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Food Drying For Preserving.

mark wilson said:
@Keith
Mist this thread.
Your a Man of many talents Keith. As it happens I have pumpkins to carve for Halloween this week. And wouldn’t doing what you have in your picture above (roasting the seeds ) if you don’t mind Keith could you give me a rundown of what to do please :thumbsup:

My next venture along the lines of this will be bilton/beef jerky. Love the stuff.
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There is a pumpkin called kakai Mark, which has no hull on it's seeds. This would be the best one to use. We have not tried it as yet but have ordered the seeds. We have been roasting Queensland Blue pumpkin seeds in the oven. I just put them on a tray in the oven & keep a watch on them from time to time until they look done. Then I try one to see if they are done or not.
Roasted_pumpkin_Seeds_002.jpg

Keith.
 
Mark, I've a cpl recipes/guides for jerky and biltong I used successfully when first trying it. I've adjusted the spices a bit to suit myself though now. Would you like me to post them?
 
Skyy said:
Mark, I've a cpl recipes/guides for jerky and biltong I used successfully when first trying it. I've adjusted the spices a bit to suit myself though now. Would you like me to post them?
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That would be great thanks:thumbsup: a would suggest posting a new thread :thumbsup:
 
Keith said:
There is a pumpkin called kakai Mark, which has no hull on it's seeds. This would be the best one to use. We have not tried it as yet but have ordered the seeds. We have been roasting Queensland Blue pumpkin seeds in the oven. I just put them on a tray in the oven & keep a watch on them from time to time until they look done. Then I try one to see if they are done or not.
Roasted_pumpkin_Seeds_002.jpg

Keith.
Click to expand...



Thanks Keith:thumbsup:
 
Thread posted, Mark. Got one for Pastrami as well, but I've not tried it yet. I always use my dehydrator, usually 60 or 65 C for 4 hour sessions, checking, turning, rotating the trays each time. Usually most foods are done in 8 to 12 hrs total.
 
what amount of electric does that take? does it make it cost productive?
 
we had a food dryer at one time but we found it was a lot of hassle for just 2 people, and not cost productive.
 
The dryer is rated 245W at 240V, so about 8 to 12 AH for a full cycle. With 5 trays, I think that's fairly cost-effective for what I'm producing.
 
Skyy said:
Thread posted, Mark. Got one for Pastrami as well, but I've not tried it yet. I always use my dehydrator, usually 60 or 65 C for 4 hour sessions, checking, turning, rotating the trays each time. Usually most foods are done in 8 to 12 hrs total.
Click to expand...

thanks mate
 
245w works out at about 5p an hour so not expensive to run plus there is no guess work in getting the food to 60c which kills off bacteria.

LW, you don't need to fill all the trays
 
On the drying, a friend grows a lot of veg, but doesn't use it. He gives it to us (OK.. we buy him a few pints etc.).. so.. got Red cabbage recently.
Now most veg's need blanching before drying/storing, and after thinking about it, I steam blanched rather than using boiling water. My thoughts are that it will keep more of the vitamins and minerals in there doing it this way. I used a cider vinegar/water at 50:50 as the liquid in the steamer. Then it goes into the dehydrator as usual, then vac-packed. A tip is (with red cabbage), to preserve the colour when re-hydrating, use some citrus. I used some dried mandarin and lemon in the pack.
Comments and thoughts?
 
Some veggies, including cabbage, will store reasonably well in a well ventilated space, others such as root crops can be earthed up in a clamp or kept in a dark dry place as long as you brush the soil off them. My veggies will last until feb this way, then I'm relying on my frozen stuff. I freeze too much, although we have solar panels, I don't like being dependent on the freezers. I'm going to try drying more food, there is also sauerkraut and pickling.
 
It's the old cool room method, I've read about it but never needed to do it yet because I'm on a heavy clay soil here. Carrots wouldn't do well here without a disproportionate amount of work for a very poor return. My store room mainly gets used for apples instead.
 
I can remember my dad storing carrots in boxes. Don't remember much about the process, but he used it for beetroot and salsify as well if remember right. There are times I wish I'd paid more attention.
 
ystranc said:
It's the old cool room method, I've read about it but never needed to do it yet because I'm on a heavy clay soil here. Carrots wouldn't do well here without a disproportionate amount of work for a very poor return. My store room mainly gets used for apples instead.
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Cant you just store them in hessian in a dry place? That's what I do, have to check them regularly to weed out the ones that start to rot, eat them first. Can also store potatoes. turnips and parsnips that way. Found it difficult to store butternut squash, discovered that wiping the skins with bleach helps to stop them rotting.
 
Skyy said:
On the drying, a friend grows a lot of veg, but doesn't use it. He gives it to us (OK.. we buy him a few pints etc.).. so.. got Red cabbage recently.
Now most veg's need blanching before drying/storing, and after thinking about it, I steam blanched rather than using boiling water. My thoughts are that it will keep more of the vitamins and minerals in there doing it this way. I used a cider vinegar/water at 50:50 as the liquid in the steamer. Then it goes into the dehydrator as usual, then vac-packed. A tip is (with red cabbage), to preserve the colour when re-hydrating, use some citrus. I used some dried mandarin and lemon in the pack.
Comments and thoughts?
Click to expand...
I don't know Skyy, blanching only takes seconds, I would not think that you would lose any nutrients. But if it works for you, stick with it:thumbsup:
Keith.
 
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