User Guide
7
Selection and Preparation
Wash vegetables to remove dirt and debris. Trim vegetables to remove fibrous or woody portions or bruised and decayed areas, peel, and
slice using the preparation information found on the Vegetable Drying Guide below and on page 8. Slice or cut vegetables into pieces
that are uniform in size. See Vegetable Drying Guide for pretreatment information on specific vegetables.
Pretreatment
The process of blanching involves subjecting vegetables to a high enough temperature to deactivate the enzymes. Blanching is necessary
to stop the naturally occurring enzymes from causing loss of color and flavor during drying and storage. Blanching also relaxes the tissue
walls so moisture can more readily escape during drying and enter during rehydrating. Blanching can be done in water or steam. Water
blanching causes a greater loss of nutrients but is faster than steam blanching and achieves a more even heat penetration.
Steam blanching—Fill a deep pot with water and bring to a boil. Place vegetables loosely in a basket or colander that will allow
steam to freely circulate around the vegetables. Do not fill basket or colander with more than a 2½-inch layer of vegetables. Position
the basket or colander in the pot, making sure it does not contact the boiling water. Cover with a close fitting lid. Steam for the time
indicated in the Vegetable Drying Guide.
Water blanching—Fillalargepot⅔fullwithwater.Coverandbringtoaboil.Placevegetableslooselyinabasketorcolander
and submerge in the boiling water. Cover and blanch for the time indicated in the Vegetable Drying Guide. Water should return to a
boil in less than 1 minute. If not, too many vegetables were added to the basket; reduce the amount of vegetables added for the next
batch. Water blanch for the time indicated in the Vegetable Drying Guide.
Immediately after steam or water blanching, dip the vegetables in cold water to quickly cool them. Drain the vegetables and arrange them
in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. Refer to the Vegetable Drying Guide for drying times.
Determining Dryness
Refer to the Vegetable Drying Guide and begin checking the vegetables at the beginning of the average drying time range. Remove a few
pieces of vegetables from each dehydrator tray and allow to cool to room temperature. Test for dryness by breaking the pieces in half.
Most vegetables will be crisp when appropriately dried and will break easily. If vegetables do not break easily, additional drying time is
needed. If vegetables seem to have a lot of moisture remaining, recheck every 1 to 2 hours. If vegetables appear to be almost done, check
again in 30 minutes. Always check vegetables from each tray. Follow “Packaging and Storage” information on page 4.
Vegetable Drying Guide
Dry vegetables at 125°F [52°C]. Drying times are highly variable depending on the type and amount of food, thickness, evenness of food pieces,
humidity, air temperature, personal preference, and even the age of the plant at the time of harvesting.
Vegetable Preparation
Pretreatment
water or steam blanching
Average Drying Time
Asparagus Cutinto1˝pieces.
water 3½–4½ minutes
steam 4–5 minutes
6–8 hours
Beans, green/wax Removeendsandstrings.Cutinto1˝pieces.
water 2 minutes
steam 2–2½ minutes
6–11 hours
Beets
Cook until tender. Cool and peel. Cut into
shoestringstrips⅛˝thick.
None—Already cooked 4–7 hours
Broccoli Cut into serving pieces.
water 2 minutes
steam 3–3½ minutes
4–7 hours
Carrots Peelandcutoffends.Cutinto⅛˝to¼˝slices.
water 3 minutes
steam 3–3½ minutes
4–10 hours
Cauliflower Cut into serving pieces.
water 3–4 minutes
steam 4–5 minutes
5–8 hours
Celery Trimends.Cutinto¼˝slices.
water 2 minutes
steam 2 minutes
2–4 hours
Corn, cut
Husk and remove silk. Blanch and cut corn
from cob.
water 1½ minutes
steam 2–2½ minutes
6–10 hours
Mushrooms Washandslice⅜˝thick. None 2–6 hours
Onions
Remove outer skin. Cut off top and root ends.
Cutinto¼˝slices.
None 3–7 hours
Peas Shell.
water 2 minutes
steam 3 minutes
5–9 hours