Dehydrating Vegetables: Methods & Benefits
Dehydrating Vegetables: Methods & Benefits
Some fruits and vegetables suitable for drying include apples, pears, peaches, plums,
apricots, bananas, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, celery, corn, green beans,
potatoes, and tomatoes. Fruits can also be dried in the similar manners
Dehydrated fruit is great for snacking on during the day, or adding to breakfasts like oatmeal
and quinoa porridge.
Fruit can either be sliced thin (apples, bananas, strawberries, kiwi), cut into small pieces
(pineapple, apples), left whole (raspberries, blueberries), or pureed and dried.
You can safely dehydrate and or pickle anything. In many ways it is actually safer to
preserve your food before eating it, than to not do so at all. Here is a helpful acronym that I
use to teach people about dehydrating food.
Air - Aerobic bacteria are bad for food. Also, air alone will cause food to break down.
Time - Time does not heal all wounds. Eventually, all things will decay no matter how well
they are preserved.
These are the four horsemen of the food dehydration apocalypse. Together they spell
M.A.T.H.
If you do not avoid M.A.T.H. your food will spoil quickly. If you avoid M.A.T.H., then you can
have shelf stable food for many months.
This is why we usually dehydrate food and put it in an airtight container with oxygen
absorbers. We then store the food in a cold dark location.
If you wish to pickle your food, it doesn’t need to be dehydrated beforehand and M.A.T.H. is
less of a problem for you.
Pickling has two meanings, but if we call it preserving we get many more meanings:
A food is cooked enough to kill bacteria and is stuffed into sugar and concentrated down to
where there is not enough moisture for bacteria to grow. Bees do it by making honey. We
typically use this method to create jams to preserve fruit.
A food is cooked enough to kill bacteria and is stuffed into fat. The fat hardens and prevents
oxygen or bacteria from getting to the food so that it cannot grow. The French do this with a
food called Confit. We typically use this method to preserve meat.
A food is cooked enough to kill bacteria and is stuffed into vinegar. The vinegar is a bath of
acid that prevents bacteria from growing and keeps vegetables crisp. This is the definition
most associated with pickled vegetables. We typically use this method to preserve all
manner of beans, vegetables and savory fruits.
A food is NOT cooked at all to kill bacteria and is stuffed into brine (salt and water). The
brine solution allows beneficial anaerobic bacteria to grow. They create the acid that
prevents bad bacteria from growing. The food changes from solid to mush, sooner or later,
depending upon how long and how warm the fermentation is. It is useable as condiment,
salad, sauce, syrup, paste etc. This method is called Lactic Acid Bacteria fermented food. It
can be done with meat, fruit, vegetable, anything. The name doesn’t exactly roll off the
tongue, so we just call it Crugg in our family.
Although number 4 seems like the least sanitary way to preserve food, it is considered safer
than 1–3 because they can succumb to Clostridium Botulinum much more readily. Number 4
uses living bacterial cultures that are good for us, to fight off bacterial cultures that are not
good for us.
Why do my vegetables always turn out chewy and not crunchy when I use my dehydrator?
I don’t know how relevant this is for vegetables, but when I make apple chips in the
dehydrator, sugar makes all the difference as far a texture is concerned. If I put plain apple
slices in the dehydrator that have nothing on them, they come out chewy and rubbery. But if I
coat them with cinnamon sugar, they come out crunchy. The sugar completely changes the
texture. To be clear, I’m talking about regular white table sugar. For the apples, I mix it with
cinnamon.
Right now, it's scope in B2C market is thin, although B2B possiblity are great. There are a lot
of food processing industries that would happily buy your product.
Do reach out to the manufacturers/ traders/ suppliers, who uses these value add basis the
demand-supply.
Best is also to reach out to any of the APEDA offices in your area/ region who can guide you
accordingly and share you the plan on how to go about it.
Note: I am not answering marketing part here, only explaining export part.
Once you are done with these, here the export process starts:
1) Choose your container in which your product will be shipped, there are different types of
container with temp. control as well. so choose normal or temp controlled.
2) Size of container - 20ft and 40ft. You can stuff max. 25MT in 20ft and 27.6Mt in 40ft.
3) choose your forwarder or agent which will do all shipment booking, customs clearance at
Indian port.
4) pack and stuff it in either truck and by road to nearest port or get the container to your
factory and stuff their. pls note excise permission is needed if your stuffing at factory.
5) remember there is no duty involved when you are exporting may it be any product. So you
dont have to charge excise or VAT or this material.
6) once your truck on container reaches port, your agent will do customs process and then
on boarding process will start as per vessel schedule.
7) after Sailing date you will receive Bill of Lading, which is the main document of this entire
order. without B/L no-one at destination can clear and take out your goods from port.
