Dehydrator Questions

Your can store them fresh, wrapped in a paper towel in a zipper bag in the refrigerator, but after a couple weeks, the herbs should dry in the food dehydrator. And knowing you can preserve your herbs, you may be motivated to start an herb garden.

Dry at 95 degrees F for about 2 hours.

By grinding dried herbs and then mixing them with salt and pepper, you'll be able to create custom seasonings. They would be nice gifts for people who cook.

If you're making potpourri, you can hang your herbs or flowers like lavender upside down, or you can save time by using a dehydrator. And homemade potpourri is also a nice gift.

Dry currants easily by checking and dehdyrating. "Checking" means to dip the fruit in boiling water for a 30-60 seconds to remove the natural, protective wax-like coating. After checking, pat the currants dry with a paper towel. Place them in the dehydrator and dry at 135 F for 14-20 hours until dry. The drying time can be reduced slightly if you slice the currants in half.

It's the same recipe whether you're drying Black Corinth grapes (Zante currants), blackcurrants, or red currants. (Or regular grapes for regular raisins.)

The same instructions work for berries like blueberries and cranberries.

Dry whole, unshelled nuts in 10-14 hours at 95 degrees F. You'll save about two hours if the nuts are shelled.

Using a blender, puree a bunch of fruit and add things like applesauce or bananas. Then pour the mixture onto dehydrator sheets or fruit roll trays, depending on your dehydrator. Then dry at 135 degrees for 4-12 hours.

If you don't have fruit leather trays or dehydrator sheets, you can line your trays with wax paper, parchment paper, or silicone baking sheets.

Take a piece of jerky and tear it. If there's no moisture, they're done. It's the best way to check because dehydrators vary in power. Some are going to take longer than others. It's important to check because if the meat's not dry enough, it'll spoil sooner than later. Overdrying is better than underdrying. Checking ground meat jerky is the same thing.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you can try hanging the meat on a string or using the oven:

Place the pan with strips to be oven-dried in a very slow oven. It should be set at the lowest possible setting, about 150°F. Leave the oven door slightly ajar.

If you have a convection oven, the air circulation is helpful.

You can also dehydrate tofu to make vegan jerky strips. Check out this tofu jerky recipe with photos.