Emergency preparation involves employing various methods to store items for the long term, with freeze-drying and dehydration standing out as commonly utilized techniques.
While dehydration is a popular method for DIY long-term food storage, challenges may arise, especially with certain food items. The good news? Solutions exist for overcoming these hurdles!
Discover effective hacks that can empower you to successfully dehydrate a variety of food items that might pose difficulties initially. Let's explore these solutions together!
1. Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is made up of 50% fat by weight. When it undergoes a dehydration procedure, it quickly becomes sour.
Hack: Adding maltodextrin is the ultimate hack to dehydrate peanut butter. It binds the fats, making it easier to dehydrate. Now, it will be easier to convert it into dehydrated peanut butter.
2. Whole Berries
Berries have thicker skin, making it difficult to dehydrate. The thick skin stems moisture from escaping.
Hack: Start with smashing the berries. It will allow the moisture to come out & evaporate. After this, dehydrating berries will be easier.
3. Meat
Safety concerns become a big hurdle in dehydrating meat. Home dehydrators are not capable of killing pathogens contained in meat. Home dehydrators can reach a maximum of 160°F, which is not enough!
Hack: Kill the pathogens by boiling them in a marinade, then dehydrate meat. Baking after dehydrating can also work. Another good way is to use salt curing for meat preservation. Once done, store it in Mylar bags.
4. Olives
Dehydrating olives is a bit tricky due to their fatty structure & nature.
Hack: You can make a sauce mixing olives with low-fat veggies such as tomatoes and other cooked veggies. Afterward, dehydrate this sauce using your home dehydrator.
5. Raw Carrots
Raw carrots are high in fiber. Directly dehydrating raw carrots will turn them into hard rocks. Rehydrating them will not work on them as well. Rehydrated raw carrots are chewy and can cause indigestion.
Hack: Cook raw carrots and similar rich-in-fiber vegetables, like parsnips & celery. It will soften the fibers, making it easier to dehydrate and rehydrate. Later, use it for stews and soups.
6. Whole Grain Rice
A few cooked grains, like quinoa and buckwheat, are easy to dehydrate. You can also dehydrate cooked pasta. Rehydrating them is a lot quicker. However, when it comes to cooked whole grain rice, it takes the same time to dehydrate and rehydrate as cooking raw whole grain rice.
Hack: Blend cooked whole grain rice with low-fat veggies for dehydration. It will create a thick, mushy paste that you can spread on the dehydrator tray to make rice crackers.
7. Seeds and Nuts
Seeds and nuts are high in fat content, increasing the difficulty of dehydrating them.
Hack: Mixing seeds and nuts in sauces, crackers, and spreads can make it easier to dehydrate. For instance, you blend sunflower seeds with tomato sauce to dehydrate and make crackers.
8. Grapes
Grapes with seeds are not worth dehydrating. The procedure might leave hard skin with a bitter seed.
Hack: Using seedless grapes is the best way to dehydrate grapes. Otherwise, remove the seed from the grapes by cutting them in half before dehydrating them.
Bottom Line
Dehydrating these particular food items poses a challenge, but fear not – with the right hacks, you can successfully dehydrate them. This ensures that your long-term food storage remains stocked with nutrient-rich options.
Wallaby has more similar expert blogs for food storage tips, hacks, and advice. You can read them too. At Wallaby, we bring a collection of Mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, etc., along with the right food storage advice.
Check out our online store now and place your order.
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