Re: Re: (dehydrating veggies) was gluten-free vs. grain-free

[Guest guest]

***** s post made me want to ask about food dehydrators.

All you wonderful people who know so much about gluten free/grain free how

are dehydrated veggies. Are they still nutritious. Do they loose the

enzymes that make them easier to digest?

Do you have a dehydrator and if you do what brand and why do you like it?

Hi Sheryl,

I have an Excalibur dehydrator that I use to make crackers mainly, also

pizza crust. I love to snack too, and the dehydrator works well. I have to

rotate the trays, as the top and back of the tray gets dry first.

For crackers I sprout 1 1/2 cups buckwheat for a day and a half and blend

it in a food processor with a clove of garlic and some sweet pepper and

maybe a jalapeno. I add whole and ground flax, ground pumpkin or sunflower

seeds, carrot pulp from juicing 7 carrots, some sea salt, and maybe some

nutritional yeast or grated zucchini. I make the mixture pretty stiff so

that the regular screen type trays can handle it. I make thin patties and

dry for 4-8 hours.

I think the enzymes remain in foods for the most part. Even though the

temperature on my dehydrator can go up to 145 degrees F, the food itself

stays cooler. Of course, if optimal enzyme content is a concern, you can go

lower temp for longer time. I wouldn't think this would be a good idea with

animal foods, though.

Before I bought my dryer, I priced them all over. Should you be in the US,

this is the best place to buy it, pricewise, I do believe:

http://www.discountjuicers.com .

Good luck.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

Elaine,

Is your dehydrator noisy?

Sheryl

Elaine <itchyink@...> wrote:

i bought an excalibur for xmas and use it frequently to make jerky, ferment

doughs, make yogurt, make crispy nuts. i was worried i wouldn't use it much

but it has become the most used electrical appliance in my kitchen. i would

like to experiment with some dehydrated crackers.

elaine

>

> s post made me want to ask about food dehydrators.

[Guest guest]

Deanna wrote:

Before I bought my dryer, I priced them all over. Should you be in the US,

this is the best place to buy it, pricewise, I do believe:

http://www.discountjuicers.com .

Deanna,

Thanks for the link. I noticed that they have different sizes. What size do

you have? Is the size convenient?

Does anyone know why the food doesn't spoil before it drys?

Sheryl

Sheryl Illustrations

http://dovedesignsrus.com

[Guest guest]

it is a constant white noise, yes. once i decided to try and leave my

kombucha in there for a week and that made me insane. but when i was

researching them and reading reviews i read one woman kept hers in the baby

room. she said the baby's sleep was much improved with the dehydrator noise.

elaine

> Is your dehydrator noisy?

[Guest guest]

I also bought my dehydrator from discountjuicers.com. I bought the nine tray

but wish i would have bought the five tray. I have yet to use all nine trays

at once. i get up to seven trays with 5 pound batches of beef jerky. I don't

think food is in there long enough to spoil, plus it's drying out so the

lack of moisture prevents spoilage.

elaine

> Thanks for the link. I noticed that they have different sizes. What size do

> you have? Is the size convenient?

[Guest guest]

i can't wait to try that cracker recipe deanna. thanks for posting.

elaine

[Guest guest]

Sheryl,

I have the four tray dehydrator. It's the size of a small microwave, only

shorter. I store it on the frig. The size is convenient for me with a

family of four. The Excalibur comes with a pretty complete

instruction/recipe booklet.

As far as spoilage goes, since moisture is removed quickly by dehydrating,

it prevents growth of common pathogens. But having said that, I would

recommend a high temp to begin with, then reduce. Of course, I haven't made

any jerky yet, I've only been eating meat again for a few weeks after years

living a vegetarian lifestyle.

You know, some ovens go as low as 170 degrees. You could dehydrate with the

oven door cracked . . . a reasonable option in winter anyway.

