when dehydrating fresh blueberries, toss them in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Then in a bowl of ice water (have ice in it) The temp difference will make the skins split and then they dehydrate into blueberry raisins. :D
This is THE BEST video regarding dehydrating meals for camping! So glad to have healthy options to bring into the back country. I also like that you can control the salt content with foods prepared at home. Thank you so much!
PineMartyn I a agree...very nice video. I plan to someday live on a farm and grow many fruits and veggies and dehydrating them would be a great way to store them for the winter. Thanks so much!!
I just popped open a mason jar of dehydrated ground beef that I made just after watching this video. So three years ago. It was a cool morning to I heated 1 litre of water on wood stove, dumped one cup of the dehydrated beef in. Then I added a pack of Knorr Vegetable soup mix, and some fresh Kale that has survived a few frosts here (Prince Edward Island) and cooked it for about an hour. It turned out fantastic. Atlantic Superstore has the Knorr's on sale for 88 cents each. So as a back packing quick meal (except the kale, but I have frozen some). This is easy and light. Now I just have to keep an eye on some ground beef sales
Sorry for so many comments - I love your video! I did not know how to do a simple fruit roll.... I have done blueberries though. You bring a large pot of water to a full boil, then shut off the heat - gently put your blueberries into the pot, don't stir and time this for 1 minute, put into colander and gently run cold water over them. Then proceed with dehydrating. works perfect!
100% in agreement with comments made, your pleasant and clear presentation along with perfect order is so well done. Thank you, I am a fan of dehydration now, and Instead of buying, I'm going to prepare my own supply. Cheers!
I use the same dehydrator, and get great results. No need for a mega-buck big box. I tend to take long trips, and like treats along the way. Cooked shrimp dehydrate well, rehydrate well, and are a very nice treat indeed.
I agree with others, this is the best video on how-to dehydrate for the trail. Detailed and practical information, and great tips. After looking at the price of dehydrated food, I just bought a dehydrator oven in preparation for my off-road motorcycle trip this summer in Labrador, and my firs attempts where not great. Thanks
I don't know if anyone else has said anything about dehydrating blueberries, but I did a quick search on here and found a video which explains why they're a little tough to dehydrate when fresh. hope i'm not posting old info! but all that was suggested was that you put them in hot water for about a minute to slightly weaken the skin and then puncture the skin of each individual blueberry with a small knife or toothpick. also, I really appreciate the videos, they're incredibly informative!
Love your videos on dehydrating food! My love and I like eating healthy and we like to steam and bake. This will be an excellent addition as an option for eating at home or for our camping trips. Thank you for your videos!
I'm glad we found your videos! We are taking my granddaughter camping this year for the first time, and have been putting together dehydrated meals each time she visits. Have never tried fruit roll-ups before, so she's very excited to try it, and we will also be dehydrating the chili sauce thanks to your videos. A note on legumes for chili - I cook the small chili beans then dehydrate those. We use the dehydrated instead of cooking from the natural dry state each time I make chili.
Mind blown, you are awesome. I already have a dehydrator, never occurred to me to premake my camping food. No more nasty hamburger helper with cross your fingers and hope you don't get sick bags of meat for our group trips.
Thanks for the tip on the frozen blueberries. I used them when I made pemmican and it took several days to dehydrate them even after I popped their skins...Now I know how to make them easier.
My first time drying hand picked blueberries from fresh/frozen, I had a tray of sliced bananas under them, and the juice created blu-nanas 😂. Very tasty. Many of the berries fell through the screen as they shriveled up, so I need to get more fruit leather trays. Great video.
That was one of the most helpful video's I have seen. You explained everything beautifully. I'm new to the dehydration world and actually didn't even think of dehydrating rice or chili or even hamburger. I did do the fruit leathers but didn't use oil. Even though I was able to peel them off the trays I can tell by the video it's much easier using the oil. Anyhow, I have now subscribed to your channel and will be watching all your videos. Thank you so much for taking the time to teach us newbies.
