dehydrator questions

  • 2 Replies
  • 1946 Views
*

dmg

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Location: Ayrshire
  • 662
dehydrator questions
« on: December 19, 2013, 23:39 »
I have just recently bought the cooks professional dehydrator and would like to try making fruit leather. The trays are all slotted and I wanted to know what is the best thing to use to cover them? Can I cut some baking sheets to fit or silicone baking sheets?
Also is there any books on cooking with dehydrated food re quantities needed, is rehydration needed etc
Finally is there any fruit/veg not suitable for dehydrating?


Thanks
Dmg

*

Trillium

  • Guest
Re: dehydrator questions
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2013, 02:52 »
Normally the dehydrator manufacturer offers a type of silicone sheet to fit onto their screen trays. Those sheets are specifically for wet items like fruit leathers, meat jerky, etc. You could try baking parchment until you get the silicone sheets which will give you years of use.

I've never found a need for a book on specific quantities of dehydrated items since you're mostly using items like veg or fruits, and you'd add what you wanted.  But books like Mary Bell's Dehydrator Cookbook will not only give you recipes for how to use dehydrated foods but also how to properly dry the various foods. The Dehydrator Bible is also another good reference.

So far, I personally haven't found anything I can't dehydrate. However, not everything can be dried the same way. ie blueberries are best frozen before dehydrating or they'll take days to dehydrate. Same with cranberries. Pineapple should be semi cooked first then dried. Some green veg like broccoli should be blanched first then dried.  Meat jerky needs to be quite seasoned before drying since you're not really cooking it.

I dehydrate lots of lemons and oranges that I get on clearances. Skins need to be well scrubbed to remove chemical sprays, then the fruit thinly sliced and seeds removed. They need about 12 hours to dry, while something like mushrooms are ready in about 6 hours.

*

Annen

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
  • 3315
    • Anne's Gardening Diary
Re: dehydrator questions
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2013, 14:15 »
I haven't tried making leathers with anything very runny so I have got away with using baking paper or I have a some pieces of a cooking liner which I accidentally cut up (mine is a round fairly cheap dehydrator and the pieces fit around the central space).  But I think someone on here used clingfilm to line the trays.
I use the Mary Bell book, it has a wide variety of recipes and methods, but with basic foods, like Trillium says, you just slice it and set it away, an hour or so either way doesn't seem to be critical.  I'm just learning as I go along, trying different things.  Most successful is apple crisps so far (thinly sliced, dipped in lemon juice and dried for 10-12 hours, very snackable)
Anne



xx
Dehydrator

Started by big green bloke on Cooking, Storing and Preserving

11 Replies
4392 Views
Last post July 08, 2015, 18:44
by Madame Cholet
xx
dehydrator

Started by MoreWhisky on Cooking, Storing and Preserving

15 Replies
4968 Views
Last post November 21, 2010, 20:10
by birmancats
xx
first success in dehydrator

Started by Madame Cholet on Cooking, Storing and Preserving

11 Replies
3189 Views
Last post June 12, 2012, 22:15
by MJS
xx
more dehydrator success.

Started by Madame Cholet on Cooking, Storing and Preserving

0 Replies
1241 Views
Last post January 09, 2013, 20:36
by Madame Cholet
 

Page created in 0.147 seconds with 39 queries.

Powered by SMFPacks Social Login Mod
Powered by SMFPacks SEO Pro Mod |