# Best food(s) for dehydrating?



## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

I would like everyone's opinion on the best food or foods to be dehydrated.

Personally, I'm thinking for a medium to long term food storage, what should I be focusing on?

But, if you want to also answer the best short term ( favorite tasting) please do so. 

This dehydrator newbie wants to hear it all.


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## tks (Oct 22, 2014)

I didn't think about it until I saw an earlier thread but I'm going to put up a bunch of bananas and pineapple. Those aren't native in my area and if shtf, I don't want to not have them. I'm going to do some more research and check on some other things like avocado and see if they can be dehydrated.

I haven't tried it yet but I found a pin on pinterest that showed how to dehydrate eggs. Shoot, I throw so many out because we don't eat them by expiration that I'm excited to try it. So much money could be saved just from that.

So far we've only really done jerkies, so I'm fairly new with any other foods.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

What is a good quality food dehydrator?


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

TorontoGal said:


> What is a good quality food dehydrator?


Excaliber or LEM
I have the LEM as it was a local purchase. Excaliber is by far the best LEM runs close 2nd. Ive been beating the crap out of mine for several years now.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

hawgrider said:


> Excaliber or LEM
> I have the LEM as it was a local purchase. Excaliber is by far the best LEM runs close 2nd. Ive been beating the crap out of mine for several years now.


Thank you


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

tinkerhell said:


> I would like everyone's opinion on the best food or foods to be dehydrated.
> 
> Personally, I'm thinking for a medium to long term food storage, what should I be focusing on?
> 
> ...


 The list is long...... Most fruits, veggies, meats, herbs pre-made meals like spaghetti its up to your imagination.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

TorontoGal said:


> Thank you


 Spend the money once and get a good one. don't waste your time with the walmart/meijer happy homeowner type round ones if possible.

The 2 that I mentioned there is no need for rotating trays. Also make sure it will heat up to at least 155 degrees or more.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

hawgrider said:


> Spend the money once and get a good one. don't waste your time with the walmart/meijer happy homeowner type round ones if possible. The 2 that I mentioned there is no need for rotating trays. Also make sure it will heat up to at least 155 degrees or more.


I completely agree and I hate supporting Walmart. I'll definitely research them both, thanks again.


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## Sockpuppet (Sep 6, 2014)

The best price on I can find online for the Excaliber 2400, is $80 with free shipping, from Next Kitchen.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

Thanks, Sockpuppet but I'll have to look locally


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

You can usually find the professional dehydrators at hunting/camping stores like academy or gander mountain. But the price is always higher than online sellers. Even when shipping is added in.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Jerky or apple slices are my favs.

Marinade strips of meat in Allegro marinade (they have 3 flavors) before drying. Mmmmmmmm
Core n peel apples into slices (they make a nifty hand-cranked device for this) then lay one side of the apple in some brown sugar. When you tray them be sure they are sugar side up so they dont stick.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

I was thinking that potatoes,, onions, carrots are core staples that store well in a root cellar but for extended shelf life, building up a stockpile of dehydrated stuff would be a good idea.

Call me boring, but I've been focusing on this and letting my wife do the fruits.

What do you guys think? Am I missing something?


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

I've dehydrated a lot. One thing I discovered is dehydrating frozen vegetables (saves freezer space and lasts longer). I also dehydrate canned fruits and veggies which also saves space. I have dehydrated tomatoes both fresh and canned, then powdered them. Add varying amounts of water to make paste, soup and sauce.
Lettuce does not dehydrate well.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Neat. Tomato powder keep a long time?

If so, that is good news, I'be heard that tomato is a bit too acidic to keep well in cans.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Tomato powder so far is three years old and still fine. I throw an oxygen absorber into the jars and vacuum seal them.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

But why waste your time on potatoes when you can get commercial mashed potatoes by the ton. Mebbe sliced potatoes for au gratin would be cool though.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Sliced potatoes cook up better in dehydrated stews and soups - hard to use mashed in thoses.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

MrsInor said:


> I've dehydrated a lot. One thing I discovered is dehydrating frozen vegetables (saves freezer space and lasts longer). I also dehydrate canned fruits and veggies which also saves space. I have dehydrated tomatoes both fresh and canned, then powdered them. Add varying amounts of water to make paste, soup and sauce.
> Lettuce does not dehydrate well.


