What all vegetables do some of you people dehydrate and how do you rehydrate that certain vegetable to make it palatable?

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), February 10, 2002

Answers

Corn, peas, green beans, cabbage, onions and peppers. Sometimes potatoes. All need to be soaked overnight in frig or a few hrs. in warm water.

-- Barb Fischer (bfischer42@hotmail.com), February 10, 2002.

And wild mushrooms! They take just a few minutes to rehydrate. Best wishes!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), February 10, 2002.

I just fling the dehydrated tomatoes in soups and stews.

Eat the dehydrated fruits as is.

-- Rose in Texas (open_rose@hotmail.com), February 10, 2002.

We've dehydrated mushrooms, celery, parsley, carrots, garlic, and onions - LOTS of onions. I rehydrate foods in a bowl of hot water for around 20 minutes and then cook. If I'm doing soup or a stew, I just put them right in it, without soaking first.

We're very pleased with our dried foods - the taste is great and you can store a great deal of dried food in a very small amount of space. Had about 25 pounds of onions stored and some started to go bad. I chopped and dried all the good ones. Ended up with 5 quart jars of the dried onions.

We plan on dehydrating even more veggies this year than we did last.

-- Carol - in Virginia (carollm@rockbridge.net), February 11, 2002.

Oh...I have a question about this! How do you dehydrate potatoes without them turning black?

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 11, 2002.

peas, beans, corn,cabbage, zuccinni, carrots, cabbage , turnips and greens, collards, tomatoes, potatoes, luffa, okra, khorabi, swiss chard, dandelion greens and roots, bananas,apples, plums, onions, bell peppers, hot peppers, watermelon, cantelope, radish,meat and fish basicly anything grown or raised on my place with the exception of milk or eggs, due to salmonellia risks. Proper dehydration requires a combination of forced air and convection dehydrators to ensure acceptable drying without scorching. Rehydrating can be done by overnight soaking or simmering.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), February 11, 2002.

Tracy,

I steam blanche mine before drying.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), February 11, 2002.

With regard to how do we rehydrate, I found that often the veg. would be still rather tough, no matter how long they soaked, no matter whether I started with hot or cold water. Then, I tried a recipe using my pressure cooker, and whew, like fresh! I suspect that the pressure forces more water into the veg. thus making it more plump. Try it!

-- Katie (homesteader@accessnevada.com), February 11, 2002.

One of my most sucessful experiments in dehydrating has been grated Zucinni. I run it through my food processor, squeeze it dry then dehydrate it. I have a sun powered home built dehydrator. I store it in an air tight container in a dark cool area. I can rehydrate it in about 15 minutes and use it in baking or cooking all winter. It is exactly as fresh after rehydrating.

-- Thrifty Sarrah (olefashion@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.

Thanks for your answers everyone. I guess what few vegies I have rehydrated I probably just didn't soak them long enough to be able to enjoy. I'll try again next summer.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), February 13, 2002.