Tips for Dehydrating Vegetables for a Cruise

First published 1/26/18 in firstmatesguide.com
  Dehydrating vegetables for use on a long cruise (two weeks or more) is a great idea if:
​1.  Food storage on your boat is limited.
​2. You're in a part of the PNW's Inside Passage where there are no grocery stores for a hundred miles.
  Dehydrated veggies last a long time if stored in a cool, dry space. I keep mine in plastic bread  or zip-lock bags. The zip-lock bags are sturdier, which is handy because sometimes dehydrated veggies have sharp edges that can puncture a soft bag. 

 You might be thinking, "Ugh! Dehydrated vegetables. what could be worse?" 

I urge you to reconsider. I use dehydrated veggies (DV) for: 
1.  Soups. I'll be putting up some recipes in the coming days. 
2.  Additional flavoring (you'd be surprised the punch you can add to your meals by adding some DVs.
3.   Stews and ragouts. Again, recipes are coming. (See recipe for Dehydrated Veggies and Chicken Tenders Ragout.)

Here's how to get that punch I just talked about: 
1.  Use fresh, flavorful vegetables. Pay a little extra if you have to in order to get the best taste. A hot house tomato is going to be yummier when dried than some of the anemic ones found in produce sections. 
2.  Use vegetables that have unique flavors. I use celeriac (or celery root), parsnips, mushrooms, onions, carrots, tomatoes. 
3.  Use vegetables and flavors YOU like. 

Buy the veggies only when you have a few days (or more) to do the dehydrating. You want the veggies FRESH. If they've been sitting in the fridge for a week, then they're not that fresh. Fresh is best. 

I use a Nesco dehydrator. The directions say to spread the veggies out, which I used to follow to a tee. Not any more. One year I got behind schedule and loaded the veggies in, as in the photo of the onions to the right. I turned on the machine and hoped for the best. Guess what? It The veggies dried just fine. 

The before and after photos of mushrooms gives you a better picture. On top you see all the fresh, sliced mushrooms. On the bottom, you see what they look dehydrated. 

I think there are a lot of dehydrators on the market. I've only tried the Nesco. It works fine. I can add extra trays, which I consider a strong point. I have no complaints. But the others may be the same or even better.

I have a friend who dehydrates veggies in her oven, which she sets of low. I don't do that because, frankly, dehydrating veggies scents up the house. I'm more likely to put the dehydrator out in the garage, which helps a lot, but not completely. This is probably as good a time as any to warn you not to dehydrate veggies when you  have company coming, since there will be a lingering scent of mushrooms, or onions, or whatever it is you're drying. 

So here's my usual method for making DVs:
1.  Buy veggies so they're never more than three days old when they're dehydrated. (They last for months (!!)  after they've been dried. Dry that freshness in.
2.  Sometimes I dry them in batches. One day I do the mushrooms, the next day I do carrots, etc. Sometimes I do onions and mushrooms together. 
3.  Keep in  mind that the dehydrator is going to be running at 140 - 145 degrees for about twenty-four hours. You may find you  have to do yours more or less. Be open to that. 
4.  Just before dehydrating, rinse of the veggies and slice them thinly. A mandoline or a food processor are real helpers for this stage. If you slice them too thickly, they won't dry evenly, which is bad since you want them completely dried out. Completely. To a crisp. Kind of like a potato chip. 
5.  Spread the veggies on the trays. 
6.  Plug in the dehydrator. 
7.  Set the temperature. I set mine at 145, or a little less. Read the directions that come with your machine. If you're drying in your oven, set it on low. 
​
About twenty-four hours later, check on your veggies. If they're sort of crisp and shrunken, they're done. If they're still kind of soft and pliable, keep dehydrating them until they're not. (Mushrooms will be more pliable that carrots.) When they're done, immediately store them. Get as much air out of the container as you can. Then label them, because sometimes it's hard to recognize what you've got. 

Fresh, sliced onions spread on dehy-drator tray. 

Fresh, sliced mushrooms before being dehydrated.

Here's what the mushrooms look like after being dehydrated. They've shrunk and take less room!

Fresh, sliced parsnips.

Fresh, sliced celeriac and carrots.

Set temperature to about 145 degrees F.

This is what these veggies look all dried up and ready for cruising. Usually I have significantly more veggies that this. What you see above is: 4 onions, 1 large celeriac, 5 medium carrots, a big box or extra large mushrooms, and 3 fat parsnips. Other veggies you can use are tomatoes, celery, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and peas. Your dehydrator instructions will give you lots of ideas. 

So before you leave, what are a couple of boat meals to which you can add some DVs? 

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