food prepping

[JayJay]

Humm, interesting. Not that it would ever help me any, lol.. I can't fit a pallet full of food in here, don't have nearly that sort of money and wouldn't want anyone to know I had that much food. So I think I'll just keep growing or buying whatever is on sale and dehydrating it myself but it is interesting to know that there are places out there that will have that much food.

egg substitute: 1 tbsp gelatin + 3 tbsp cold water, then 2 tbsp hot water= 1 egg

buttermilk: 1 cup water; 1/3 cup dry milk; 1 tbsp vinegar; let stand 5 minutes
(learned this AFTER ordering powdered eggs and buttermilk)

[JayJay]

egg substitute: 1 tbsp gelatin + 3 tbsp cold water, then 2 tbsp hot water= 1 egg

buttermilk: 1 cup water; 1/3 cup dry milk; 1 tbsp vinegar; let stand 5 minutes
(learned this AFTER ordering powdered eggs and buttermilk)

[southern michigan]

Humm, interesting. Not that it would ever help me any, lol.. I can't fit a pallet full of food in here, don't have nearly that sort of money and wouldn't want anyone to know I had that much food. So I think I'll just keep growing or buying whatever is on sale and dehydrating it myself but it is interesting to know that there are places out there that will have that much food.

I'm with you on this one becky3086. With a good dehydrator a garden and keeping an eye out for produce and such being sold for cheap you can put away a lot of dehydrated food for fairly cheap.

[miked2345]

Has anyone done much with home size dehydrators? I mean, can you get results good enough for long term storage? Are you able to get enough moisture out of the food to prevent it from going bad?

[610Alpha]

Has anyone done much with home size dehydrators? I mean, can you get results good enough for long term storage? Are you able to get enough moisture out of the food to prevent it from going bad?

LD3 has talked about this several times, the home dehydrators will make food kind of rubbery but the commercial food comes out like a chip. So the answer is No the home dehydrators will not get you the results for long term storage. If you want one for that purpose look up NSF Food Dehydrator, they are about $3-$4K.

[southern michigan]

Has anyone done much with home size dehydrators? I mean, can you get results good enough for long term storage? Are you able to get enough moisture out of the food to prevent it from going bad?

I've had terrific luck with my dehydrator. I'ts an "Excalibur 3900". You can't really over dehydrate, but you want to get at least 95% of moisture out before putting up. The best way to tell is to dehydrate until brittle, then put into a ziplock for a few days. Then if there isn't anything sticking together or feels leathery it is ready to be vac sealed into a commercial (3mil or thicker) vac seal bag with the right size oxygen absorber. Once I do this i then put the vac seal bag into a mylar bag, label it well and then into a bucket or tote. Depending on what you are dehydrating, most vegetables and fruits will last 20 years or longer.

[BeckyinTX]

LD3 has talked about this several times, the home dehydrators will make food kind of rubbery but the commercial food comes out like a chip. So the answer is No the home dehydrators will not get you the results for long term storage. If you want one for that purpose look up NSF Food Dehydrator, they are about $3-$4K.

:confused: Don't mean to step on any toes but that hasn't been my experience. I've been drying food to a crisp for years in my Nesco American Harvest FD61 dehydrator, currently $65 at Amazon. The tomatoes are still crisp & taste great after 1.5 years, the longest amount of time it's taken us to use them up. I simply store my dried goods in recycled glass jars, no O2 absorbers or anything. Been working for me for years. I'm sure the $4K models will do it faster, but for that kind of money I think I'll just putter along. :D

[610Alpha]

no worries not stepping on any toes :) we are all learning I was merely sharing what I had heard from LD3. Here is what I found:

03-31-2011 08:22 AM 1Admin Administrator Join Date: Jul 2010

Jerky I wouldn't mess with for LTS. Their is a difference between 'dried' fruit, aka home dried and commercially dehydrated fruit. You'd have to see a couple examples to really get it. Don't know if it was the humidity or what, but our home dried fruits never lasted more than maybe six months.

Apples are a good example. Home dried are usually slightly leathery. Commercially dehydrated are crisp and usually snap similar to a potato chip. The latter are significantly drier than the former.

