Posted: 10/23/2011 2:22:22 PM EDT
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All I've dried is meat. Looking into drying fruits and veggies to be vacuum sealed for long term storage.
Advise? |
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James,
I think its easier to dry fruit than jerky, but we have had success with both. We have done apples, bananas, pears, cherry tomatoes and fruit leather. For fruit we use a cheap mandolin style slicer that works really well to make consistent sized slices so that when one slice is done it's a pretty good chance that all of them are. For fruit that will brown quickly, we dredge the slices through full strength lemon juice that keeps the color correct and adds a nice bit of tartness to the fruit which can come out almost too sweet without it. The tomatoes were sprinkled with a little Italian type seasoning. Other than that, just dry at a medium temp and monitor the amount of dehydration and stop when the there is still just a little give to the fruit. We have one of the less expensive American Harvest dehydrators but have been really happy with our results so far... 
TriumphRider |
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Quoted:
chamber sealers are the best! where do you buy your bags from? a have a chinese one that is a little larger i got for $750. http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/vacuum_seal_bags_food_vac_plastic_bag_saver_pouch.aspx |
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I'm in the same boat and will go with an Excaliber when the time comes. In the mean time I've been soaking up some knowledge in a couple places.
here at ar15.com and here The woman in the second site has a ton of experience and is more than willing to share it through her numerous videos. She also has a bunch of videos on youtube and goes by the name dehydratetostore. ETA: It looks like a quality meat slicer will aid with dehydrating fruits and vegetables if you have one handy. |