Posted: 4/15/2015 12:11:39 PM EDT
| Hey all I am a newbie and I have a few questions about dehydrating food. I am in the process of making some homemade jerky and some DIY backpacking meals. My question is if I dehydrate all this properly and vacuum seal it how long do dehydrated foods last before they go bad? |
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Depends on the food, depends on the recipe. Get THIS BOOK It is one of those resource books that everyone should have. |
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Technically your talking about two different things.
True commercially dehydrated products have a lower moisture content that you can produce at home and their shelf life will be much higher. Example- the DEHYDRATED Apple slices we packed commercially back in the 90's in #10 cans were tight and crisp, you could pretty much snap them in your finger. We've eaten dehydrated apple slices from the late 80's that were fine 20 years later. The DRIED apple slices we make at home every year with the Excalibur dryers we use come out leathery- you can tell a difference. These DRIED apple slices are moist and soft within a year or so. So the true DEHYDRATED product will last much longer than anything you can produce at home. That comes from almost 30 years experience storing and packing food, not "research"- real life. |
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Quoted:
Technically your talking about two different things. True commercially dehydrated products have a lower moisture content that you can produce at home and their shelf life will be much higher. Example- the DEHYDRATED Apple slices we packed commercially back in the 90's in #10 cans were tight and crisp, you could pretty much snap them in your finger. We've eaten dehydrated apple slices from the late 80's that were fine 20 years later. The DRIED apple slices we make at home every year with the Excalibur dryers we use come out leathery- you can tell a difference. These DRIED apple slices are moist and soft within a year or so. So the true DEHYDRATED product will last much longer than anything you can produce at home. That comes from almost 30 years experience storing and packing food, not "research"- real life. Thanks Lowdown so basically it is a waste to try and reproduce commercially dried foods? What about freeze drying? I was looking for a way to supplement the rice and beans I have stored in Mylar bags without spending a whole lot on commercial foods. |
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Quoted:
Depends on the food, depends on the recipe. Get THIS BOOK It is one of those resource books that everyone should have. Thanks Rat Patrol I just ordered it. |
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Home dried stuff should be used within a year or so.
Commercially freeze dried products are different in terms of process, retained flavor and nutrition, rehydrate-ability and storage life. I've successfully dehydrated lots of things, many store bought items, that I've used for camping trips. Fruits, vegetables, cooked ground beef, eggs (use egg beaters if you are concerned with salmonella), canned refried beans, yogurt (leathers), etc. Some food s lend themselves to dehydrating better than others. This is one of the better books I've found. http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Food-Cooking-Backpacking-Paddling-ebook/dp/B000U8X1K8/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429120655&sr=1-14&keywords=food+dehydrating |
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TBS had a great thread about freeze drying food at home last fall.
Here is the thread |