Dehydrating food is a step toward sustainability
As you know, the two main advantages to dehydrating food are that it can stay fresher longer and it can be stored and transported more easily. Water in food can carry bacteria, which will make that food go bad sooner, and it also weighs down that food.
Dehydrating food is a great way to prepare it for your stockpile. It will be more compact and easier to store as you keep it at home, and it will be lighter and more easily packed if you need to bug out. And anytime you want a quick and nutritious meal prior to a crisis situation, all you have to do is rehydrate it and eat it without having to bother looking for an expiration date.
In order to dehydrate some of your food, you can either use an oven set at a low temperature or invest in a modern, electronic dehydrator. That way, you can make food with an expiration of one month last about 12 months. You don’t want to go much beyond a year in most cases because at that point, even though the water has been removed, it’s likely the nutrients will start breaking down.
Figure on dehydrated meat lasting only about two months, but many dehydrated fruits and vegetables will be good for a year or so. If you dehydrate herbs, they can probably last for several years.
Regardless, storage is the key. Once you’ve dehydrated various foods, place them in airtight, plastic containers such as Mylar bags. You may think you’ve squeezed all of the oxygen out of a bag, but there is probably a small amount left, so use an oxygen absorber.
As far as rehydrating that food is concerned, all you have to do in most cases is place it in boiling water and stir, providing a little time for it to thicken.
Have you ever tried dehydrating foods? What kind of foods have you dehydrated and which method did you use? How did the food taste when it came time to eat it? Our readers would love to know about your experiences.
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I have been homesteading for over 30 years now. I raise/hunt/catch/grow about 75% of the foods I eat. I do a LOT of dehydrating, and can tell you for certain that dehydrated foods are good for YEARS, but only IF you store them properly. If you re-use glass jars, for instance, you’ll want to add a piece of plastic such as a section of a bread bag between the lid and glass jar. This acts as a secondary gasket as the original seal in the jar lid was only reliable for the original preservation of whatever the jar is from. (Canning jars are the exception here. Use a canning lid and ring to close them and they stay air tight unless the jar rim is chipped) Also, I use Gamma Seal lids on 5-gallon buckets and just pour rice or beans, flour or sugar, etc into them. No Mylar bags, etc. I have NEVER had an issue and I store all in my dark fairly cool basement. Out of sunlight for sure. I used up a bucket of flour from 1999 last year and it was perfectly fine! I stored Bleached White flour as it does not go rancid like whole wheat flour does, and bugs don’t seem to like it. If I want whole wheat in bread making, for instance, I have a “Retzel Manufacturing “Uni Ark” Grain mill clamped to the end of my kitchen counter. I grind whole wheat berries (grains) and use about 1/3 of my recipe as that, and the rest the white flour. Straight wheat flour from fresh ground grain makes something akin to a rock if used all by itself. At least that’s been my experience. For storing things like sugar and salt, I use plastic soda bottles. If you do this you MUST use a piece of plastic over the top before screwing the lid back on the bottle. You need that as a gasket to prevent the contents from setting up hard like cement from humidity. Just put a piece of plastic bag over the bottle top, screw the lid on over, and cut the excess plastic from around the top.
I am an avid outdoorsman and currently process, smoke and cure several types of meats and turn into bacon, hams, jerky, etc. Problem is, I have no way to store long-term (which is fine as it’s all quite delicious) but was wondering why “kits” don’t include more animal proteins, like jerky and perhaps a bacon “hash” of sorts for additional sources of protein?
With the meats I process, it is mostly through low-heat smoking and then drying after the curing has taken place. There is still some residual moisture in the meat (as otherwise it’s like cardboard) so not 100% sure how that stands up to being vacuum-sealed and/or stored for long periods of time and quite frankly, what is the best method for doing this, ie, storing for longer term?
Curious more than anything but I don’t have access to equipment that would provide for the seal for LONG TERM storage as it’d be more simple vacuum-sealing in plastic and I’d guess there’d need to be a foil-lined or other “Tetra-Pak” type lining (thinking UHT / long-life milk) in the package itself as well as some other form of O2 absorption prior to packaging???
Anyway, would love to hear some thoughts.
Instea of placing it in the oven to kill the bugs use a few bay leaves. Use oxygen absorbers.
Thank you so much, my water purifier is wonderful, can’t thank you enough.
I have have purchased the food some gave containers as gifts to family, they laugh at me, but saving my supply for a time of need.
Keep up the good work and God Bless you.
