23 October 2016 Dehydrating Carrots

[Durgan]

http://durgan.org/2016/October%202016/23%20October%202016%20Dehydrating%20Carrots/HTML/ 23 October 2016 Dehydrating Carrots
About a pound of carrots were dehydrated. The carrots were blended into a slurry with water as required. About 750 ml of slurry is required to fill the Teflon pan used for dehydrating. The slurry was dehydrated for about ten hours in an Excalibur dehydrator set at 125F/52C. Accidentally omitted the nixtamalized corn, so the dried slurry struck to the pan, which required careful scraping with the plastic spatula to remove. The dried slurry was made into a powder in a blender and stored in a 250 ml canning jar.

 

[DeborahJane]

http://durgan.org/2016/October%202016/23%20October%202016%20Dehydrating%20Carrots/HTML/ 23 October 2016 Dehydrating Carrots
About a pound of carrots were dehydrated. The carrots were blended into a slurry with water as required. About 750 ml of slurry is required to fill the Teflon pan used for dehydrating. The slurry was dehydrated for about ten hours in an Excalibur dehydrator set at 125F/52C. Accidentally omitted the nixtamalized corn, so the dried slurry struck to the pan, which required careful scraping with the plastic spatula to remove. The dried slurry was made into a powder in a blender and stored in a 250 ml canning jar.

Do you use the dehydrated carrot as flavouring in soups, casseroles etc Durgan.? Maybe even a drink i suppose.

 

[Durgan]

At present the process is at the experimental stage. I have been dehydrating by adding water and microwaving for about three minutes. Generally using the products as an addition to other food at a meal. It is now progressing into Winter here so my options of selecting products is limited.

I appear to have a practical technique by utilizing the slurry method and the addition of the corn to prevent sticking to the dehydrating pan. Sticking was always a hindrance. Also cutting material into slices and thin strips is time consuming and not fully effective. Also reconditioning dried material is usually a mess at best, so my view is to use the slurry for everything. Realizing that the drying method is simply a convenient method of storing and obtaining nutrients with a reasonable effort, when fresh product are not available.

In Japan there are many dried products available in their supermarkets. One of my daughters lives in Japan. She informs m there are almost no obese people in Japan. My interest in different preserving methods is motivated somewhat by my view that the Western diet leaves as lot to be desired judging by the obesity statistics.

I live in one of the best food growing areas in Canada. Have a large productive yard, and the time to experiment with different plant food preservation methods, either grown or purchased.