You're welcome NREnger and we thank you for taking the trouble to post that. It's gratifying to hear that you found it helpful. Happy dehydrating! - Martin
Another idea for more screens is 'plastic canvas' that is used for crafts/needlpoint projects. A sheet that will fit your dehydrator runs about $1 at a craft store, and you can cut it to fit. I've got ground beef and beef jerkey in my dehydrator right now. ;)
shramj: Glad you've decided to take the plunge. I'm confident it will mean a significant improvement in how well you eat on your camping trips, plus lots of savings. Thank you for leaving those kind comments and rest assured we have more videos forthcoming. Cheers, - Martin
Good information. Thank you for this video. Just a tip...I cut sheets of parchment paper to fit my trays. Food won’t fall through it. Seems to work good.
Thanks for recommending that FlashGeiger. We don't have a precise food scale, so we've never done this. We've found that such a degree of precision isn't required, but doing it as you suggest takes any guesswork out, so I would recommend it to anyone who already owns a precise food scale. Cheers, - Martin
I do remember those old Environment Canada commercials from the 70's. And you're right, my opening bird song (the white-throated sparrow) is reminiscent of the little bit of flute music as the start of those commercials. Just a coincidence though. You can find those old Hinterland Who's Who spots on RU-vid. Cheers, - Martin
Great tip with the lentils in chili; I'll try it. I use and love Minute Rice and any cheap potato flakes. I've never made my own fruit leathers, will try that one, too. Great info! Thanks for sharing it.
SMac0628: It's terrific you're taking your granddaughter on her first camping trip. I'm always pleased to hear that people are introducing kids (especially girls) to camping and the pleasures of the outdoors. Thanks for the tip about using small chili beans and I hope your granddaughter has a wonderful first camping trip. Cheers, - Martin
Thanks for those generous words. No, we're not teachers, but as a matter of fact we have both done some teaching. I taught philosophy to university undergraduate students while I was a grad student and my wife (WildTreat) worked as a programming instructor at a technical college for a short while. We're very happy you found the video informative. -Martin
Good question. We don't own a vacuum sealer, so that's why we use ziplock bags. When it comes to dehydrated meat sauces or meat chilis, etc, they will last for months just in a ziplock bag, but they will last for a year if kept in the freezer. We prefer to do all our dehydrating at once in the spring to get it over with, rather than dehydrating smaller amounts before each each trip, so we toss it all into the freezer to make it last the whole camping year. Cheers, -Martin
Great video. I never had any trouble dehydrating fresh blueberries because I poke a hole in them with a toothpick before they go in my Nesco. I know it's time consuming but it hasn't failed me yet.
Thank you VERY much for sharing this information. I know you did this quite a while back but, know that it is still proving quite useful. It's clear, concise and well presented. My husband and I are planning to start dehydrating foods to take on our future road trips and camping adventures. I'm so grateful for the range of items you showed especially the meats...this was extremely helpful and especially generous on your part. Best regards
Thank you so much for that lovely comment. We're delighted that you found the video helpful. We have other dehydration videos in the planning. Happy trails! - Martin
I watched the video a while ago, and just reviewed to check consistency of dried chill. Now I am wishing I reviewed BEFORE beginning this process because I do have beans in mine (and am not a fan of the refried beans texture, either). Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge, as this has been most informative. I can't wait to try fruit leather, next.
A superb video. I can hardly wait to try some backpacking recipes using the lessons learned from this video. I'll have some pleasant surprises for my scouts and leaders on our next backpacking trip. Thank you.
