Some thoughts on dehydrating vegetables the 'easy' way. There are many posts on YouTube and elsewhere, promoting using frozen vegetables in a dehydrator; for fast long term storage. I do Not claim to have originated this method of preservation, but I will address some things that improve upon their process.
This Lady was the first I saw on this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m1K2mbk8WZo
I watch her often, and find her methods practical and accurate. She is pretty sharp, watch her channel!
I have found a couple of improvements to her method, that will save time and costs.
Fun at home:
Mixed vegetables for stew:
Using frozen vegetables.
First, she uses frozen vegetables, which can clump and seldom lay right on the trays. I find that if you set them in the sink overnight, all those problems are solved.
Second, frozen vegetables must be thawed first, then the atmospheric condensation must be evaporated before the dehydration can begin. Using thawed vegetables, they condense no moisture from the air; because they are sealed in a bag.
Third, the frost on the vegetables must be evaporated away too. When sink thawed, I just nip the corner and pour the melted frost out. I usually get a little less than a quarter cup, but in 8 trays, that is a cup and a half!
When you add the atmospheric moisture we avoid, we are reducing the moisture loading by several cups. I have no idea how long it would take to evaporate 2 cups of water....
Add that to the time and power needed to thaw the frozen vegetables, and the savings are readily apparent. Thawing in a sink uses no dehydrator time or power. Additionally, this thawing can be done, while the evaporator is processing another batch; increasing the throughput of the dehydrator.
I follow her method of vacuum sealing the dehydrated vegetables in canning jars. I do that slightly different, because I use a vacuum pump designed for refrigeration. I do this for two reasons:
First, because I have this vacuum pump already (multiple uses) because I do my own refrigeration work.
Secondly, it pulls a significantly better vacuum than the toys they sell for this use. I run the pump until the hose collapses, then I know I have a good vacuum!
Easy, fast, and efficient....
💗🤠💙