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jennyjj01 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 23, 2019 10:28 pm
Strange: The internet consensus is that Leeks and onions don't need blanching. Carrots do.
Maybe I'd not dried them enough. Other leeks at the bottom of the same jar, from an earlier batch, were still white.

I give the onions a quick minute or so before blasting them with cold water, onions about 3. Any bits that don't feel bone dry I ditch. Have another play Jenny and figure out what works, you're maybe putting them in in 'clumps'.

Hi, I've had my new dehydrator for about a week now, so far I have made fruit leather, Apple and pear slices (these already have moisture in the jar: I have coloured moisture bags in them), carrots, peppers,courgettes and have celery on at the moment. I'm storing them in an assortment of jars and using oxygen absorbers with moisture indicators.
Having gone though the message board and come up with some interesting ideas to try, I'm still wondering about storage. I would prefer glass jars, but know it would be good to have some vacuum packed bags. Do I need to invest in a vacume jar sealer, or is there a more cost effective way?
Thanks.

Jillybean wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 4:29 pm Hi, I've had my new dehydrator for about a week now, so far I have made fruit leather, Apple and pear slices (these already have moisture in the jar: I have coloured moisture bags in them), carrots, peppers,courgettes and have celery on at the moment. I'm storing them in an assortment of jars and using oxygen absorbers with moisture indicators.
Having gone though the message board and come up with some interesting ideas to try, I'm still wondering about storage. I would prefer glass jars, but know it would be good to have some vacuum packed bags. Do I need to invest in a vacume jar sealer, or is there a more cost effective way?
Thanks.

Hi,
My take on it is that thoroughly dehydrated stuff will keep well, just in jars or tupperware without vac sealing. Vac sealing bags is a secondary way of keeping things like onions, dried peas etc that bit longer, or for stopping freezer burn of stuff that you separate into portions.
Vac sealing jars it more for wet stuff like sauces and preserves.

I dehydrate masses of diced carrots, sliced onions and mushrooms and bell peppers and whatever is surplus or going cheap. Much of that goes into big Kenco jars or tupperware boxes because things like that get crushed to destruction if vac packed in bags. Vac bagging onions works ok, though often punctures the first bag. I also vac seal my bags of flour and oats along with a 24 hour freeze to give them longer life.

I don't think there's much need to vac the jars if the contents are well dehydrated.

YOU CAN vac seal jars, especially those with metal lids such as cook-in sauce jars. I do that with my really cheap vac sealer by putting the jar with its loosely fitted lid into a longer piece of vac seal bag. Then suck the air from the bag without sealing it. Air pressure will keep the jar sealed long enough to give the lid a quick tighten. The seal check blister on the jar lid will show you've succeeded. The vac bag doesn't get sealed, so it can be reused half a dozen times or more.

Alternatively you can get a mason jar sealing tube/kit for most cheap vac sealers, but they, and the jars are stupidly expensive.

Thanks, I've since bought a £10 hand pump what can make use of jars with the button tops. I've put a small hole, covered with electrical tape and hand pumped to make an air lock. Going to see how this works on some test items (if I can get kids not to eat them).
It's reassuring just a normal tight fitting jar will work.

Jillybean wrote: ↑Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:35 pm Thanks, I've since bought a £10 hand pump what can make use of jars with the button tops. I've put a small hole, covered with electrical tape and hand pumped to make an air lock. Going to see how this works on some test items (if I can get kids not to eat them).
It's reassuring just a normal tight fitting jar will work.

Could you please explain or describe further? Are you having to modify the jars, or else how are you sucking the air out? Surely electrical tape alone won't seal a hole against a long term vacuum?

Hi, it was sucking the air out. It was an online video. Only tried a few but I don't think it is going to work. I'm checking every other day, but I'm not confident, so just using Masson jars for now after your post. The jars I tested were sealed, I'm just not sure if will hold. I have got a vacuum sealer with hose attachment coming from MIL for my birthday, so might invest in the jar attachment. I'm prepared for short term, what I'm trying to do is find something longer term. As it stands, the kids are eating things almost as fast as I can make them, so storage isn't an immediate issue.

Jillybean wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:51 pm As it stands, the kids are eating things almost as fast as I can make them, so storage isn't an immediate issue.

Jerky in a clip seal box, they can smell it

"YOU CAN vac seal jars, especially those with metal lids such as cook-in sauce jars. I do that with my really cheap vac sealer by putting the jar with its loosely fitted lid into a longer piece of vac seal bag. Then suck the air from the bag without sealing it. Air pressure will keep the jar sealed long enough to give the lid a quick tighten. The seal check blister on the jar lid will show you've succeeded. The vac bag doesn't get sealed, so it can be reused half a dozen times or more."

Thanks for this great tip Jenny. We've been looking at those mason jar air sealers from the states and they are silly expensive as you say. Off to give this a go now, let you know how we get on.

Do you dehydrate tomato into powder? I know Deeps and Decaf do. We are trying it first time this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kswk2Y0 ... e=youtu.be

Very new to dehydrating and so far have only done chives and chestnut mushrooms. I might (probably) have planted too much broccoli and wondered if it can be dehydrated. Internet says that it can, but I am a bit untrusting. Has anyone tried and had good results please? Usually I just blanche and freeze but freezer space is a bit short at the moment.

Medusa wrote: ↑Fri Apr 24, 2020 10:36 pm Very new to dehydrating and so far have only done chives and chestnut mushrooms. I might (probably) have planted too much broccoli and wondered if it can be dehydrated. Internet says that it can, but I am a bit untrusting. Has anyone tried and had good results please? Usually I just blanche and freeze but freezer space is a bit short at the moment.

Yes, Broccoli and cauliflower dehydrate and rehydrate fine. Cauliflower dehydrates to a brown coloue but hydrates bacj to white/cream colour. Both taste fine.