Since so many seem to dehydrate your own "MRE"s would you mind sharing your technique

[Sniper-T]

It'll never go back into the shape like a slice fresh from the pan... more like after it's chopped up with your fork to eat.

I re-hydrate two different ways, depending on time and what I have to do it.

If heat is no concern (ie at home, or over a camp fire)... I'll just dump the bag into a pot, add an equal amount of water, and set it simmering. It'll take about 20 minutes. you can add a little water as you go, if necessary.

If I'm cooking over a camp stove, and don't want to burn 20 minutes of fuel, I'll add the water directly to the bag (cold is fine). Zip it up, and shake the stuffing out of it. Then let it sit for about an hour. Then add it to the pot and simmer it for about 5 minutes.

[mollypup]

Lady, I love the Dehydrate to Store series. Like Molly, she's the one who convinced me to get the Excalibur.

Also, I have two of Mary Bell's books...Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook. This is THE book to have if you're going to get in to dehydrating. It's like an encyclopedia of dehydrating and I absolutely LOVE it. She covers every fruit and vegetable from A-Z and also covers jerkies, fruit leathers and a section on complete recipes for things like breads, cookies, cakes, main courses, salads and even pet treats. This is my Go-To everytime I put something in the dehydrator. The second book of hers I have is Food Drying With An Attitude. It's quite a bit newer than the other and has some nice pictures but is mostly a cookbook and I don't find the recipes all that interesting.

Just put that book on my Amazon wish list. Thanks!

[Taz Baby]

how do you dehydrate stuff like catchup and mustard and mayo? I know sniper was telling me somewhere that you can but I cant remember where it was. So since this is the dehydrating thread explain it to me please.
PICs please

[Sniper-T]

You would do the same as with any other liquid, or semi-liquid. spread it out on the plastic tray inserts, and hit go. When you're done, run it through the grinder or food processor, to make a powder.

After cooking a bird, I will boil the bones to make a stock, reduce it down for a good solid flavour, let it cool and skim any fat off.

Then add it to the trays, and dehydrate until dry. break it up, grind it, and I have my own poultry boullion...

turkey & broth: (used to make bullion)

[ladyhk13]

Ok, I had a post somewhere back in March I think about an experiment I was doing with fresh eggs but I can't find it so I'm going to post my recent findings here since we have been talking about eggs.
I took fresh eggs and 1) washed some, 2) washed some but covered them with lard 3) washed them and put them in liquid glass 4) washed them, covered with lard and put in liquid glass.
Like I said this was back in March...they are all on the counter since I wanted to see how long they would stay good without refrigeration. I checked them a couple of days ago (doing the float test) and the ones that I washed (1) were no longer good but the ones that had lard (2) were still just fine. Since they ares still good I have not disturbed the ones in the liquid glass. I will wait until they reach the point of going bad before I start testing those and see how far out they go.
Just an update for those of you who are interested. It seems that covering them with lard seals the pores of the eggs and keeps the bacteria out so it keeps them fresh longer.

[Sniper-T]

liquid glass?

[ladyhk13]

It is the stuff that florists and craftspersons use in glass arrangements to look like there is water. You melt it, pour it and then it "sets" into a gel and is clear. The name is really Water Glass, sorry...here's a link for more info.

Water Glass : Water Purifier : StoreItFoods.com

[Sniper-T]

needed a quick meal yesterday, so we grabbed a bag of chili out of storage. Dated from July/2008. It was awesome. Diced up some fresh garden tomatoes to add in, spooned it over nachos, and covered with a canned cheese. yummy!

[ladyhk13]

Ok, reopening this thread since I got my Excalibur.
What if I want to do Beef Stroganauf...do I HAVE to put it through a blender? Can I leave everything in chunks? What about chicken and dumplings? Same thing? I don't want to powder all of my stuff. I really want to keep it whole, put an O2 absorber in it and sucky a mylar bag. Can this be done?
What about jerkey? How long can it be stored before the worry of mold since it isn't actually totally dried out...there is always still some amount of moisture left or it would be shoe leather.
I love the thought of cheese. Yummy!!!! I am interested in main course items more than fruits/veggies so if ya'll think of good stuff give a yell. Thanks!!

[ElevenBravo]

Thanks for this thread folks, been very informative!

Yet, leads me to question: How to you store your dehyd foods? Ive got a Food Saver vacuum kit and bags... Would that alone work well enough? Should I purchase and add the desicant packs to each package I vacuum seal?

After storing, how LONG will the package last?

How should/could it be stored? On a shelf?? In the freezer?? In a perfect world, Id like to avoid things like refers because if the mains goes down for an extended time then it would in essence negate the intention of dehydrating....

Thanks for the help in advance...
EB