Friday, February 22, 2013

Dehydrator Basics - Drying Carrots

Today I want to show you how to save storage space and to offer you an easy way to store your veggies without having to freeze or can them.

First peel and slice your carrots into even quarters.



You want the pieces to be as even as possible for the best possible drying possibilities.

Blanche the carrots in boiling water for 4-5 minutes.


After blanching, place the carrots in a container of cold water to stop the cooking procedure.


Drain and place evenly on the dehydrator trays (All my carrots filled 3 trays)


Dry at 50°C for approximately 4-5 hours, or until the carrots are shriveled and dry.


They should look like this when done.


The carrots now fill less than a quarter of the same space, allowing me to put about 10 carrots into this jar :)

This jar holds roughly 10 large carrots

I keep my carrots in a handy jar to add to all my curries, stews and soups.
Before I add them back into my meals I leave the carrots in a bowl covered with water for a couple of hours before I need to use them.

They will taste the same as fresh carrots if done this way.
Do join us next week for another dehydrator recipe :)
We would love to hear from you,
Have a super weekend.
x

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13 comments:

  1. How very interesting! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jills,
      It is a pleasure, thanks for visiting.
      x
      Natalie

      Delete
  2. I love this, thanks for posting! Last year was my first year to really get into dehydrating but I plan to expand it this year. The dehydrated garden veggies incorporate so easily into my winter-time soups and take up very little space in the pantry. This year I'll be dehydrating with my new solar oven, I'm excited to try it! I put up a blog post about my solar oven today. (visiting from Farm Girl Friday)

    ~Taylor-Made Ranch~
    Wolfe City, Texas

    www.taylormaderanch.com/blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, solar-oven that sounds super interesting will come over for a visit :)
      Thanks for visiting us also.
      x
      Natalie

      Delete
  3. Great tutorial! I do this myself, and it's so nice to be able to grab a handfull of dried veggies and throw them into soup. I always have to resist the temptation to use more than one handfull, though, because they are just a fraction of the size of fresh!
    Thanks so much for sharing this at Farm Girl Blog Fest #21!
    ~Kristi@Let This Mind Be in You

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kristi,
      I so agree, have the same problem, it looks like such a little when in fact if you are not careful you end up making something predominantly carroty :)
      Thanks for the visit.
      x

      Delete
  4. Newest follower here! I found you though the blog hop :) You have such a cute blog, I can't wait to read more! You can find me at at meandmr.com

    -Melanie @ meandmr.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Melanie,
      Welcome :) Thanks so much for visiting, we hope you enjoy your stay.
      x
      Natalie and Stefan

      Delete
  5. This is really interesting - do they plump up again when cooked?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Hannah,
      Yes, when I am ready to cook them, I leave them in a bowl covered with quite a bit of water. I let them soak for around 2-3 hours. In the morning if I know that I will be using carrots, I will soak them straight away. Obviously the more they soak, the more they swell.
      They then plump up and taste like normal carrots once cooked. I wouldn't probably use them as a side dish, but add them to stews, curries, soup etc with no difference noted.
      Hope that helps.
      x

      Delete
  6. Hi Lisa Lynn,
    I will be there, thanks for the invite :)
    x
    Natalie

    ReplyDelete
  7. You can easily save the money you spend on your food dehydrator in a matter of months by avoiding buying expensive dried foods at the grocery store. In addition to quality, consider the size and shape of the dehydrator you should buy for your household.FD 1040 Gardenmaster review

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for leaving a comment, we so appreciate hearing from you.
We will reply to all comments posted :)
x
Natalie and Stefan

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