Dehydrators

[donnaohooh]

Just bought a dehydrator. Anyone have any nifty hints?

 

[Katie H]

Hi, donna. I have a dehydrator and one of my favorite ways to use it is to make dried bread cubes for stuffing or croutons.

For stuffing, I freeze a loaf sliced white bread then, three slices at a time, slice the bread into cubes while it's still frozen. I cut the cubes larger than I want because they will shrink during the dehydrating process. Been doing this for years.

For croutons, I cube some baguette and dry those cubes. Quick and easy.

I have a couple recipes that call for green pepper flakes and I dry small mince of green pepper to use for those dishes. Green pepper flakes in the grocery store are obscenely expensive.

Of course, we make beef jerky in our dehydrator. Yum.

 

[GrillingFool]

If you use fresh herbs, dehydrate them when they start to get droopy!

Ditto the peppers... the grocery store had baby red and yellows on sale cheap
so I bought a couple bags, dehydrated them and now have my own pepper flakes..
sweet and tasty.

 

[donnaohooh]

Thanks Katie and Grilling. I never would have thought of using it for the bread cubes. Great ideas. Thanks again.

 

[Andy M.]

Hi, donna. I have a dehydrator and one of my favorite ways to use it is to make dried bread cubes for stuffing or croutons...

I never thought of this. I would have used the oven for both.

 

[larry_stewart]

i love making 'sun dried tomatoes' ( actually food dehydrated tomatoes :P ) from the tomatoes in my garden. I dont like them as dry as you get in the store, so I stop the process a little earlier. The dried tomatoes have such a concentrated flavor. I then store them in olive oil / garlic. Usually I snack on them before I even can get the chance to cook with them. And my father in law made great dried pineapple.

 

[donnaohooh]

Thanks Larry. Tomatoes will go on my list come garden time.