Do try thinly sliced zucchini and taste the intense sweet flavor that

results from drying. Yum.

Deanna

Thanks for the link. I noticed that they have different sizes. What size

do you have? Is the size convenient?

Does anyone know why the food doesn't spoil before it drys?

Sheryl

Sheryl Illustrations

http://dovedesignsrus.com

[Guest guest]

Wasn't much of a recipe, Elaine. I'm afraid I don't measure much in the

kitchen, lol. If you have the teflex sheets you could make fine sheets of

crackers that you cut in the process of drying. I am just too lazy to go

through all that!

Deanna

i can't wait to try that cracker recipe deanna. thanks for posting.

elaine

[Guest guest]

Have a 9 shelf Harvest Maid, next step down from Excalibur that I've had for

at least 12 years.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

Elaine,

You know that makes sense. It wouldn't be able to hear anything else.

Sheryl

Elaine <itchyink@...> wrote:

it is a constant white noise, yes. once i decided to try and leave my

kombucha in there for a week and that made me insane. but when i was

researching them and reading reviews i read one woman kept hers in the baby

room. she said the baby's sleep was much improved with the dehydrator noise.

elaine

> Is your dehydrator noisy?

[Guest guest]

Elaine,

Thanks so much you have been a really big help.

Sheryl

Elaine <itchyink@...> wrote:

I also bought my dehydrator from discountjuicers.com. I bought the nine tray

but wish i would have bought the five tray. I have yet to use all nine trays

at once. i get up to seven trays with 5 pound batches of beef jerky. I don't

think food is in there long enough to spoil, plus it's drying out so the

lack of moisture prevents spoilage.

elaine

> Thanks for the link. I noticed that they have different sizes. What size do

> you have? Is the size convenient?

[Guest guest]

>Sheryl wrote> I have always wondered why the meat doesn't go bad sitting at

the low temp for so long. Exactly how low is the temp you use to make the

jerky.

Heidi>> That is one reason people use salt or spices with jerky, or more

commonly nowadays,

nitrates. However, I soak mine in spicy kefir ... so I KNOW what is growing on

it (this

also makes the jerky more tender and gives it a wonderful flavor). I start at

135 and turn

it down to 115 after it gets dry on the surface. This is not high enough to kill

bacteria.

I HAVE heard stories of people getting very sick from homemade jerky, which

has made me cautious. However, my logic is that kefir has been used to kill

e-coli on meat,

and that plus salt and spices should cause the meat to ferment rather than

spoil. Adding lactobacilli to meat and letting it ferment is basically how you

make pepperoni.

If the meat is salted too, the lactobacilli will likely crowd out any baddies.

Also they have done studies on homemade jerky, and dipping the raw meat in

vinegar is enough to kill " baddies " on the surface. Marinating it is even

better.

The jerky writup I have in the " files " section has a link to the study, and my

methodology. You should study the issue yourself and come to your own

conclusions though -- I'm no expert.

>

>Sheryl> I like the fruit leather idea a lot. Did your dehydrator come with

the fruit leather trays?

Heidi>> No .. by the time I bought all the extras it was no longer " cheap " ;--)

> Sheryl> How much is cheap and what do the more expensive ones have over the

cheaper ones?

Heidi>> It was $59, and I spent another $100 or so buying extras ... I don't

know what is

better about the more expensive ones, I bought it on impulse.

-- Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Deanna,

Thanks so much for the recipe. . .It does look yummy Elaine is right.

You guys are a wealth of information. It is remarkable.

Hey I have a new oven that has a digital display. I think I tested it once and

it only goes down to 180. Hmm I will have to test again.

Why would the oven door have to be cracked? And why only winter?

It is also a convection oven so the fan would blow the air around. Would that

be good? Hmmm. . .this get more interesting all the time.

If the oven does let me run it at 170 how long would I leave the zuchinni in

for.

Sheryl

Deanna <harmoniousliving@...> wrote:

Sheryl,

I have the four tray dehydrator. It's the size of a small microwave, only

shorter. I store it on the frig. The size is convenient for me with a

family of four. The Excalibur comes with a pretty complete

instruction/recipe booklet.

As far as spoilage goes, since moisture is removed quickly by dehydrating,

it prevents growth of common pathogens. But having said that, I would

recommend a high temp to begin with, then reduce. Of course, I haven't made

any jerky yet, I've only been eating meat again for a few weeks after years

living a vegetarian lifestyle.

You know, some ovens go as low as 170 degrees. You could dehydrate with the

oven door cracked . . . a reasonable option in winter anyway.

Do try thinly sliced zucchini and taste the intense sweet flavor that

results from drying. Yum.

Deanna

Sheryl Illustrations

http://dovedesignsrus.com

[Guest guest]

Wanita,

I know I keep saying this but, you guys really are an inspiration.

You have been dehydrating food for 12 years! I always thought I was pretty good

with cooking and healthy things. . .But you guys! Whew!

This is going to be new thing for me. I am going to get into this dehydration

thing.

I ordered a Saladacco Spiral Slicer, and a Stainless-Steel Mandoline Slicer the

other day. I am really excited to try both. I am going to try to do more raw

foods.

Sheryl

Wanita Sears <wanitawa@...> wrote:

Have a 9 shelf Harvest Maid, next step down from Excalibur that I've had for

at least 12 years.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

Heidi>> That is one reason people use salt or spices with jerky, or more

commonly nowadays, nitrates. However, I soak mine in spicy kefir ... so I KNOW

what is growing on it (this also makes the jerky more tender and gives it a

wonderful flavor). I start at 135 and turn it down to 115 after it gets dry on

the surface. This is not high enough to kill bacteria.

Sheryl>I remember the salt and spice thing now. So nitrates are a drying agent?

Heidi>>I HAVE heard stories of people getting very sick from homemade jerky,

which has made me cautious. However, my logic is that kefir has been used to

kill e-coli on meat, and that plus salt and spices should cause the meat to

ferment rather than spoil. Adding lactobacilli to meat and letting it ferment is

basically how you make pepperoni. If the meat is salted too, the lactobacilli

will likely crowd out any baddies.

Sheryl>Your kidding. . .I had now idea how they made pepperoni.

Heidi>>Also they have done studies on homemade jerky, and dipping the raw meat

in vinegar is enough to kill " baddies " on the surface. Marinating it is even

better. The jerky writup I have in the " files " section has a link to the study,

and my methodology. You should study the issue yourself and come to your own

conclusions though -- I'm no expert.

Sheryl> Well you could have fooled me you are very knowledgable. The vinegar

thing makes sense too.

Heidi>> No .. by the time I bought all the extras it was no longer " cheap " ;--)

> Sheryl> I know what you mean. . It is like a new hobby. The item you want to

make costs more to make it than if you bought it at the store already made. But

the pleasure is in creating it. That is what I tell myself to justify.

Heidi>> It was $59, and I spent another $100 or so buying extras ... I don't

know what is better about the more expensive ones, I bought it on impulse.

Sheryl> Oh my gosh sounds like me. I do that too.

Sheryl Illustrations

http://dovedesignsrus.com

[Guest guest]

Sheryl,

Been a Mom for 30 years. :-) Got dehydrator in my setting up a homestead

days for jerky making mostly. Use it for that, yogurt a lot over last year

and herbs. Have lots of good intentions just like most others but days need

to be 1 1/2 times longer with still the proper amount to sleep left. Never

have dried much from garden as freezer is handier. Youngest daughter told me

the other day a friend commented he thought it was cool with all the

appliances we have. Said she told him it was because everything I make is

from scratch so I need them.

> You have been dehydrating food for 12 years! I always thought I was

pretty good with cooking and healthy things. . .But you guys! Whew!

Wanita