Homemade Cranberry Sauce

 

Cranberries Aren’t Just for Thanksgiving Any More! 

Cranberry sauce is much easier to make than you might think.  A few years ago I got so frustrated when reading the labels on canned cranberry sauce. I could not find one can that did not have high fructose corn syrup! 

Homemade Raisins What Could Be Easier?

FoodPantrie Air Drying

You haven’t lived until you have made and eaten home-made raisins.  These are far plumper than the commercially prepared ones. Plus, they last longer! The above picture shows you that this process is so simple, you don’t even need electricity to dry them! 

Peach Crumble Pie

Cooling on the Rack 

I’ve been playing around with a few dessert and pie recipes lately. It’s important to have sweets on occasion, no matter what is happening in the world around you.  The advantage of dehydrated pies is that they are transportable, easy to store, and have everything except a few fatty ingredients that don’t dehydrate well.  Almost everything you need is in one package. 

Apple Raisin Pie

Apple Raisin Pie

What do you do with all those apples you just dehydrated?  Outside of eating them as a snack, there must be something you can do.  Here is a recipe I found using dehydrated apples to make a pie.

Apple Peeler / Slicer

Here is my handy-dandy apple peeler/corer.  You can also use it on potatoes and any other round, evenly shaped veggie.

Dehydrating Peaches Just Washed and Sliced

We bought a case of peaches from our Bountiful Basket order last week. They were rock-hard, so I had to let them sit and ripen for a while.  I decided to split the order and prepare them in two different ways. This firs batch I simply washed and sliced. 

The Great Blueberry Debate

Onn my Facebook group, Dehydrating Way Beyond Jerky, the question of how to prep blueberries often comes up.  Blueberries have a thick skin. In order for them to dry properly, most books recommend that you pierce the skin in some manner.  That enables the moisture from the inside to evaporate more quickly.

Normally, blueberries are so expensive, I rarely have enough to dehydrate. However, in our last Bountiful Basket order, we ordered a case of blueberries. We got four and a half pounds of blueberries in twelve six-ounce boxes.

I decided to answer this question of how to process blueberries once and for all.

Blueberries!

Dehydrating Apricots

Dried Apricots

I have had very little experience with fresh apricots. They are usually too expensive for me.  However, lately we’ve participated in the Bountiful Baskets program and have gotten them on several occasions.  You don’t get a choice, you simply get a laundry basket full of fresh produce. Now, what we don’t eat during the week, I dehydrate on the weekends.

Dehydrating Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe

The first time I dehydrated a melon, I was not impressed.  

It was crumbly and sticky and just about wouldn’t scrape off the rack!  What I tasted was cloyingly sweet and not really palatable.  But I kept reading so much about dehydrated melon, I decided to try it again.

Mandolin Cross Cut Apples

Using your safety device on your mandolin slicer!

 Here is a neat way of slicing your apples for a little bit of a festive look. I leave the skins on for this project.

Dehydrating Lemons

This process can be applied to any citrus fruit.

Zesting Citrus Fruit

Many people are curious about dehydrating citrus fruit.  Yes, you can dehydrate your citrus, any kind. Be it lemons, oranges, grapefruit, limes, whatever. 

This is a handy little tool called a zester.  It has a set of tiny holes with scraping edges. This is drawn across the skin of the fruit and peels up just a tiny layer of peeling, called the zest.

Candied Orange Slices

The other day we received a big batch of quartered oranges. I wanted to find out if I could do something than just dehydrating the slices, so I decided to candy them.

Dehydrated Candied Orange Slices

Guides for Success in Drying

Prepared by the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Utah

Photo by Linda Anderson

Selecting the Right Product

• Fruits and vegetables selected for drying should be sound, fresh, and in the "peak" of condition; ripe, but still firm and at the right state of maturity.
• Wilted or inferior material will not make a satisfactory product.
• Immature fruits will be weak in color and flavor. Over-mature vegetables are usually tough and woody.
• Over-mature or bruised fruits are likely to spoil before the drying process can be accomplished.
•  Fruit and vegetables that are inferior before drying will be inferior after drying.

