9
votes
How to maximize shelf-life of freeze-dried food beyond 25 years? How far can this be exceeded?
The question is rather difficult to answer since it is based on false assumptions. I will try addressing those.
What process happens after 25-30 years which limits its shelf life?
There is no reason ...
- 140k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the quickest way to evenly slice chicken breasts for jerky?
Freeze the breasts, then use a mandoline to make even slices. (If you have access to a deli slicer with its rotary blade, that would be even faster; however, a mandoline slicer is more typical in a ...
- 8,363
6
votes
Accepted
How do I make even layers of puree for dehydrator?
If the fruit leather will slump somewhat, I would recommend a V-notched spreader from the hardware store or a ‘cake comb’ from a cake decorating or craft store.
It looks like a plastic scraper, but ...
- 81.7k
5
votes
Can I dehydrate homemade sausage with a dehydrator?
Safety concerns aside (although this is related), the issue with this approach is case hardening. That is, the sausage, salumi, or whole muscle dries too quickly and unevenly. The exterior becomes ...
- 77k
5
votes
Accepted
Does it help to allow veggies to lose moisture before frying?
Yes, it helps to dry veggies before frying them.
In fact, many recipes for fried and deep-fried vegetables contain explicit instructions for drying them, including salting, blotting between paper ...
- 65.5k
5
votes
How to maximize shelf-life of freeze-dried food beyond 25 years? How far can this be exceeded?
I agree with rumtscho's answer, believing the logic behind it.
There is however one factor that could possibly have an effect, hinted at in the question: gas permeability of the package. They assume ...
- 45.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Does blanching cause loss of mass/weight in the vegetable?
The weight is more likely to increase than decrease when blanching as some water or (condensed steam if you do it by steaming) will stay on the surface. With something like broccoli that has a lot of ...
- 45.2k
5
votes
How do I make even layers of puree for dehydrator?
I find that spreading with an offset spatula does the trick. There are occasionally slightly thicker and thinner spots...but it is usually not that much of a problem. You will get better with ...
- 77k
5
votes
Accepted
Silica gel to dehydrate soft cheese safely?
Officially, you should be using food-grade silica gel to dehydrate foods; this is why some countries have a certification system that distinguish between food and non-food grades.
That said, though, ...
- 65.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Instant Hummus Pre-cooking without Dehydrating
Raw chickpea flour is unpleasantly bitter, but it becomes delicious when dry roasted or fried in a little oil.
It takes some practice to achieve exactly the right degree of roastedness. You will ...
- 1,065
4
votes
What would happen if I dehydrated fresh sausages for a couple hours?
You would potentially grow bacteria that would make you sick. The production of cured sausage has to follow a specific process that makes use of the correct balance of salt, water activity, and ...
- 77k
4
votes
What to do with dehydrated potatoes tainted black?
I just dehydrated things for the first time yesterday, mainly russets. I saw something in the instructions about preparing potatoes but neglected to follow through. They were reeeeaaally black. I mean,...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Preserve peppers before smoking -- freeze or dehydrate?
Freezing is definitely the way to go. It’ll soften the peppers, but smoking softens them anyway. Dehydrating them will allow them to burn before they’re smoked through, since the water in the peppers’ ...
- 30.2k
4
votes
Accepted
What additional uses are there for a food dehydrator?
I've got one, and I don't use it much.
Dehydrating food is worth it if you have a surplus of suitable homegrown or cheap local produce, or if you particularly want dehydrated food for some reason (...
- 45.2k
3
votes
How to dehydrate nuts using an oven for a short time?
Dehydration (low heat, long time) and cooking (high heat, generally shorter) are two separate things. Dehydration lowers the water content, whereas cooking changes the chemical structures in the food ...
- 16.2k
3
votes
Eating dehydrated uncooked red potato
Short answer: no, it is unlikely. There are some concerns with eating potatoes, but these apply to any form of consumption of them.
Longer answer:
Maybe. The main risk from potatoes (along with most ...
- 16.2k
3
votes
Accepted
after re-hydrating and desalinating a salted cod it became slightly brown
I suppose, the reason why the cod got brown, was that after storing the several pieces, the cut face, despite dry and salted, was not covered by the skin of the fish anymore and started to oxidation, ...
- 150
3
votes
How are commercially dried cranberries dried?
Not sure if you are still looking for an answer, but this paper may give you one
At Oceanspray, the cranberries are frozen, sliced, and have 10% of their juice removed. The juice is then sweetened ...
- 31
3
votes
Is it possible to make "finely ground corn flour"?
My answer here would be "no". Even if it is not impossible, it is rather impractical to pursue this.
This may surprise some people, because as a home cook, it is pretty easy to take some ...
- 140k
3
votes
Accepted
Drying fatty meat in food dehydrator - is it okay for short time consumption?
Yes. It may be fine for immediate consumption.
The problem is the air flow from the drying itself can also accelerate the oxidation of the fat.
When I have dried fatty meat the fat already tasted a ...
- 47.6k
3
votes
Accepted
How do I reconstitute vacuum sealed Tibetan Barley Wine?
I wonder whether something was lost in translation, as @Echerwal points out and also suggests that your packet may be yeast.
From a Tibetan friend in the US, here's how he makes dru-chhaang, the ...
- 2,780
3
votes
Accepted
How to dehydrate chili at home?
As Alton Brown teaches in an episode of Good Eats 'heat' is not the key to dehydration, but rather air flow (you can skip to about 12:00 in). What you need is the "Blow Hard 3000" (A Box fan and a ...
- 18.3k
2
votes
Dehydrating Strawberries - Wax Paper or Parchment?
Instead of parchment or wax paper, why not aluminum foil? If you use the slider type of foil (where one side is non-stick and food slides off easily), any juice released when dehydrated will also dry ...
- 3,953
2
votes
Can I use an oven instead of a dehydrator to prepare lentils for milling at home
Thank you, Andrew for your reply and link.
In the meanwhile I decided to try and see for myself.
I put some buckwheat on a flat surface in the oven for about 30 min.
I took the same amount of ...
- 325
2
votes
Can I use an oven instead of a dehydrator to prepare lentils for milling at home
Using ovens as a dehydrator is pretty universal for any kind of food that can be dried.
Here is just one of many sites out there -
How to make sprouted grain flour
- 3,644
2
votes
Can I use an oven instead of a dehydrator to prepare lentils for milling at home
From what I've heard you might be able to if your oven can be set on 170 degrees Fahrenheit and left propped open with a wooden spoon or something so the air escapes better
- 233
2
votes
What would happen if I dehydrated fresh sausages for a couple hours?
To clarify, after your comments on Moscafj's answer and your comments: To have your sausages safe, it is not enough to have them in an oven set to 150 F. Rather, you have to ensure that their internal ...
- 140k
2
votes
Crisping Butternut Squash Chips
You can try slicing it thinner (about 1mm or less, like a normal potato crisp), to further increase surface ratio in your crisps and make them dehydrate quicker and fully in the oven, so there is no ...
- 2,861
2
votes
Can I dehydrate homemade sausage with a dehydrator?
Typically, the hanging of meat is done to promote certain microorganisms, so that they can ferment certain sugars in the meat. This leads to the production of lactic acid by the various strains of ...
- 4,902
2
votes
What is the science of drying/dehydrating meat? Biltong, jerky, etc
Hope you'll still find an answer useful a year later.
To address your questions first:
1. Is there a recognised relationship between drying time (of beef), relative humidity, airflow and temperature?
...
- 5,361
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