Dehydrating Foods

Years ago, I started dehydrating foods. I loved it. I dehydrated
flowers, herbs and foods. I tried many different ways of
dehydrating. Tawra and I even sold tons of potpourri (we have a few
of those recipes in Dining On a Dime ) and made fruit leather and
beef jerky, too! Then the grandkids started coming one after
another and I didn't have as much time, so I spent less time
dehydrating.

Way back before I tried dehydrating, I tried other methods of
preserving food. I tried canning for a while, but it cost me more
for sugar, spices and other supplies than I could afford at that
time and it was a lot of hard work.

At one point, I had a large freezer, but I have never been a big
fan of freezing things. Maybe I have "sensitive" : ) : ) taste buds
or something, but I can almost always tell when something comes
from the freezer. It has a certain taste to it. Most people don't
realize that, even though food doesn't spoil in the freezer, it
does get freezer burned over time. It also absorbs the flavors of
the other food in the freezer very easily and, often, within just a
few months. This can make some food taste bad even though it's not
really spoiled.

I have often had the electricity go out for one reason or another
and, if it's out too long, all that hard work and money can go
right down the drain. I'm not saying I don't ever freeze food. I
keep a few things in the freezer, but I don't do marathon freezing.

After trying canning and freezing, I decided to try dehydrating. As
I mentioned earlier, I loved doing it and it worked well for me for
quite some time, but in recent years, I hadn't been doing as much
of it.


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Recently, I came across a web site on dehydrating,
http://www.dehydrate2... , and became inspired again. Tammy,
the site host shows how to dehydrate many different foods, which
you can use for long term (If done right, it can last up to 30
years) or short term storage. Here are some of the things I found
on this site:


* How you can make packets of meals that include everything
for a meal in one packet. Then you can just pour it into a
crock pot to slow cook. I was excited because I thought these
packets would help Tawra on the days when she is too sick to
cook.

* It also explained things like how to dry sweet potatoes.
Then, when you want some, all you have to do is add a little
water, butter and salt and you are good to go. Sweet potatoes
are delicious by themselves, but you can also use them in
casseroles or to make sweet potato pie.

* Instead of keeping bags and bags of frozen hash browns in the
freezer, which take up a lot of space, you can dehydrate
those same hash browns and they will take up only a quarter
of the space. This also applies to peas or green beans and,
when rehydrated, you can't tell the difference.

* You can grind most dried fruits into a powder to use to make
flavored teas. You can also add water or formula to it to
make baby food.

* You can dry carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, broccoli and
many other veggies. I especially like the dehydrator because,
when I have a bunch of carrots I'm not using quickly enough,
I can throw them on the dehydrator. When dried, they will
keep for years, but I usually use them for my next batch of
stew or soup.

* Tammy even shows how to make pickled beets and pickles from
dried beets and cucumbers.


I was very surprised after checking out this web site how many
different things you can easily make with dehydrated foods besides
the usual dried fruits and trail mixes. Tammy uses a lot of tools
like slicers, grinders and other specialty equipment, but I don't
have any of those things. All you really need to get started is a
dehydrator.

For years I just used a domed type dehydrator, but I recently
discovered the Excalibur. The company was kind enough to let us try
one of their dehydrators and it is soooo nice. I don't get a
commission or anything, but when I find a good product that is
worthy of praise, I like to let you know!

This dehydrator has a fan, which helps dry the food more quickly
and evenly. The fan is at the back of the unit, so all the trays
get the same amount of air. I used to spend lots of time switching
the trays from top to bottom with my old dehydrators, but I don't
have to do that with the Excalibur.

The food doesn't stick to the trays like it did with my old
dehydrator and I can put much smaller items on the Excalibur. You
can also use it to make your own homemade yogurt and re-crisp
crackers and chips. It really is a nice unit. If you decide to do a
lot of dehydrating, it is definitely worth the investment to get
one. You can visit their web site at
http://www.excaliburd...

If you are signed up with Swagbucks, you can use Swagbucks to buy
Amazon gift cards and then buy your dehydrator from Amazon and
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you can learn more about it at
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If you're interested in dehydrating, check out Tammy's dehydrating
web site at www.dehydrate2Store.com . Her site is all about
dehydrating and her directions are easy to understand.

Over the past few years we have become more aware of the importance
of being prepared for emergencies and having a nice supply of
dehydrated foods is one of the ways you can be prepared. Canned
goods have a much shorter shelf life than dried foods and you can't
count on frozen foods for emergency use because, in most real
emergencies, the electricity is the first thing to go.
Additionally, dried foods are lightweight, so they are easy to
carry if you have to evacuate.

You can't count on being able to get groceries in an emergency,
because stores often have no supplies and even when they do, a lack
of electricity often means that ATM machines and banks are closed
and, without power, the stores can't sell their inventory.

I fully trust that even in (especially in) an emergency, God will
be there with me to help me, but He also expects us to do some
things ourselves when He has given us the knowledge and ability to
do them. One of those things is to prepare for emergencies or for
hard times.

The Bible points to the ant who stores up and prepares for winter,
telling us to "consider her ways and be wise". There's also the
story in Genesis about Joseph saving grain for seven years to
prepare for the seven years of famine and the parable in the New
Testament about the 12 virgins, where half were prepared and the
other half were not.

I'm not saying build a bunch of warehouses to store your food and
other supplies. I am saying don't wait for an emergency to come to
figure out how to deal with things and expect to fly by the seat of
your pants. If you don't have the time or ability to prepare for an
emergency now, what makes you think you will be able to do it in
the middle of a crisis.

Proverbs 31 talks about the virtuous woman and it says her family
isn't afraid when the winter comes. Why? Because she has prepared,
like the ant. Over the years I have had to use wood to heat my
home. I didn't wait until December in a snow storm to go find and
cut wood to heat my house. All summer and fall, when the weather
was good, I worked stockpiling wood. In the same way, it is wise to
prepare in advance for an emergency and dried food is really a good
thing to have.

As with other things, don't go to extremes and cause yourself to
worry, but use some common sense and keep some emergency supplies.
It's better to have them and not need them than to need them and
wish you had them.

www.LivingOnADime.com

Enjoy - Patricia, Your Healthy Homemaker