I can still remember how cold it was walking down the steps of my great-grandmother’s basement in central Michigan. It wasn’t supposed to get that cold in July, but that’s why it was the best place to store a giant vat of fermenting bread-and-butter pickles.
Preserving bountiful produce for the coming winter is a summertime tradition, but dehydrating produce is a much better nutritional option because the high heat of the canning process strips as much as 60 to 80% of an item’s nutrient density. It’s also much more “set it and forget it” than monitoring a giant pot of boiling water during canning.
You might be thinking, “Jacob, you said that the dehydrator in your pantry is collecting dust.” You are correct, loyal reader! Part of the reason for my lack of enthusiasm for dehydrators is that regular ovens do the same thing.
A regular oven’s lowest setting is generally between 150 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 20 degrees higher than most dehydrators operate. The circulating air of a convection oven mimics that of a dehydrator, so that’s a preferred option, but convection settings also dehydrate produce faster than in a non-convection oven, so watch carefully.
Delicious snacks and powerful flavor powders
You can use dehydrated produce in a few different ways: Eat it like a snack, rehydrate it for cooking or pulverize it into powder for baking or cooking.
In the snack category, some of my favorites are the summertime staples green beans and kale. Unlike apples and carrots, which come with pressure to slice uniform pieces, green beans and kale are great starter dehydrator options because you can set them in the oven after cleaning and drying without the worry of slicing your fingers on a mandolin. Both green beans and kale chips are a fantastic, crunchy snack that takes on a variety of seasonings very well, including roasted garlic powder and onion powder.
It might seem counterintuitive to dehydrate a watermelon slice, but because of its high water content, it becomes like candy when it is reduced down. Slices of mango and pineapple are also excellent fruits to dehydrate. After you select your fruit, double-check online to see if it’s recommended to blanch or soak it in lemon juice to prevent browning from oxidation during dehydrating.
Growing up with Southern parents, I’d always hear the phrase, “Don’t leave your car windows open during the summer, or else someone might put their extra squash in there.” It’s too easy to end up with more garden-grown squash than you know what to do with. Dehydrate them into a snack or pulverize them into a powder to sneak into sauces and baked goods for a nutrient boost.
Turmeric and ginger root that have been dehydrated in your oven and then turned into a powder will be a hue four shades darker than the stuff that’s been sitting on a grocery shelf for months. Dried mushrooms are one of the building blocks for boosting flavor. We’re about to enter prime mushroom season, so set those ovens to dehydrate.
During my interview with chef Nini Nguyen, she recommended dehydrating leftover rice to turn into a rice chip. She said to puree rice in a food processor or blender and pour the puree onto a silicon baking mat. Leave it in the oven at its lowest temperature overnight, and you will have a sheet of crispy rice.
“You can fry them and it becomes a delicious chip,” Nguyen said. “You can season it with any seasoning (when you make the puree).”
Dehydrated green beans
Ingredients:
½ to 1 pound of green beans
1 tablespoon salt
Enough water to blanch beans
Powdered seasoning like garlic, onion or ranch
Blanch green beans in very salty, boiling water for 90 seconds to 2 minutes or until the beans turn bright green. Drain the green beans and place them in an ice bath until they stop cooking, a few minutes. Once they are cool, dry thoroughly.
Place the beans between two wire cooling racks to prevent them from curling while dehydrating. If you don’t have two cooling racks, baking sheets will work, but cooling racks allow more circulation.
Turn the oven to the lowest setting and place beans on the lowest rack of the oven. Leave in the oven for 10 hours or overnight. Finished green beans should be crispy like a chip. Add your preferred seasoning to two teaspoons of neutral oil, and coat dehydrated green beans.
Chop It Up is a monthly column from Jacob Threadgill, a “semi-retired” journalist in Oklahoma City, where he wrote for the alt-weekly Oklahoma Gazette for three years. Prior to the Gazette, he wrote music and lifestyle features for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi.
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