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Worth Knowing in Advance
Dehydrating is a method of long-term food preservation.
Vegetable and animal food contains a lot of water – this is
the reason why many foods only have a short shelf life. Wa-
ter is the basis of survival for bacteria and other pathogens,
such as fungi. By removing the water, pathogens lose their
livelihoods, which in turn prolongs the shelf life of foods. The
advantage over other preservation methods is: The vita-
mins, minerals and dietary fibres of the food are preserved.
Your food dehydrator has a blower that circulates warm air
via the grid tray. Thus, it becomes possible to speed up the
dehydrating process compared to drying in the open air.
You can adjust the desired drying temperature on the appli-
ance itself. Temperature range: 35 °C – 70 °C.
You have the option of using just one grid tray to dry, or
you can use up to six at a time. If you want to dry thicker
foodstuffs, then do not use all of the grid trays.
Please note that food which you have produced at home
in your food dehydrator may have a different appearance
to convenience foods that you buy in the supermarket or
organic food shop. The reason for this is that no artificial col
-
ourings or preservatives are used in your food dehydrator.
You can also (partially) reverse the drying process by
simply soaking the dried fruit or vegetables in cold water
or cooking them with other foods (e. g. soup vegetables or
mushrooms).
What Else Should You Consider?
• Do not use frozen foods. They contain too much water.
• Always use fresh foods.
• Overripe foods or food with rotten areas are not suitable.
• Do you want the dehydrating process of one type of
foods to be completed at the same time? In that case,
the pieces should be equally thick, so that they can dry
at the same speed.
• Place the pieces you have prepared on the grid trays so
that they do not overlap.
• The drying time depends on several factors: size, con-
dition of the pieces, quantities used, set temperature at
the appliance and ambient temperature. You will find the
standard values in a table at the end of this chapter.
• It is only partially visible to the eye whether the food
dehydration has already been completed. Instead of the
visual inspection, it is advisable to touch the food.
- Fruits must not produce moisture when exposed to
pressure.
- Dried vegetables should feel almost like leather.
- Herbs are done when they crumble when grated.
- The meat must not have any spots that feel soft. How-
ever, it must not break even when you bend it.
Fruits
• We recommend using ripe fruits because they contain a
high level of natural sugar. Unripe fruits often taste bitter
after drying.
• Wash and dry the fruits thoroughly.
• If necessary, remove kernels, stones and all bruises.
• Fruits with a naturally waxed skin, such as grapes or
plums, can be pre-blanched in boiling water. This short-
ens the dehydrating time.
•
Cut larger fruits in equally thick slices (3 – 6 mm). Halve
medium sized fruits.
• It is normal that brightly coloured fruits, such as apples
or bananas, become darker when dehydrating. You can
prevent this by previously soaking the fruit slices for
2 minutes into lemon or pineapple juice. Dry the fruits
then thoroughly with paper towels.
Vegetables
• Wash the vegetables thoroughly.
• Cut them in about 6 mm thick slices or pieces.
•
Blanch the vegetables for 1 – 2 minutes in boiling water.
Afterwards, we recommend to shock them by tossing
them in ice water. Thus, they retain the colour, flavour
and structure.
• Then dry the vegetables thoroughly with a paper towel.
Fish
•
After having been prepared for eating, fish are divided
lengthwise.
•
Fillet large fish and cut them into strips. Do not remove
the skin, so that the strips are held together.
•
Dab the fish dry with paper towels.
Herbs
• Harvest the herbs preferably on a rain-free morning.
Before harvesting, they should have been exposed to at
least 1 or 2 days of sunlight. Early in the morning, in the
evening hours and on rainy days herbs have the least
aroma.
• If possible, do not wash the herbs. Shake off the dust
only. Should you wish to wash the herbs, dab them dry
with paper towels.
• Mince the herbs as little as possible. Place whole stems
on the food dehydrator’s grid trays.
• Some herbs are
not
suitable for drying, as they quickly
lose their flavour after harvesting (e. g. lovage, borage,
sorrel, watercress). It’s best to freeze these herbs.
• The following herbs are moderately well up to well
suited: parsley, basil, dill, chives, lemon balm.
• Herbs which are very suitable are: mugwort, savory,
marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, chamomile,
peppermint, lavender, sweet woodruff.
