Title: How To Dehydrate Vegetables Part 2
Categories: Vegetable Dehydrator Info
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WATER BLANCHING: Fill a pot 2/3 full of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Place the vegetables in a wire basket or colander and submerge them in the boiling water. After putting the vegetables in the water, bring it to a boil again before beginning timing. If it takes longer than a minute to come to the second boil, you probably have too many vegetables in the pot.

STEAM BLANCHING: You'll need a double-boiler arrangement with water in the bottom part, a perforated upper pan or container which lets the steam circulate freely without water touching the vegetables and a tight-fitting lid to prevent the steam from escaping. Place 1 to 2 inches of water in the bottom part and bring it to a rolling boil. Layer the prepared vegetables in the upper perforated part no more than 2 to 2 1/2 inches deep. They should be loosely packed. Cover tightly with the lid and steam for the specified time. Begin timing from the moment the lid is replaced. Grated or small pieces of vegetables may need occasional stirring to expose all their surfaces to the steam.

Blanching or steaming times vary with the altitude, the amount of vegetables and the thickness of the pieces. The time given in the charts should serve as guidelines but test the pieces frequently to prevent underblanching or overblanching. As a general rule, vegetables should feel and taste firm, yet tender. They should not be cooked as they would be for eating, yet should be heated all the way through. Some vegetable pieces will appear almost translucent to the center when cut. At higher altitudes about 5,000 feet, increase water blanching time 1 minute and steam blanching time 2 minutes. Underblanching may cause deterioration in storage, poor rehydration or bad color. Overblanching results in loss of color, flavor, nutrition and poor texture when rehydrated.

Drain vegetables if necessary by pouring them directly onto the screened drying tray, wipe the underside with a clean dish towel. Draining on a paper towel or cloth, then transferring to the drying tray results in unnecessary handling of tender vegetables.

You may or may not want to dip blanched or steamed vegetables in cold or ice water immediately to stop the action of the heat. If vegetables continue to cook after they have been blanched, they may be overblanched. However, dipping in ice water exposes blanched vegetables to more water, therefore more color and vitamin loss. You may compensate for this by slightly underblanching or understeaming the vegetables, realizing that they will cook a little longer in the dryer. If the vegetables are transferred directly from the steamer to the drying trays and placed immediately in a preheated dryer, the dryer process begins quickly because the vegetables are already warm. With this information plus a little experimentating, you can decide which method works best for you.

Some vegetables need other types of pretreatment to increase their storage life and nutritional value or to hold their color.

SULFITING DURING STEAM BLANCHING Sulfiting is suggested for vegetables which tend to deteriorate rapidly during storage, such as green beans, corn or potatoes. Sulfiting increases shelf life, holds the color and lessens losses of vitamins A and C. I recommend it if you plan to store these vegetables longer than 3 months. Or, store dried vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer. Here they will last for years without any pretreatment and take up far less space than your frozen foods.

To sulfite, add 1 teaspoon sodium bisulfite per cup of water to the steaming water. Sodium bisulfite may slightly affect flavor but it is not harmful. DO NOT ADD SODIUM BISULFITE WHEN WATER BLANCHING VEGETABLES. The vegetables will absorb the sulfur taste from the water.

OTHER PRETREATMENT METHODS Some vegetables require specific pretreatment methods: Adding baking soda to the blanching water, which you can do with celery, or dipping blanched vegetables, such as carrots, in a cornstarch solution to lessen vitamin loss. Some vegetables require no pretreatment, such as tomatoes and onions. ** How To Dry Foods by Deanna DeLong HPBooks, California 1992 ISBN = 1-55788-050-6

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