Dehydrating Vegetables Recipe
Yield: 1 TextfileRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
1: Textfile,
Directions:
Drying vegetables at home requires a little extra effort for a good-quality
product that will be stable in storage, rehydrate well and be tasty and
tender when cooked. Some vegetables do not rehydrate satisfactorily and, if
you choose to preserve them, are better canned or frozen. Frozen asparagus,
cauliflower and broccoli are far superior to dried. Some vegetables, such
as carrots and potatoes, are available fresh at reasonable prices all year.
I dont recommend drying these unless you do if for convenience or for
backpacking.
The fresher the vegetable when it is processed and dried, the better it
will taste when rehydrated and cooked. Many dried vegetables that have been
rehydrated and cooked are tougher than fresh or frozen ones. This can be
caused by the quality of the fresh vegetable when it is processed, the
pretreatment before drying, the method used to dry or the storage time.
FRESHNESS -- Tenderness may be influenced by LACK OF FRESHNESS of the
vegetable when it was dried. Green beans, for example, may be kept in the
refrigerator for one or two days after picking, then cooked and eaten. They
will taste quite fresh. If those same beans are refrigerated two or three
days before they are dried, they will be much less tender when rehydrated
and cooked.
* Harvest only fresh and mature vegetables.
* Dont let vegetables stand at room temperature any longer than is
absolutely necessary.
* If you cannot process vegetables immediately after picking, refrigerate
them.
* Do not wash vegetables until just before you are ready to process them.
Then dry them as soon as possible. Water speeds up deterioration and loss
of nutrients.
PRETREATMENT -- Another factor that influences tenderness of rehydrated
vegetables is PRETREATMENT BEFORE DRYING. Most vegetables are much more
fibrous than fruits. Pretreating by steam or water blanching, softens the
tissues. This lets water escape more readily during drying and lets it
re-enter cells more easily during rehydration.
DRYING TIME and TEMPERATURE -- Vegetables are much lower in sugar and acid
than fruits, and so must be dried under more controlled conditions to
prevent spoilage during the drying process. DRYING TIME AND TEMPERATURE are
crucial to the tenderness of dried vegetables. The longer the drying time,
the less tender they will be. Use uniformly cut pieces. Drying time is
proportional to the thickness squared. If a 1/4-inch dice dried in 2 hours,
a 1/2-inch dice will take 8 hours, or 4 times as long.
STORAGE TIME -- Even when properly packaged, most vegetables will not keep
in good condition as long as fruits, unless stored in the refrigerator or
freezer where they will last for years. Otherwise, use dried vegetables
within 6 months. Properly packaged vegetables will not spoil, but will
gradually deteriorate in flavor and nutrition. ** How To Dry Foods by
Deanna DeLong HPBooks, California
1992 ISBN = 1-55788-050-6
Scanned and formatted for you by The WEE Scot -- paul macGregor
Source from luhu.jp
product that will be stable in storage, rehydrate well and be tasty and
tender when cooked. Some vegetables do not rehydrate satisfactorily and, if
you choose to preserve them, are better canned or frozen. Frozen asparagus,
cauliflower and broccoli are far superior to dried. Some vegetables, such
as carrots and potatoes, are available fresh at reasonable prices all year.
I dont recommend drying these unless you do if for convenience or for
backpacking.
The fresher the vegetable when it is processed and dried, the better it
will taste when rehydrated and cooked. Many dried vegetables that have been
rehydrated and cooked are tougher than fresh or frozen ones. This can be
caused by the quality of the fresh vegetable when it is processed, the
pretreatment before drying, the method used to dry or the storage time.
FRESHNESS -- Tenderness may be influenced by LACK OF FRESHNESS of the
vegetable when it was dried. Green beans, for example, may be kept in the
refrigerator for one or two days after picking, then cooked and eaten. They
will taste quite fresh. If those same beans are refrigerated two or three
days before they are dried, they will be much less tender when rehydrated
and cooked.
* Harvest only fresh and mature vegetables.
* Dont let vegetables stand at room temperature any longer than is
absolutely necessary.
* If you cannot process vegetables immediately after picking, refrigerate
them.
* Do not wash vegetables until just before you are ready to process them.
Then dry them as soon as possible. Water speeds up deterioration and loss
of nutrients.
PRETREATMENT -- Another factor that influences tenderness of rehydrated
vegetables is PRETREATMENT BEFORE DRYING. Most vegetables are much more
fibrous than fruits. Pretreating by steam or water blanching, softens the
tissues. This lets water escape more readily during drying and lets it
re-enter cells more easily during rehydration.
DRYING TIME and TEMPERATURE -- Vegetables are much lower in sugar and acid
than fruits, and so must be dried under more controlled conditions to
prevent spoilage during the drying process. DRYING TIME AND TEMPERATURE are
crucial to the tenderness of dried vegetables. The longer the drying time,
the less tender they will be. Use uniformly cut pieces. Drying time is
proportional to the thickness squared. If a 1/4-inch dice dried in 2 hours,
a 1/2-inch dice will take 8 hours, or 4 times as long.
STORAGE TIME -- Even when properly packaged, most vegetables will not keep
in good condition as long as fruits, unless stored in the refrigerator or
freezer where they will last for years. Otherwise, use dried vegetables
within 6 months. Properly packaged vegetables will not spoil, but will
gradually deteriorate in flavor and nutrition. ** How To Dry Foods by
Deanna DeLong HPBooks, California
1992 ISBN = 1-55788-050-6
Scanned and formatted for you by The WEE Scot -- paul macGregor
Source from luhu.jp