We've never used a vacum jar or thermos for this, but we do use insulated pot cozies. Typically we put the dehydrated food in a pot, add boiling water to the pot, then enclose the pot with our DIY pot cozies for 20-30 minutes (or less, depending on what we're rehydrating). Our pot cozies are made from Reflectex (thermal ducting insulation) and it keeps water and foods piping hot for a long time, so we save quite a bit of fuel that way. Thanks for the suggestion. - Martin
Yes, you can store them in cupboards without freezing them for months, but we store them in the freezer because dehydrated meats could eventually spoil if the bags are not properly sealed, causing the food to absorb a bit of moisture. But if properly dehydrated and sealed, you needn't freeze them. Many people use a vacuum sealer system to ensure that the food is completely sealed and can't absorb any moisture from the air. We use Ziplock bags because it's cheap and they are reusable. -Martin
William Morris: Yes, we use Zip-Lock bags for storage. But only get the ones intended for Freezer use. We re-use ours again and again. You can even use them for boil-in-the-bag meals so you don't have to worry about washing dirty cooking pots, which is a nice thing when winter camping: Pour boiling water directly into the bag, let sit, then eat right out of the bag. Make sure you have an insulated envelope or hat to place around the bag so as not to burn your hands. Hope this helps, - Martin
This is a great video about dehydrayting, Ihave not tried the fruit leathers yet but now I will. Much better eating your own prepared meals, Thanks for posting, I subscribed to your channel too. Take care, Bluefin
Great video! When I'm drying fruit leathers I try to get the fruit out of those plastic sheets as soon as possible and place it back onto a lightly oiled regular tray. The more surface area you expose, the shorter the dry time.
For older models made by American Harvester bought by Neco. Make sure you have the bottom tray lined with a liner for the small foods. Once the corn, pea's and smaller pieces dry, they are half the size and a few pieces can fall through the hole and lay on the bottom. If you don't know it did and go to pack it away, the next time you go to use it gets blown about and bounces around under that bottom plate that overs the element and motor parts, then the fan shooting it around to break the element or get stuck in the burner elements. I've had that happen. I always wiped down with a damp clean cloth the bottom plate over the fan and motor. Though I didn't know a few pieces had fallen down through fan. I bought a new one that has the fan in the top. NO chance of that happening with the new models now a days. The fan and heater is in the top. Mine also burned a few spots the size of a dime under backside of the bottom plate. I could smell plastic burning and it was smelling up the hole kitchen, and made me nauseated in just a minute or two before it died. I am keeping the old trays for the new one Neco bought American Harvester. I had given it to my mother in 1979. It was never used I got a dozen uses out of it before it died. I'm sure it was the couple small pieces of food that fell down the hole. I found 3 small pieces of hardened food half the size of a small pea. Though when dehydrated it would be like a bullet in there if the fan shoots it at something under that plate once it starts up again. Also using a straw to suck out air for short term storage is good, if you don't have an air vacuum sealer to suck out all the air. I close the bag up around the straw and suck it out for short term storage with moisture remover pack. I do have an air vacuum sealer. Though I do like I said short term storage that way to save on the lift of my machine.
Great video! I'll have to try dehydrating berries! Like you said about the blueberries, raspberries also don't dehydrate very well when fresh. After leaving some in the dehydrator for 2 days and not much of a difference, I gave up. Now I'll try from frozen. As I don't usually buy frozen fruit, it hadn't even occurred to me although that's what I do with corn and peas. Thanks for the great ideas!
Thanks for asking Wyodrillavf. We tend to rehydrate by just barely covering the dehydrated material with water, but it really depends on what the meal is. The way to know for each specific meal is to try rehydrating a portion at home FIRST, to see how much you need, so you'll know how much to add when you're in the bush.
Odin885588: We are indeed your fellow Canadians. But we are not the only nation to use the expression 'the bush' that way. I've known quite a few people from the UK to use it that same way, and certainly Australians use it the same way. Re the cost of dehydrators: They vary widely in costs, from under $100 to way over that amount. I always encourage people to buy them secondhand from places like Kijiji as many buy them & then use them little. Campers make the most use of them. Cheers, Martin
David Legaspi: I purchased mine by ordering directly from the manufacturer. This was well over a decade ago, but I know someone who just purchased their latest model and he ordered some extra trays (the solid ones for dehydrating liquids) directly from the company also. So, you best bet is to e-mail or call the company that sells them and ask them to ship them to you. Hope this helps, - Martin
There's no need to be too precise about it. We just add enough to cover the dehydrated material with water and that's usually about right, except for soups or sauces. Just add more as needed. We've never had to pour any excess water off. A good practice is to rehydrate a meal or portion at home to see how much you need. This will also teach you how long it takes for it to rehydrate. Things rehydrate faster if you use hot water and let it sit in a covered or insulated container. - Martin