9) If you wish to deliver cargo till customer’s factory, then there are agents available in India
who can do so.
1. Broccoli: Broccoli is a vegetable with very high nutritional value that contains almost all of
the nutrients needed by our body to survive and is known as the "King of Vegetables".
Broccoli is rich in isothiocyanide and vitamin C. Isothiocyanide and vitamin C are strong
antioxidants that can scavenge free radicals in the body, which can ensure our health and
delay the aging process.
Broccoli contains almost most of the nutrients needed by the human body, and its nutrients
are not only high in content, but also very comprehensive.
Broccoli mainly includes protein, carbohydrates, fat, dietary fiber, carotene, vitamin A,
vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, B vitamins and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron,
potassium, zinc, and manganese.
100 grams of broccoli contains 3.5 grams to 4.5 grams of protein, which is 3 times that of
cauliflower and 4 times that of tomato.
100 grams of broccoli contains nearly 90 mg of vitamin C, much higher than most
vegetables.
The new survey found that those who ate broccoli at least once a week had about a 30
percent lower risk of cancer compared with those who didn't eat broccoli.
Broccoli is one of the foods with the most flavonoids, which are biologically active
polyphenols.
2. White radish: White radish is rich in vitamin C and trace element zinc, which helps
strengthen the body's immune function and improve disease resistance.
White radish contains lignin, which can increase the vitality of macrophages and swallow
cancer cells. In addition, white radish contains a variety of enzymes, which can decompose
carcinogenic nitrite and have anti-cancer effects.
3. Chinese cabbage: Chinese cabbage is rich in vitamins and riboflavin. Its vitamin c and
riboflavin are 5 times and 4 times higher than apples and pears respectively.
Chinese cabbage also contains multiple vitamins, protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus and
other minerals as well as a lot of crude fiber, which is a very healthy vegetable.
What are the best vegetables to dehydrate for snacks and long term preservation, I.e
time length, taste, nutrition value?
Great idea !!! I’ve yet to do it, so I’ve reasrarched a little for you. Here’s what I found.
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g-term-preservation-I-e-time-length-taste-nutrition-value/answer/Pamela-Reed-52?ch=
10&oid=127866055&share=ac45aca9&srid=0sPAX&target_type=answer
(Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any product, brand, or links mentioned below.)
Dehydrating Vegetables
Your mama wasn’t kidding when she said, “Eat your vegetables.”
Dehydrating vegetables will make your trail meals super nutritious and colorful. A medley of
red, yellow, orange and green bell peppers in Mexican Beef & Rice makes it festivo
delicioso.
Include one or several vegetables in each meal. Tuna Mac Casserole tastes just as good
with a medley of corn, carrots, peas and green beans as it does with just peas or diced
tomatoes and mushrooms.
There is no need to cook a vegetable before drying if it is one that you would eat raw in a
salad such as pepper, tomato, mushroom or onion. All you have to do is clean, cut uniformly
and spread in a single layer on dehydrator trays. You can go either way with carrots, but
steaming them will turn them a nice dark orange when dried.
A vegetable that you would normally cook before eating such as corn, peas, broccoli and
green beans will usually rehydrate better if you steam them for eight minutes before drying,
but it is not always necessary. It depends on how you will cook them on the trail.
It is not necessary to steam the vegetable before drying if included in meals where you bring
it to a boil for one minute and let it sit insulated in the pot for ten minutes. (Exception is corn)
If heating over candles as a side item where the temperature doesn’t reach a boil, steam for
eight minutes before drying. I always warm up a side of vegetables in a fry pan lid with the
main meal.
Above: Dehydrating Vegetables for Sides. Each 3 x 5 inch bag holds 1/2 cup which I heat
and rehydrate to go with the main meal. L to R: Broccoli & Onions with Black-eyed Peas,
Corn, Peas, Ratatouille.
If rehydrating in a freezer bag by adding boiled water to the bag, steaming the vegetables for
eight minutes before drying will give you more tender vegetables than if dried raw.
Steaming corn for eight minutes before drying makes it more digestible in trail meals. Steam
frozen mixed vegetables if they include corn. Avoid drying mixed vegetables with lima beans
because they rehydrate poorly.
The drying times listed below are based on my experiences using an Excalibur Food
Dehydrator. Dehydrating vegetables may take more or less time with other dehydrators
because designs and wattage differ by manufacturer.
Humidity also affects drying times so your results may differ from mine depending on the
time of year or where you live.
Let's Get Started Dehydrating Vegetables
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Peppers
Onions
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Carrots
Green Beans
Broccoli & Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Spinach
Frozen Vegetables
Canned Beets
Sauerkraut
Beans
Dehydrating Potatoes
Dehydrated sweet or white potatoes are a little too hard to snack on. They are chewy when
rehydrated in meals but soften with longer simmer times or in soup that cooks for a while.
