone gave plenty of detail on that
I have a question🤔 about blanching and not blanching. FRESH CUT HERBS, fennel, parsley, garlic, and lemons. I'd like to know to further preserve them for eating over the winter months?
Yes 👍 I wash, rinse, label the dates on each before putting individually in zip lock bags to freeze
I guess I am confused about your question since you are already freezing them.
@@RainCountryHomestead yes, i was wondering how herds can be preserved. These types of herbes chives, Fennel, parsley, lemon, garlic, are easily Frozen. They don't need to be blanched. My question was find Clarity on that these herbes do not need to be blanched. They can be directly washed rinsed and frozen. And they will be good eating over the winter months. Thank goodness and for your comment and reply.👌
@@lornabartlett2744 Right, I never blanch herbs for dehydrating or freezing
How would you recommend freezing onions in a zip lock bag or a canning jar do you dehydrate them before you freeze them or just cut them up and freeze them thank you I love watching your videos you are so wonderful I learned about you from Mary's nest and another thing I did apple cider vinegar with the mother where is the best place to keep it at
If I was going to freeze them, I would not bother dehydrating first. Those are two different methods of preserving. One reason people choose to dehydrate is to not have to take up freezer space. For frozen veggies, I do occasionally use freezer bags when space is limited but prefer to use jars. If I am going to dehydrate, I vacuum seal into jars and store in the pantry.
Here is the video I did on vinegar storage: czcams.com/video/vaaSIb8XY5k/video.html
I've frozen the green onion tops for years. Just chop and bag and throw it in the freezer. They are really good in scrambled eggs but I'm sure there's lots of other uses
Heidi - Have you ever found a good source online for organic dehydrated (or freeze-dried) fruit?
As mentioned in the video, I buy from Mother Earth Precuts (link in the description box) but they have been having a hard time keeping their organic items stocked since the beginning of this Covid fiasco
Interesting, I am down to just potatoes for blanching. I am interested in rehydrating and not for soups or stews. The more things I can eat as itself, the better. or i.e. in scrambled eggs.
Thank you for this video! I wish you could have time to watch my channel to see the influence you are making. Lol. Also this is why my dehydrated potatoes failed. Because I didnt have a Rain Country Video to teach me!!! Now I do!
Any tips or advice on how to keep potatoes good for longer after harvest? Mine are sprouting.
czcams.com/video/WrXWk36BT_o/video.html
Hey Heidi … I’ve been slowly buying the things I lost in the house fire, but haven’t bought a pressure canner… yet BECAUSE- the channel make it make has a few videos on the Amish way- and everything can be water bathed by the hours you boil. I’d really like your input on this … if it can safely be done and I don’t have to purchase another pressure canner, all the better. WHEN you have time though OR a link to already having gone through answering this question. Thanks 🥰
I approach that in this video - I believe it is the question I saved for last so it would be towards the end: czcams.com/video/vKGpoo6gPfI/video.html
Thank you Heidi. As busy as you are you’re quick to answer 🙏 bless you. I don’t think I’ll buy another pressure canner 👍. Having to buy from measuring spoons to pots and pans 😕 gets expensive 😕 but I have enough time TO boil longer 🥰🥰
I would agree Heidi but all I have read is that blanching stops enzymes for longer preserving. Most say unbalanced when freezing should be used within 6 months and blanched lasts 12 months or more. Dehydrating is the same for longer shelf live. Regarding zucchini's if used in soups or stews would they not be mussy regardless if blanched or not?
What "they" say and what is fact is not always true though. Sometimes these things are nothing more than wives tales that are not actually based on experience or even science. I have had not issues with foods lasting for years when unblanched and dried or frozen.
I've always heard that the purpose of blanching was to kill some enzyme that would continue to degrade the vegetable. My mom always blanched the vegs she froze, and I've just followed her example.
That is what is said though I often have wondered if it is another of those wive's tales that people have been following for years such as "never stack your jars". I have found my veggies hold a fresher state in flavor and texture when I freeze them without blanching.
@@RainCountryHomestead agree.froze fresh produce such as green beans for an example...opened and tossed into a steamer pot over boiling water...tasted like you just picked them fresh. Froze bell peppers, onions, mushrooms...you name it...no blanching. Hate the idea of blanching...all those nutrients go down the drain. Sometimes it is experimental. I have no problem with that...so far, so good. Whatever I’ve done still edible. Wives tales? We need to set a new bar.