Do you thaw the frozen veggies first? I'm still a total rookie when it comes to dehydrating. My dehydrator bible has no info on the frozen veggies.


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

Beef. I have also had some good luck with tomatoes sprinkled with oregano and a little salt. I bought my dehydrator from Cabela's, has a fan and a thermostat so you can choose the temperature you heat the item being dehydrated to.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Don't need to thaw frozen stuff first. Might want to do a real quick rinse in cold water to help separate the pieces.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

We use the excalibur for dehydrating meats and blueberries only. All other fruits and veggies I do with a box fan. They don't get cooked and taste so much better when rehdyrated. I have rehydrated carrots and used them in a salad. Here is a link to video about it Dried Fruit Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network I have not watched this video all the way through. I checked to see if it is the same as the show I saw it on.


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## tks (Oct 22, 2014)

Anyone know if you can dehydrate avocados?


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

tks said:


> Anyone know if you can dehydrate avocados?


Not recommended as they are too oily.


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

one of the best things I have tasted dehydrated fresh was garlic...It is simple but yes my friend made a batch and gave me some..it was delicious. freshly dehydrated garlic made into a powder just like you would buy in the store...but this is different.


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## tks (Oct 22, 2014)

Dang. I'm going to have to break it to hubs, after shtf, no more guacamole. Better to mentally prepare him now. Lol


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

I have an old Excaliber and it is truly a work horse. Love it. I dry a lot of stuff, but one I think wins all for nutritional value and utilization of scraps, is to get all those garden greens at the end of the season that are just not young or tender enough for eating. Like when you pull up your beets, pull up the broccoli, finish off the chard to make room for other stuff. Throw the bad leaves out for the compost or chickens. Take all the big ones that are still decent looking enough, slice them up and dry them. They will shrink down to nothing. Then put them in the blender and make a green vegetable powder. Add this to your morning shake, soup, or anything you like. It has got to be really nutritious. Even if some of the vitamins get cooked out during dehydration, it will retain the minerals. Mine is a combo of greens from beets, broccoli, kale, chard, mustard, and collards. I also add it to my cricket feed and in making some homemade chicken feed (from mesquite bean flour, cricket meal, and green powder.)


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

peaches, apples, pears, plums, apricots, berries, most spices, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, ginseng, summer squash, carrots, corn, wheat, rice, quinoa/lamb quarters seed and leaves, almost all nuts, beans, ......leaf crops are tough but spinach and kale can be done.

Whoops forgot the beets and turnips, they go in the root cellar mostly.

Lots (fruits) need to be dipped in lemon juice or citric/ascorbic acid or they will brown.

Problem with me is if the dehydrators are going 24/7 I still can't keep up and need to can/freeze/root cellar the rest. Sometimes some of the best crops mature when the humidity is oppressive, so you need other means to store.


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

Mad Trapper said:


> peaches, apples, pears, plums, apricots, berries, most spices, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, ginseng, squash, carrots, corn, wheat, rice, quinoa/lamb quarters seed, almost all nuts, beans, ......leaf crops are tough but spinach and kale can be done.


wow that's a long list ^^..I need a dehydrater I go the ghetto way with the oven. to much hassle


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## cdell (Feb 27, 2014)

We are still trying things out but apples, kiwis, pineapple, and strawberries are all pretty popular at our house.


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

MrsInor said:


> I've dehydrated a lot. One thing I discovered is dehydrating frozen vegetables (saves freezer space and lasts longer). I also dehydrate canned fruits and veggies which also saves space. I have dehydrated tomatoes both fresh and canned, then powdered them. Add varying amounts of water to make paste, soup and sauce.
> Lettuce does not dehydrate well.