That extra amount of moisture might not be a major problem over the short term, but could mean the difference between reap and ruin over the long term.

Here is the thread i found this on: https://www.survivalandpreparednessf...3461#post13461 post number 7

Maybe in texas your dehydrator works better...dunno. Worst case is that a person buys one and it doesn't make it as dry as the store bought dehydrated food. Simple test, dehydrate a couple banana's and compare that to store bought dehydrated banana's.

[1Admin]

Also, let's remember that "long term storage" is not a year and a half. 5-10 years sure, less than 2 years, no.

People ask about packing the "dehydrated" fruit they buy in the little baggies at walmart. I call that stuff simply "dried" because having dealt with true dehydrated fruits their IS a substantial difference. Commercially dehydrated fruit is not in the least bit leathery. Every 100 lb or 50 lb. box with bag inside of apple slices we packed when we ran the commercial cannery was CRISP, not in the least bit leathery.

I have NO DOUBT that those commercially dehydrated products will store for well over a decade, cause we have used them at home well past a decade.

A slimy leathery product in a little six ounce package from walmart, I do DOUBT GREATLY.

Also, let's remember that not everyone lives in an area with extremely low humidity. In those areas your home dried stuff may last longer, without a doubt. However in high humidity environments like we live in, we were lucky to get more than six months out of home dried products if we got that.

Most people are familiar with home dried fruits and the little six ounce baggies of leathery slimy "dried" fruit from walmart. My point was and remains- THAT IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANIMAL from commercially dehydrated long term food storage fruits.

[BeckyinTX]

I live in east TX, where the humidity level is frequently close to 100%, less than ideal drying conditions to say the least. :( It's my understanding that dried bananas require the use of oil to make them crisp. The ones you buy in the store are fried & made from green bananas. We dry bananas to keep them from ruining & to take advantage of clearance sales of produce so we always use very ripe bananas. I simply peel, slice, dip in orange juice, & dry. We like them leathery, eat them quickly, (usually within a week), & don't want to add the extra calories/fat by adding oil. It would be an interesting experiment, though. :)

I dry Granny Smith apples, strawberries, & tomatoes to a crisp frequently & have for years. I peel then dip the apples in OJ, but do not peel or treat strawberries or tomatoes; they are simply sliced thin & dried. I dunno how long the apples or strawberries will stay crisp, my crew eats them too fast, but the tomatoes will stay crisp for 1.5years (at least) simply stored in a recycled glass jar.

I dry all types of peppers, onions, herbs, & corn. My corn grinds just fine. My onions are crisp enough that I turn sliced into diced after their dried. My herbs can easily be powdered if I wanted to. We dry food to preserve it between growing seasons with some extra just in case, for convience, & nutrition. We regularly eat what we dry & dry what we eat. Lots of folks have the same results, I'd never heard there was a question about it until this.

IMHO, $3-4K is A LOT of $$ to shell out for something when a $65 item will do the job.

[fallout boy]

hes talking long term storage youre talking a few month thats the diference

[BeckyinTX]

Apparently I did step on toes. I guess "potato chip crisp" is different depending on how much you pay for your dehydrator. Doesn't make sense to me but ...

[protus]

Apparently I did step on toes. I guess "potato chip crisp" is different depending on how much you pay for your dehydrator. Doesn't make sense to me but ...

I dont think dehydrator cost has much to do with the replys. Simply put. Self dehydrating for LTS will be touch and go unless you put the extreme effort and time into it.
Can a 45$ american harvest work. Sure, but y ou may have to run it twice as long to get the desired moisture levels suitable for LTS.

For shortterm storage, most self dehydrated stuff will last 3 months to a year. If after the dehydration process it is stored correctly. I have had stuff be g2g at the 1 year mark. At the 2 yr mark. Not so much. I experimented with this the last few years with my cheapo american harvest. Can it be done. Yes. Is there better means.
Yes.

what folks have to remember and keep in mind.
3 weeks- not LT
3 months- not LT
3+ years= LT

many seem to confuse the two with food storage ( short term products vs long term stable products)

[monkeybird]

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09308.html

This article from the University of Colorado is excellent. It confirms what lowdown said about home dehydrators. It also discusses the nutritional loss of dehydrated foods.