That's what I've heard too!
I blanch celery, potatoes and onions only.
I have never blanched celery or onions before dehydrating and found no need to. I do not do a lot of celery but I do a lot of onions without problem
Do you have any videos on broccoli sprouts? I'm very interested in learning about this also.
Also can broccoli sprouts be dehydrated.
No, sorry. I have only done them once years ago. Maybe some day I will get back into it
@@RainCountryHomestead that would be great, I really love you videos, your a good teacher.
Morning Heidi, I was wondering if you dehydrate cilantro? I love it fresh but being the only person in the house that does, I always have leftovers. Sincerely, Karin
I never have because I it does not grow prolifically for me, I wish it did. Even so, I would freeze it to preserve the flavor. Cilantro is one of those things that loses a lot of its flavor once dehydrated so I only use it fresh or frozen
@@RainCountryHomestead TY, I didn't know you could freeze it.
@@GardensLadyBug you can freeze it
Add to foods...tastes good but, will be whimy. You can dehydrate it as parsley...I do lots of that just for another way to store food non-dependent of having to rely on power. Best bet is to store foods in different ways. You have fresh...number one, you can freeze, number two, you can dry, number three. Canning in between.
I don’t blanch my veggies. Like you said mush
I tried blanching zucchini before dehydrating and it wasn’t as sweet as not blanching. Mine also stuck terribly to dehydrator. I think blanching releases the natural sugars which causes it to stick and not be as sweet.
Yes, I discovered this with rhubarb, messy!
I always read blanching eas to stop an enzyme thing. Be interested to hear your comments on that? Thank you.
O yes, I have heard stuff like that, I am only sharing what works best for me though and I will keep doing it this way, at least for the things I freeze but I dehydrate a lot more now than I used to
Have you tried green bean casserole yet with the beans.
If you mean the dried beans, no, If I was going to make that, I would use my home canned beans
Could I dehydrate a quart jar of triple strength Madagascar homemade vanilla in vodka. Its been a year since I combined it. Also, my first time making it. Would it ruin it?
Dehydrate it? I am not sure about that
Have you tried steam blanching? I don't like the boiling method since its so easy to over do. I notice a difference in quality in boiling vs steaming to cook fresh veggies. A lot of nutrients are water soluble, it just doesn't make sense to me to completely submerge in boiling water.
Steaming was the only way I ever tried. The only things I cook before dehydrating are meats, potatoes, and pumpkin (pumpkin because it is easiest to work with that way).
@@RainCountryHomestead boiling directly in water was the only way I knew about till recently. Your video saved me a lot of energy, I was about to go on a blanching spree lol
Heidi the Amazon store link isn’t going to your storefront, but Amazon homepage. Have tried from several videos with the same result.
That particular link is not to my "store" it is only a basic amazon link that take you to your own home page for when you do you your own shopping but it still is my affiliate link
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you
I dehydrated some Asparagus (no blanching) but I can't get it to rehydrate well, it stays tough. Does anyone have experience with Asparagus? I'll take any tips I can get.
Does blanching make a difference if you dehydrate in order to make vegetable powders?
It depends on what it is. I do not blanch anything but potatoes for dehydrating. If you are going to dehydrate and powder carrots though, you may want to blanch those first
The only things I prefer blanched are potatoes and carrots. I like to leave my carrots in slices or match stick size and I find these larger pieces hold shape better if blanched. If I was chopping them I would not blanch. Do you blanch broccoli?
I have not dehydrated broccoli but if I ever do, I would try doing some raw first
Raw broccoli and cauliflower are better, in my opinion. The cauliflower is nearly the same as fresh, but the broccoli goes a bit brown. It still tastes amasing and has a great texture though.
I’ve dehydrated blanched broccoli and it tastes terrible...
Does anyone have experience with dehydrating kohlrabi? My menfolk love it raw, but not cooked. It seems to me that blanching and/or rehydrating with boiling water will make it taste cooked. Any experience out there? Thanks
There is no substitute for raw crisp kohlrabi. Kohlrabi has a very long growing and harvesting season and lasts for months in the crisper drawer of the frig. So raw kohlrabi doesn't need to be preserved. That's why people love it. A crisp fresh sweet vegetable in the middle of winter.
