Taters ‘n Taters ‘n Taters… Oh My!

Idaho ‘Taters

My goodness, what a great deal we got!  You know, sometimes you simply luck into being in the right place at the right time.

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.

Slicing Apples with a Mandolin

Here is an easy way to prep your apples if they aren’t all that perfect.  I was given a box of apples. Many of them had bruises, so I didn’t want to slice them with the peelings. 

The first thing I did was peel the apples and cut off the bruises. Then I used the mandolin to quickly slice one side to the core.

Easiest of the Easy

For you newbies to dehydrating, here is a list of the easiest things to dehydrate. All you have to do is wash, slice, toss onto the racks and go. By morning, Voila! Perfection.

Apple Slices

A few starter tips:

• Even slices mean even drying. Try to cut ...your slices thin and even.
• Use a mandolin slicer if you have one. Makes the job a lot easier.
• If you wash your veggies first, you might want to use your salad spinner get rid of excess moisture.
• Fruits with high sugar content - spray your fruit leather trays first to keep from sticking.
• Drippy things or things that will fall through the slots when dried because of shrinkage - put a fruit leather tray or cut piece of wax paper on the bottom rack. 
• The foods listed below do not need cooking, blanching, or treating before dehydrating.   

Mandolin Slicing

One of the advantages of a mandolin slicer is that you get nice even slices.  When dehydrating foods, keeping your pieces of food at an even thickness and size insures even drying.

There are many brands of mandolins on the market. Some have single blades, others have multiple blades. These machines can get quite expensive, so be sure to check with your local thrift store before purchasing. Keep an eye out at yard sales and flea markets, too!

Most are designed either with grooves to place on a container to catch the sliced pieces or with a tilting rack of some sort to let the pieces drop onto a cutting board.

Some have adjustable blade widths for varying thicknesses of food.  My machine has interchangeable blades for slicing, grating, or julienne strips.

Mandolin Slicer

One of the advantages of a mandolin slicer is that you get nice even slices.  When dehydrating foods, keeping your pieces of food at an even thickness and size insures even drying. 

There are many brands of mandolins on the market. Some have single blades, others have multiple blades. These machines can get quite expensive, so be sure to check with your local thrift store before purchasing. Keep an eye out at yard sales and flea markets, too! 

Most are designed either with grooves to place on a container to catch the sliced pieces or with a tilting rack of some sort to let the pieces drop onto a cutting board. 

Some have adjustable blade widths for varying thicknesses of food.  My machine has interchangeable blades for slicing, grating, or julienne strips.

Assorted Interchangable Blades

Notice the notches on the bottom of my mandolin. They are on both edges of the machine and are designed to hang onto either side of the bowl or container.  In this case, I'm preparing to slice directly into a veggie keeper to store in the fridge until I'm ready to rack 'em.

This day I filled three containers with zucchini and yellow squash.  We were having sauteed squash for supper. I didn't know how much I would be using, so this way, whatever is left over can go can be eassily stored until I'm ready to pop them into the dehydrator.