Sunday, September 18, 2011

Dehydrate Vegetables

By Marjorie J McDonald


Pick your produce at the pinnacle and work quickly to avoid spoilage and to assist in preserving the color and taste.

Fix your vegetables as if you were going to serve them. Wash well, trim, cut, chop or cut. Use your favorite food dehydrator recipes.

Tips:

1. Process foods as just after you harvest your crop as you can.

2. Be sure not to add fresh veggies to a partially dried load.

3. Drying times will vary primarily based on the thickness of slices, the amount of water in the food, temperature, humidity and altitude. Start a recipe book to keep track of and record your own drying times for various foods.

4. When stored the correct way, dehydrated foods are usually good for a year.

5. Ascorbic acid can be acquired from food shop and drug stores, and is available in powder and tablet form.

Dehydrating vegetables (whether fresh from the garden, the farmer's market, or even just from the grocery store at in-season costs) for use in the off-season is one of the healthiest ways of protecting veggies. Dehydrating your vegetables preserves them with a nutritive content that far excels that of canned vegetables. Additionally, the method of dehydrating your vegetables is often less expensive than freezing, as you do not use electricity in the long-term storage of your items.

Fast Facts...

Successful drying depends on heat, air dryness and air flow.

Select vegetables to be dried at peak flavor and quality.

Blanch vegetables before drying to stop enzyme action and enhance eradication of microbes.

Package dried foods in firmly sealed containers and store in a cool, dry place.

Drying is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Drying preserves foods by removing enough moisture from food to stop decay and spoilage. Water content of correctly dried food varies from 5 to 25 percent dependent on the food.

Successful drying depends on:

enough heat to draw out moisture, without cooking the food;

dry air to take in the released moisture; and

satisfactory air movement to carry off the moisture.

When drying foods, the key's to remove moisture as swiftly as possible at a temperature that does not seriously affect the flavor, texture and color of the food. If the temperature is too low at the start, microorganisms may survive and even grow before the food is adequately dried. If the temperature is too high and the humidity too low, the food may get tougher on the surface. This makes it more troublesome for moisture to escape and the food doesn't dry properly.

Picking Veggies

Select your vegetables at peak flavour and eating quality. This usually is just as they reach maturity. Sweet corn and green peas , however , should be slightly before fully ripe so they keep their sweet flavor before their sugars change to starch.




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