Using a Food Dehydrator to Dry Vegetables
I used baby carrots for one of my first experiments in dehydrating vegetables. Two packages of the above 2-pound bags of carrots, when dried, shrank to the one and a half jars of carrots shown on the right. (These are half-pint mason jars.)
Preparing and Drying the Vegetables
I've dried both baby carrots and regular-sized ones. One advantage to using regular-sized carrots is that they can be sliced in a food processor - which I can't do with the baby carrots without ending up with pieces that are too tiny. However, for me, the baby carrots have a much better flavor after drying.
To prepare the baby carrots for dehydrating, I first wash them and cut them into about 1/8-inch slices. To blanch them, I steam them for about 4 or 5 minutes and place them in ice water for 5 minutes.
I use a large pan for the ice water and gently put the whole steamer tray into the water, making sure no carrots escape over the top. This makes it easy to retrieve the carrots once they've been chilled. The chilling is supposed to stop the cooking process and help retain the flavor.
The carrots are then placed on the trays of my Excalibur dehydrator and dried at 120 degrees (F) for 12 - 18 hours. The length of time it takes to dry them depends on the humidity in the air and how much water is in the vegetables.
I usually turn each tray 180 degrees and rotate the trays (top to bottom) in the dehydrator once or twice during the drying process. The vegetables closer to the back of the appliance tend to dry faster, so this keeps the drying more even. I also stir the carrots once or twice to make sure all surfaces get exposed to the hot air.
I use this same process for drying parsnips and turnips.
Storing the Vegetables
After the vegetables are dry enough, I remove the trays and allow them to cool. Then I put the vegetables into the mason jars and vacuum pack them. They can be stored without vacuum packing but this process allows a longer storage time.
Using masking tape on the top of each jar, I write the name of the vegetable and the date I dehydrated them. I also write the date on a small piece of masking tape on the side of the jar. This allows me to quickly check the dates, so I can use the oldest jars first.
I'm currently keeping the jars in my kitchen cabinets, keeping the oldest jars in front and putting the newer jars in back. However, I will probably move them down to the cupboards in the basement for the rest of the summer.
And when I start using the wood stove in the basement this fall, I'll move the jars to an upstairs closet, where they'll be cooler. The lower the temperature is, the longer will be the shelf life of the stored vegetables.
I use either half-pint or pint mason jars for my vegetables. Each jar contains quite a few servings, so it will be opened many times. And every time it's opened, air and moisture enter the jar, causing a decrease in the storage time and in the nutritional value of the vegetables.
So smaller jars make sense for me. A larger family might want to use larger jars, since more vegetables will be used at one time.
Using the Dried Vegetables
To rehydrate, I often just put some vegetables in a cup, add cold water, and let them sit for a couple of hours. Then I eat them as is or add them to soup before I heat it up.
Alternately, you can add boiling water to the vegetables and simmer until tender - about 30 minutes.
See also:
Dehydrating Vegetables - part 2
Dehydrating Fruit
Excalibur Food Dehydrator