Diana
Of all dehydrated fruits, I find that pears taste best, and last a year or more without air-tight containers.
When in season, pick pears green & allow to ripen. Tree-ripened pears will rot in the middle unless they are Asian pears. I find that Bartlett pears work best for storage. When fully ripe, you can peel them if you like. I tend to think there are special nutrients in the peels, so I have left them on. Cut the pears in half to remove seeds & roots from the center. Then cut them lengthwise into 1/8 inch ( 3mm ) slices, and place them in a dehydrator tray. As they dehydrate, the thickness will finish at least half what they started.
When you place them in your storage bags / containers, add a few bay-leaves to discourage bugs from taking over your staple.
There are some good ideas, to dehydrate your food or freeze dry it. The best way that I have found is to dehydrate it and like Frank’s opening statement there are several ways to do it.
Someone asked how to handle dehydrating flour and rice in gallon mason jars. What I do is this and it is so easy. Fill the jars with the flour or rice. Stick it in the oven on the bottom rack for 20 minutes. This will remove any moisture and kill any insects and/or their eggs. After 20 minutes I put the lid on the jar and set the jar on a cooling rack for 12 to 24 hours. As the moisture leaves the jar it creates a vacuum in the jar. when you put the lid on the jar and the jar cools off it creates a tight vacuum seal and your rice and flour will remain fresh for many years to come. I remember that I found a mason jar of flour that was stored in the cellar that was over 40 years old. Grandma was surprised that I had found it. She used it to make her world famous biscuits. Let me tell you they were delicious.
You can use this technique with dry beans, oatmeal and other grains too.
Now dehydration of foods can be and is a science. Meaning, trail and error, unless you have a dependable dehydrator and a book telling you how long it will take to dehydrate your food. Why is it so important to have dehydrated food? Because it will last a very long time and it taste great. You can dehydrate meats, fruits and berries, and vegetables. Can goods can last say up to 5 years and still be good. I know there are exceptions and there a those that will say that they have some can goods that are older. But to have dehydrated goods could and will last for 25 to 50 years depending how well they are preserved and kept.
With out the water content dehydrated items are lighter and easier to handle and store, be it in mason jars, Mylar bags or plastic airtight containers with oxygen absorbers to ensure freshness.
So the question now becomes how involve do you – will you become into dehydrating your food? Once you discover how cost effective it is; you and your family will never stop. Whenever a food source becomes available and is in season you will jump right on it and do your thing dehydrating, saving money, storing your surplus food(s) and smiling as the rest of your family , friends, and neighbors are forced to live, literally, hand to mouth each and every year because they didn’t have the foresight to dehydrate their foods like you did.
Once you have learned to dehydrate your foods you can use the dehydrated foods to supplement your fresh foods, like adding a little extra to your soups to make it look and taste a little bit better. Or to go camping and dump a little something. something into the ole cooking pot.
The nice thing about dehydrating your foods is that it is strictly your choice and doing. With your family to help you; it will bring your family together and they will take pride in something that they did for each other by providing a future food source that they can all enjoy and eat together. Who wouldn’t want banana chips, strawberries, or raisins with their cereal in the morning. Or maybe blueberries and cranberries for those special occasions. What about Beef jerky, turkey jerky, or even venison jerky? You can even make your own fruit roll ups for the kids. The sky is the limit folks.
So where can you find out the best way to do dehydration and cooking times – YouTube. YouTube will give you the range of options of other people abilities and ideas that have already gone through the trail and error process. They can also recommend the various dehydrator machines that will dehydrate your foods and the books that they use. The reason why I suggest YouTube is because there is a large variety and options to choose from. It is a matter of your personal choice. If you are to stay on top of your game then you need to consider to dehydrate your food for the long haul and you and your family’s well being.
We have ordered dehydrated foods commercially sold and they tasted and stored gpod. We have never made our own. We have bought bulk dried beans,rice, and vacuuned sealed them with oxygen absorbers and placed in mylar bags then 5 gallon buckets for long term storage. Although it is best to freeeze for 2 or 3 days your rice and beans first to kill any insects that could be in them
We are interested in buying a large amount of rice and also flour. We bought some gallon jugs but how do we keep the moisture out of is there a danger of dampness in storage?
I have a pet with dietary restrictions. I buy canned dog food with low fat content, slick and dehydrate it for her treats. She loves them, and stays healthy.
I’M WANTING TO KNOW HOW TO FREEZE DRY AND THEN WHERE TO STORE?