Peel potatoes (optional) and cut longwise into halves for small potatoes or quarters for large
potatoes. Slice crosswise ⅛ of an inch thick like scalloped potatoes or dice into ⅜inch cubes.
Steam or boil for ten minutes. Allow to cool and place on dehydrator tray in single layer.
Apply salt if desired. Dry at 125° for six to eight hours. Potatoes will be hard when dry.
Enhanced flavor variation: After cooking, soak sliced potatoes in balsamic vinegar and salt
for ten minutes before drying.
See Dehydrating Potatoes into Bark for instructions on how to turn mashed potatoes into
potato bark.
Dehydrating Tomatoes
Wash tomatoes to remove pesticides. Cut out the hard spot where the tomato was attached
to the stem. There is no need to remove the seeds since the gel-like substance around the
seeds has health benefits.
Slice tomatoes four or five times across and then dice the slices into pieces. Shoot for about
a ½ inch square, but you will have plenty of variance from the target size.
Spread out in a single layer on dehydrator trays covered with non-stick sheets. Include the
juices to maximize the nutritional value. Shake a little salt on the tomatoes if desired.
Dehydrate tomatoes at 135° for approximately eight to ten hours until dry and leathery.
Dried tomatoes are bendable, not brittle. You can start out at 145° for the first two hours to
speed things up. Stirring the tomatoes every few hours helps to dry them evenly and will
shorten the drying time.
Cherry tomatoes can be cut into ⅛ inch thick slices using a sharp knife. Dehydrate the same
as diced tomatoes. Since sliced cherry tomatoes maintain a fairly uniform size and don’t drip
too much after the initial cut, you can dry them faster without a non-stick sheet. However,
tomatoes may stick to some dehydrator trays so you may elect to use a non-stick sheet.
You can also quarter cherry tomatoes and dry with the skin side down, but be careful that the
inside is fully dried before storing.
Dehydrating Peppers
Take advantage of the color possibilities of peppers to brighten your meals. Wash and cut
peppers into ½” pieces, trimming away the white fleshy part on the inside.
Place cut peppers on dehydrator tray in single layer with the skin side down and dehydrate
at 125° for approximately six to eight hours.
Jalapeño Peppers
Wash peppers and cut into rings crosswise. The fleshy inside part and seeds can be
removed or included for more heat. Dry in a single later at 125° for approximately six hours.
Use with caution as the heat concentrates in the dried pepper. Use two to three slices per
serving in meals where you want some heat.
Dehydrating Onions
Peel off outer layer and dice onions into pieces about a ½ inch long. Separate any layers
stuck together and spread out in a single layer on dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 145° for
two hours. Reduce to 135° for six to eight more hours or until pliable. Move the onions
around every couple of hours to speed up drying.
Onions may stick to trays when drying. Using non-stick sheets or parchment paper may help
if you have this problem with your dehydrator, but try to dry onions directly on the mesh
trays. Onions smell pretty strong when drying, so you might want to open a window.
Dehydrating Mushrooms
Baby bella or small white mushrooms are good sizes to dry. Wash the dirt off in cold water,
cut off the ends if hard or brown, and cut mushrooms into ⅛ inch thick slices.
Place on the dehydrator tray in a single layer and dehydrate at 125° for six to eight hours
until dry and leathery.
Mushrooms absorb flavors well. To make savory mushrooms, heat 1 cup of water with a ½
cube of beef or vegetable bouillon in a pan. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Add
one pound of sliced mushrooms to the broth and stir around for a few minutes. Savory
mushrooms take about an hour longer to dry than uncooked mushrooms.
Dehydrating Zucchini
Wash zucchini and remove any dark spots on the skin. It is not necessary to peel zucchini
before drying. Zucchini is tasty in a meal combined with tomatoes, mushrooms and onions.
For use in meals, cut zucchini into ⅛ inch thick slices and then cut the slices into quarters.
Skip the quartering if drying zucchini into chips for snacking. Dehydrate at 135° for
approximately eight hours.
Dehydrating Carrots
Dry carrots raw or steam them for eight minutes. Carrots shrink a lot when dried, so use
large carrots instead of baby carrots if you don’t want tiny carrot bits in your meals. Steamed
carrots shrink more than raw carrots and will turn a dark orange. Peel and cut into ⅛ inch
thick slices. If a carrot has a narrow or tapered end, that part can be shaved with a peeler or
grater instead of slicing it. Dehydrate at 125° for approximately six to ten hours or until
leathery.