Fruit Leathers

Fruit leathers provide nourishing snacks and are easy to prepare. This product can be

made by pureeing fruit, either fresh or a drained, canned product. 

This information is provided by the University of Utah Cooperative Extension Service.

Creativity in making fruit leathers

Here are a variety of things you can do with fruit leathers: 

These suggestions come from the University of Utah Cooperative Extension Service.

• Different fruits can be blended together.
• Seasonings such as
• cinnamon can be added
• or powdered drink mixes or
• Flavored gelatin products.
• Season to taste, but remember it will be more concentrated when the water has been removed.
• Add undiluted, thawed frozen juice concentrates to add flavor.
• Sprinkle puree with
• shredded coconut
• chopped dates
• other dried chopped fruit
• granola
• miniature marshmallows
• chopped nuts
• chopped raisins
• poppy seeds
• sesame seeds
• sunflower seeds
• Make a fruit leather, then lightly frost it with cream cheese. Roll it up and slice it for a pinwheel effect.
• Applesauce makes a convenient leather base to which other flavors may be added. One example is Christmas Leather. Grape juice, orange, and berry frozen concentrates are possible variations.

Canned Foods

I had a hard time finding this particular item because it is listed as a page rather than a post. 

Apparently, you can list key words for posts, but not pages.

So I am redirecting the information in a post.  Now it has key words to send you to the page called "Canned Foods"

Simply look on the right side of this page and click on Canned Foods.  All kinds of detailed information is available regarding dehydrating commercially canned fruits and vegetables.

Homemade Granola Bars

This recipe was submitted by Vickilynn Haycreaft as a document posted in Facebook Dehydrating Way Beyond Jerky.

From Excalibur site: http://www.dehydrator123.com/tag/granola-bars-recipe/    

As  a parent, I’ve learned all sorts of tricks to getting my kids to eat  healthy foods. The number one way to get my kids to eat healthy was to  allow them to cook their own food – with my supervision, of course. By letting them cook their own healthy meals they were more likely to want to eat their own creations, take pride in their work, and gain appreciation for the amount of effort that goes into feeding a family.   One of their favorite healthy snacks to make is granola bars.

Raspberry Chocolate Fruit Roll-Ups

This is a really delicious recipe submitted by Vickilynn Haycroft

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Frozen Raspberries, thawed and drained
• 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate or White Chocolate Morsels, melted
• 1/3 cup White Grape Juice
• 1/2 cup Berry-flavored Applesauce

Instructions:

• Combine all ingredients in a Nesco® blender.
• Puree to smooth  consistency.
• Spray Nesco®/American Harverst® Fruit Roll Sheet lightly  with vegetable spray.
• Then spread puree evenly (approximately 1/4"  thick) on Fruit Roll Sheet and place on tray of Nesco®/American  Harverst® Dehydrator.
• Dry at 135ºF. for 8 to 10 hours until no sticky  spots are present on top or underneath fruit.
• Remove fruit leather while  still warm, roll and cut into bite-sized pieces (if desired).
• Wrap in  plastic wrap for storage.

Serves approximately 2 to 2-1/2 Fruit Roll-ups

"Used by permission: (c) Vickilynn Haycraft of Real Food Living www.realfoodliving.com "

Linda’s Note:

• For controlled portions, measure out ¼ to ½ cup portions before dehydrating.

How to Slice a Pineapple

The first time I looked at one of these things, I didn’t have a clue as to what to do.  I butchered the thing miserably.  Then I learned, but fresh pineapple is pretty expensive in Wyoming, so I didn’t think much about it.  However, recently we got one through Bountiful Harvest.  Before I knew what was happening, Mike decided to have some, so he butchered the thing… <sigh>

That’s when I realized that there are probably many people who don’t get fresh pineapples because they don’t know what to do with it.

You need a strong, sharp knife.  Something heavy-duty like a chef’s knife works well.

How to Slice a Pineapple: