I forgot to mention that my wife dehydrates zucchini and powders them. She adds spices and herbs and uses it as a thickener in some dishes since she cannot eat grains.
That's a good idea. I sometimes use dehydrated potatoes as a thickener because they add flavor, rather than making things taste like flour.
I dehydrated a package of kiwi yesterday. I've done these before, except this time I left the skin on and I used my mandoline to slice them rather than a knife. This was a questionable combination. The mandoline had a hard time slicing through the thick peel cleanly, especially at the soft spots. Next time I'll either peel them before using the mandoline or I'll go back to the knife. Somewhere I read a tip to rub syrup on them. So I put the kiwi in the dehydrator long enough for the surface moisture to dry off, got a small bowl of real syrup, dipped my finger in it, applied just the thinnest of layers, then let the kiwi (and the syrup) finish drying. It's pretty good. I've probably before mentioned that I've dehydrated flavored yogurt. You drop spoonfuls onto Teflon sheets covering the racks and just shove them in the dehydrator . It's about the simplest thing you can do. Today I picked up some key lime flavored yogurt and have the blobs drying out now. Random sampling says that this flavor is a definite winner. I'll have to pick more up.
Wife came up with something new today that she learned form someone she corresponds with online--herb salts. She started with basil but apparently you can do it with almost any herb. She put a bunch of fresh basil in the food processor for just a few pulses, then added kosher salt and blended. She then put the mixture on a dehydrator sheet and dried it until it was dry to the touch and bottled. She plans to use it as a rub. I think sage might be even better, but some, like oregano, could get a bit strong if you aren't careful
That's a great idea! I've used smoked sea salts (in grinder bottles) for some time and really like the flavors they impart. I can imagine how good rosemary salt-rubbed chops would be.
My dryer book says to dip / soak KF ..prior to drying think it’s a honey / water mixture. If KF are resealable in price ( 90 cents each right now) I will throw some in the dipping mixture when dipping my apricots …do the same with sliced apple @John Brunner
My book says the same thing. Honey & water is one of the pre-treatment methods for fruits meant to preserve color, nutrients and texture. I've mentioned before that my Excalibur guide is not very well-written. It gives specific instructions for each type of dip (sodium bisulphite, ascorbic acid, fruit juice, honey & water.) The honey instructions just say to drain thoroughly before dehydrating. But immediately following the dip instruction section, it says to rinse & dry before dehydrating. I gotta think you don't do that with the honey. I've used sodium bisulphite, ascorbic acid, and fruit juice dips, but have not tried the honey yet. My guide says that most health food stores use it (although I would think that the fruit juice dips would be just as natural.) I bought a container of kiwi for $4.39 USD. I believe it had 8 kiwi in it. I don't like buying packages like that...I prefer to pick each individual fruit. There were not very flavorful. But few places sell kiwi in the bulk bin anymore.
You could try growing your own kiwi, @John Brunner. Just plant them where they won't cause mischief and don't expect them to be as large as the commercial ones.
Interesting. I have a marinating container for my vacuum sealer machine, but all the research I've seen says it really does nothing for meats...that there really are no "pores" to open to let in the marinade. But no one ever said anything about cucumbers. That's pretty slick.
What do you mean "where they won't cause mischief," Don? Do they creep? I would never have thought of growing those outside of tropical conditions.