Some Starting Points for a New Dehydrator
We were trading messages with friends on twitter last night when we got a simple request from Dallas (check her site out) who asked us for some ideas on where to start with a new dehydrator. I love questions like this – makes coming up with topics easier. 
You can get very complex with a dehydrator. Candied fruits, jerky, leathers and sheets of vegetables (like Kale) are all examples of the more complex options. While those things are all good, I find I love the simple things just as easy. Here’s a few ideas/themes on what I’d start with this time of year:
- Baseline. Dehydrate apple slices. Compare these to the commercial variety you’ve had and you’ll instantly see why you bought your dehydrator. A lot of commercially dried apples are done with chemicals and the flavor difference is awesome.
- Local. This time of year I would take whatever I can get – kale, leeks, onions, apples, and more.
- Savory. Onion slices and awesome – but they can stink up your house and leave a lingering flavor on your person for days if you are unlucky or do these in a central area of your home. I say this from personal experience.
- Powder. Beet powder. Dehydrate thin slices of beets and grind into a powder (5 pounds of beets make less than a cup of powder). The tiniest bit to top a squash soup, salad or garnish is pretty awesome.
- Unusual but useful. Celeriac – turn it into powder later for an awesome addition to every soup, stock, roast, dry rub, and more.
- Yummy. Pineapple slices are outstanding. This is not the same as the candied stuff you buy in bulk – it’s far better. I`m also told mango is stunning and that`s a project for the near future.
- For the puppy. Sweet potato slices for treats.
Any other time of year I would be heavily swayed by the seasons. Make sure you don`t miss thin slices of strawberry in the early summer (we`re still eating last years and have the full taste of fresh strawberry in the winter).
Comments
In Colorado we have a locally grown cataloupe that is, at least regionally, famous. Rocky Ford Cantaloupe is one of the sweetest and most flavorful produced anywhere. We dried slices last year and they did not last until the winter as we ate them all!
“Savory. Onion slices and awesome – but they can stink up your house and leave a lingering flavor on your person for days if you are unlucky or do these in a central area of your home. I say this from personal experience.”
Joel is a master of understatement. I don’t believe I ever laughed so hard at work as the day Joel came into the office after his onion dehydrating weekend.
Just try to picture Joel getting ready to go into a big meeting and having to submit to not only having his staff laughing hysterically (not at him….but with him) but applying a can of Febreeze to not only his office but Joel himself!
I can’t look at an onion or Febreeze without breaking out laughing. I have never been sure if the tears were from the laughing or the onions. Probably a combination of both!!
Ms. Shorty
Totally agree with Luther on the cantaloupe! Dehydrated watermelon is awesome as well. I cut mine into cubes instead of slices. It’s like eating candy!
Wow..a mention on your blog
Thanks for all of the suggestions and loved reading the comments – especially from Ms. Shorty. It gave my husband and I a good chuckle. I’ll skip the onions!! LOL
The dehydrated watermelon sounds really interesting! I’ll have try that one this summer!
Don’t skip the onions! Just put your dehydrator out on the porch or some like place when you’re doing them. Thanks to Joel we have yummy dried onions and an odor free house!
Wanna do some mushrooms for me? I haven’t got around to buying a dehydrator yet and my mushroom crop is a tad overwhelming at the moment. ( see here http://backyardfarmsto.blogspot.com/2011/02/mushroom-explosion.html)
I usually dry things in the oven with just the pilot light from the gas but not sure if that’s enough to dry shitakes. I recall you made some mushroom powder that you raved about and I’m thinking that might be a good idea at this point.
[...] can preserve beet roots by drying, freezing blanched or roasted beets, or by [...]