Another way to slice carrots, zucchini and yellow squash before drying is to use a julienne
slicer. Even potatoes can be sliced this way. With the Borner model shown above you can
make julienne cuts in two sizes. I use the smaller size for dehydrating. This is my preferred
method now for slicing zucchini for drying. You can also toast the zucchini lightly under the
broiler in your oven for a few minutes to give them a nice roasted flavor.
Pick or purchase green beans that are not too fat and fibrous. Wash and dry green beans.
Cut off the ends and cut beans into ½ inch to 1 inch lengths. Steaming for eight minutes
before drying improves tenderness of the beans on the trail if you cook over candles or in a
freezer bag. Spread in a single layer on dehydrator tray and dry at 125° for approximately
eight hours. Dried green beans will be hard. If drying frozen green beans, you will find that
French-cut green beans rehydrate faster and are less chewy in a meal than regular-cut
green beans.
Soak broccoli for ten minutes in salt water and rinse to remove any insect eggs and grit. Cut
the florets into smaller ½” bouquets. The stalk may also be dried. Cut half of an inch off the
bottom and peel and discard the outer layer of the stalk. Cut the stalk crosswise into three
sections about an inch to an inch and a half long. Turn each section on its end and cut down
into four or five rows. Rotate a quarter turn and repeat so you end up with rectangular strips.
Steam the broccoli for eight minutes to break down the fibrous walls of the stems and to
bring out the dark green color of the florets. Place some parchment paper or a non-stick
sheet on the bottom tray to catch any dried pieces of the florets that may fall through.
Dehydrate at 125° for approximately eight hours. Dehydrated broccoli and cauliflower will be
brittle when done.
Dehydrating Cucumbers
Dried cucumber chips are fair for snacking. If cucumbers have a thick waxy coating, peel first
and then cut into ⅛ inch thick slices. If the cucumbers have large seeds, consider cutting the
cucumbers in half longwise, scraping out the seeds, and then slicing the halves. Arrange in a
single layer and sprinkle with salt if desired. Dehydrate at 135° for approximately eight hours
if you want them crispy like a chip or at 125° for six hours if you want them chewy.
Dehydrating Spinach
Dried spinach tastes great in pasta or rice meals with tomato or cheddar cheese sauce. It
combines well with beans and lends a nice flavor to soups and scrambled eggs. Choose
fresh spinach without any dark mushy spots. Wash leaves and pat dry with paper towels.
There is no need to trim the stems.
Spinach leaves take up a lot of space on the dehydrator tray, so start off with the spinach
doubled up in two layers. Dehydrate at 125° for approximately four hours. After two hours
the leaves will have shrunk enough to spread them out in a single layer. Place a mesh sheet
over the spinach leaves when they are half dry because they may start blowing around.
Frozen vegetables are available year round and save time in the kitchen because they
require little or no trimming before drying. Frozen mixed vegetables, corn, peas, French-cut
green beans and okra all dry well.
Thaw and spread in a single layer on dehydrator tray and dry at 125° for approximately six to
eight hours. Pre-cook only if your trail cooking method doesn’t maintain a boil for at least a
minute, although corn is always better if you pre-cook it.
When drying mixed vegetables, snap the green beans in half so they finish drying at the
same time as the carrots, corn and peas.
Lima beans remain hard when rehydrated in meals, so use mixed vegetables without them.
French-cut green beans are less chewy in meals than regular cut green beans.
Peas shrink a lot when dried, so dry larger peas, not the petite size.
Dehydrating Vegetables - Canned Beets
Canned vegetables are generally soft from sitting in salted water. You will get better results
and retain more nutrients dehydrating vegetables that are fresh or frozen.
I make an exception for beets. Beets are the one root vegetable that is easier to dry from the
can than fresh since it takes a long time to cook fresh beets. Of course, if you have the time,
go for the fresh beets.
Choose sliced beets for even drying. Cut any large slices into halves or quarters so that all
slices are about the same size. Spread in a single layer on dehydrator trays and dry at 135°
for eight to ten hours.
Dehydrating Sauerkraut
Dried sauerkraut adds a nice little zing to backpacking meals and goes well with ramen
noodles. It can even be snacked on dry. Drain liquid and spread out on dehydrator tray. Dry
at 125° for approximately four to six hours until crispy. Stir once or twice.
Dehydrating Beans
Beans are actually legumes, but I'm tacking them on here with the vegetables.
Drying canned beans saves time compared to cooking the beans yourself and produces
beans that rehydrate well in meals. Home cooked dried beans stay hard and don’t rehydrate
as well as canned beans. The pressure cooking method used to cook canned beans makes
them rehydrate better.
Drain beans and place directly on dehydrator tray. Consider rinsing first if the liquid seems
syrupy. Dehydrate at 125° for six to eight hours. Dried canned beans usually split open. This
helps with rehydration.
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OPOD LIST FOR FOOD PROCESSING
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