What about cauliflower, broccoli, artichokes, Brussels sprouts? Thank you
I did not list off all veggies because I was giving examples. I do not blanch anything. All those veggies you listed I have only frozen in their raw form with no problems, I have not tried dehydrating them yet but would at least try doing a small amount without blanching first to see how they turn out. There is much of this that is nothing more than a matter of choice. The point is to only try in small amounts both ways and do comparisons to find what you prefer
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I really appreciate it. I love your videos, I'm new to all this and I'm learning so much. Thank you and God bless you and your family.
P.s.i purchased one of your vacuum sealer chambers and used the brake bleeder, IT WORKS GREAT!!
Wonderful!
I was wondering about mushrooms. I wash them and then dehydrate, We like them on pizza, but hey always turn out chewy.
I dehydrate them whole and raw and then rehydrate them with boiling water in a thermos. And after 20 min theyre good to put on the pizza. I think they are a bit chewier thsn fresh, but not tough
I always dry them raw. Especially wild picked chantrelles. To me they turn out great but then again, I tend to cook them into sauces like I do with the zucchini and carrots. I have also rehydrated them in homemade wine mixed in hot water before using on top of pizza and they turned out decent.
@@RainCountryHomestead yum! Wine mushrooms
It does add a nice flavor to them, especially when using in/on Italian dishes :D
Heidi are you saying you don't blanch peas and beans before freezing?
That is exactly what I am saying. I find they turn out better without blanching
What about freezing carrots? Blanch or not?
I have frozen carrots without blanching, no issues
This might sound like a silly question but how do you know that you won't get botulism from the dehydrated foods? Or do you not store them under vacuum.
I do vacuum seal my veggies and have many videos on this. However, here is a question, how do you know you won't get salmonella from store bought lettuce? E Coli from store bought meats? Botulism from store bought canned goods? A little research will show that in MOST cases of any of these, it has come from store bought items, not home preserved. I suggest you check out this video: czcams.com/video/vQgYv4U_69Q/video.html
@@RainCountryHomestead Thank you so much for linking the video it was really helpful, reassuring and well explained. I've done dehydrating for a few years now but never for storage. Now to build up a supply.
I think botulism needs moisture, so if it's properly dehydrated you won't have a problem.
What about corn on the cob? I always blanch it first. Is it a waste of time?
I'm interested in corn too! I usually cut it off the cob and bring to a boil for 2 minutes then freeze. When I recook it its so rubbery😭
Never tried it myself and this video was not about going over every single veggie, it was about saying how the only thing I would bother blanching is potatoes. Anything I would try new for the first time, I would not blanch. I would just try it as is, even if just a small amount first. If I do not like it. Then I would either try blanching or just can it instead if I have to go through the time and trouble of blanching since my time is so scarce these days
I saw a really good YT video from Half Acre Homestead. She put corn on the cob in the freezer, unshucked, unwrapped, and it cooked up as good as fresh!
Hmmm 🤔 what about butternut squash?? Wondering if anyone has dehydrated without blanching.....
I have dried squash without blanching and it turned out fine but for making a powder (pumpkin, butternut, or otherwise) I find it best to cook and mash then spread it out and dehydrate as shown here: czcams.com/video/w2d35tLsolE/video.html
@@RainCountryHomestead thanks for the advice! I'll check that video out ☺️
This is waaaay off topic. Do you know anything about lids for the old glass peanut butter jars?
I do not mind off topic questions at all but please clarify exactly what your question is regarding those
@@RainCountryHomestead I have found dozens of old glass peanut butter jars in our root cellar that my family used to pickle in, before we all processed our pickles. No lids, though. I was wondering if you knew the kind of replacement lid I can use (for using the vacuum chamber) or a source that sells a variety of sizes of jar lids. They don't have to have a seal inside as we've watched your video on lids. Thanks for taking time with my off beat question.
@@zellko9080 I would not know what or where you could find lids to fit on those particular jars. One might be able to do some research to see if there are lids available as long as you know the right dimensions of the jar mouth
@@RainCountryHomestead Thanks! If I am successful in finding a lid supplier I will let you know so you can add that to your wonderful bank of info..
@@zellko9080 i would love to know that too! I have a lot of those jars and the lids tend to rust easily.
🌻🐝👍😁🌹💟
I do not blanch anymore. And my vegetables taste much better.