I do a lot of fruit, vegies of all kinds, meats and eggs. Instead of drying tomatoes Mrs Inor, have you tried to start with tomato paste? dries faster and much less work.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

We have a favorite meat shop that is very aggressive with their volume sales. They also sell carrots, and onions as a lost leader. For example, I bought some 2lb onions for 17cents, limit 4 bags which seems to be a good quantity for a week if I put most of it into the dehydrating.

I woke up this morning to a pungent onion smell in my house. It was the focus of all our jokes. We were joking about blowing the smell at the treat or treaters tonight.


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## Zed (Aug 14, 2014)

There is this one link of Dehydrator, that i found available in India.
Buy Fruit Dryer - Severin (Germany) - OD2940 Online India | Zansaar Kitchen Store
Is it different from yours?
Is it possible to dehydrate meat,fish and eggs? (my would be wife and brother are ...meat-eaters :roll //Me n my parents are vegetarian//
What other can i dehydrate in it?

//Indians are not into dehydrating food and canning etc..though Sun dried fish are available//


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

My "prep of the day" of a few weeks ago arrived and I dove right in to the world of Dehydrating Foods. Having never done any dehydrating I treated it just like I do most things..the ******* way of trial and error....better to ask forgiveness than permission and ask questions later. :torn:

I'm starting with various fruits; Apples, Bananas, Mango, Oranges, Strawberries and Pineapple. I sprayed the fruit with pineapple juice or lemon juice and coated the apples with cinnamon/sugar dusting.

I'll report back later today but in the meanwhile, any suggestions will be appreciated.

View attachment 10289
View attachment 10290


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

I have a cheap dehydrator from academy. It works decent but I've had really bad luck with bananas. They turn out mushy. Nothing like the banana chips you can buy at the store. I have had good luck with apples and frozen veggies bought on sale at the store. I dehydrated them and vacuum sealed them for use in soups and stews. Mrs Inor has some really good tips on it. She even dehydrates cans of tomato sauce into some kind of concentrate. My next project is to do my own jerky.

I picked up this book as well. It's been very helpful so far.









http://www.amazon.com/The-Dehydrator-Bible-Includes-Recipes/dp/0778802132


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## ARDon (Feb 27, 2015)

we dehydrated mainly vegetables from the garden & frozen cubed hashbrowns 



some like storing their dehydrated vegetables or fruit in glass jars, I like mylar bags then sliding the mylar bag using vacuum bags and sealing them. this IMO gives you more space and beable to portion control for meals.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

A little known secret of the banana chips that you buy at the grocery store..often time they are fried and dried!


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Slippy said:


> A little known secret of the banana chips that you buy at the grocery store..often time they are fried and dried!


So I need to deep fry them first to get the chips that I love so much? I will check into it and post what I find out.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Slice your banana thin and coat with honey or sugar. Dry them thoroughly.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

PaulS said:


> Slice your banana thin and coat with honey or sugar. Dry them thoroughly.


Groovy PaulS,

I'll try that next batch. So far the apples sprinkled in cinnamon have been a winner. At 5 hours and 130 degrees F, they were fantastic. I'll not be storing them as me and Mrs Slippy have eaten most of them already.

Next up will be the strawberries at 8 hours.


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## Spice (Dec 21, 2014)

I slice tomatoes and zuccini and sprinkle on popcorn flavorings -- parmesan/garlic is my favorite - and dry them crispy. Then use them as chips -- great in Greek yogurt for a dip! It's my favorite way to eat dried veggies (only so much soup can be had), so it's downright pleasant to rotate the stock.


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## Stick (Sep 29, 2014)

I've only done elk and deer dried on a barb wire fence. Turned out pretty good.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Some foods like onions need done outside.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

The fruits that I dried yesterday turned out to be a success. Apples, Mango, Strawberries were outstanding. Oranges and Bananas were good but not great. The inlaws may stop by today, so I'll dehydrate some onions and garlic as per Hunting Hawks suggestion.


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