Today it just dawned on me I can save money purchasing vegetables in season or on sale and dehydrating them. Later I can re-hydrate the vegetables and they'll be fresh as new. Another benefit to dehydrating food is they take up much less space to store and are not as heavy.
Here are four video's I found very helpful to learn more about dehydrating foods. Topics covered are how to prepare fruits and vegetables, when to blanch, what to dehydrate, how to store, etc. There are several other videos in the series which you also may find helpful.
Another reason to have food on hand occurred to me this week. A pipeline in Alabama burst and all gas stations in our town ran out of fuel. If we have food and supplies on hand during an emergency we won't have to go to the store as often. The third video has a few political comments but it doesn't hurt to listen to another point of view. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
Living in an area where it's not uncommon to lose power we always keep extra supplies on hand, particularly for the animals.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a dehydrator. Something more to consider!
Hi Suzi, thanks, I am amazed at all that can be dehydrated at how long the food can last on the shelf, and the fact that it takes up much less room to store. Of course there is the initial cost of the vacuum machine and the dehydrator and containers to store stuff but after that it's less plus fresh food is so much better than processed.
ReplyDeleteLinda, since I purchased those dehydrated Okra at CM and read their label, I feel more at ease with dehydrated foods. These used no preservatives or additives of any kind.
ReplyDeleteHi Rian, thanks, I am going to try to make spicy okra dehydrated snacks today, will post about them later. some dehydrated foods have sulfur in them to keep the color I think but in the video she suggests using lemon juice, I will see how that works.
DeleteThat's true, Linda, and it's one of the reasons I used to avoid dried foods. I'm allergic to sulfur. But I've learned that all dried foods don't use it.
DeleteHi Rian, thanks, I am making dried spicy okra right now, will post about how it turns out.
DeleteIt is a wonderful way to use up produce during a glut too.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, thanks, yes if you have a garden you know that zucchini and squash are always over abundant.
DeleteIt's a great idea! I have a friend who dehydrates his abundance of peppers and also makes his own chile powder (and generously gives me some). I'm not sure that I pesonally would do it, I love really fresh food, but I'm interested how it works out for you. It's certainly a great way to preserve the summer harvest!
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