Cinnamon (use Cinnamon sparingly) and Honey Cranberry Orange (cran-
berries should be cooked)
Vegetable Dehydration Tips
Dried vegetables are every bit as flavorful and versatile as dried fruits.
With dried vegetable you can make delicious soups, stews, casseroles, and
more. Basically, anywhere you would use fresh vegetables you can use dehy-
drated vegetables.
Before preparing and dehydrating your chosen vegetable, always wash
them in cold water. A certain amount of coring, slicing, peeling or shred-
ding is required. A food processor can be a handy tool when processing
vegetables, taking seconds to slice up a large batch, ready for the dehydrator.
Be creative when drying vegetables. Placing vegetables in diluted
lemon juice or similar flavorings for approximately 2 minutes will add a hint
of flavor to such vegetables as green beans and asparagus. For drying times
of vegetables, refer to “Vegetable Timetable”.
Pretreatment of Vegetables
For the most part, vegetables need little in the way of special treatment for
dehydration, although there are some exceptions. Here are some preparation
guidelines that will help you get the most from your dried vegetables.
A few vegetables, such as onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and mush-
rooms can be dried and reconstituted successfully without pre-treatment. In
general, if vegetables must be steamed or blanched for freezing, they must
be treated for drying.
With the above named exceptions in mind, most remaining vegetables
will need to be steamed or blanched before, drying. Many vegetables have
enzymes that help the food ripen, and leaving these enzymes active in the
food will cause them to continue to bring about changes in flavor and
aroma which can be undesirable. Although untreated vegetables which are
dehydrated can still be good for as long as three to four months. Heated
treated vegetables reconstitute in less time, keep longer and generally retain
more flavor when reconstituted.
Steaming
Steaming is the best method of pretreatment. Place a single layer of chopped
or sliced vegetables in a colander or steam basket. Shredded vegetables can
be 1/2 inch deep in the colander or basket. Set vegetables in a pot above
a small amount of boiling water and cover. Water should not touch the
vegetables. Begin timing immediately. Refer to table for length of steaming.
