Dehydration is the process of removing the waters from food to make it lightweight and last for a long time. When food is dehydrated, the volume of the food change because food contains water. As water is removed from food, the food shrinks in size.
Many foods shrinks significanly when dehydrated because they contain a high amount of water. Foods like spinach contain a significant amount of water so when it become dehydrated, it shrinks to become a very small amount of food. Foods like bananas does not shrink as much as spinach does when dehydrated because they hold more bulk.
How to Dry, Store and Rehydrate Food
To ensure that you have enough food after dehydration, it is important to calculate the weight of the fresh foods that will be dehydrated and the weight of the dried food. If you do not calculate the weight of the fresh and dried food, you might not have enough food to eats. The temperature and the timing of the dehydration process is important.
The cook must use the correct temperature to dehydrate different type of food because different foods require different dehydration temperatures. Using a temperature that is too low for vegetables will waste electricity because the vegetables will not dry quick. Using a temperature that is too high for fruit will make the fruit taste like burnt sugar because the high temperature will alter the sugar contents of the fruit.
Herbs require a gentle dehydration temperature so that the essential oils in the herbs does not evaporate. Meat requires a higher dehydration temperature then herbs because the meat will not be safe to eat if it is not dehydrated to the correct temperature. Food must be prepared before dehydration.
Food should be cut into uniform slice before dehydration so that the food will dry at the same rate. If food is cut into both thick and thin slices and placed in the dehydration container at the same time, the thin slices will burn before the thick slices dry. A mandoline can be used to ensure that all the food is cut into uniform slices.
For meat, it is necessary to cut the meat against the grain so that the texture of the meat will be chewily when rehydrated. To determine when the dehydration process is complete, the texture of the food must be tested. For vegetables, the food is done being dehydrated if it snap cleanly when touched.
For fruits, the dehydration process is complete when the fruit feel leathery and pliable and does not leave moisture on the fingers. Food is not done being dehydrated if the center of the food are still soft. The food should not be placed in a storage container if it is not fully dehydrated so that the food does not spoil.
Storage of the food after dehydration is important so that the food does not get damaged. If the food will be consumed in a few months, it can be stored in glass jar. For storage beyond a few months, use Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers to store food.
The Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers will protect the food from getting damaged by air and moisture. Using the correct type of container to store food depend on the length of time that the food will be stored. Rehydration is the process of placing the dehydrated food in water to make it edible again.
Depending on the type of food, rehydration can take more time then other food. For instance, carrots will benefit from being simmermed in broth slow so that the carrots can absorb the water. Warm water can be used to rehydrate the food quickly.
To aid in the rehydration process, place the lid on the container of food so that the steam can force water into the foods fiber to return the food to its original volume.
