Vegetable Drying Guide - Presto Dehydro Digital Electric Food Dehydrator Instructions Manual

Water blanching – Fill a large pot ⅔ full with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Place vegetables loosely in a basket or colander and
submerge in the boiling water. Cover and blanch for the time indicated in the Vegetable Drying Guide. Water should return to a boil
in less than 1 minute. If not, too many vegetables were added to the basket; reduce the amount of vegetables added for the next batch.
Water blanch for the time indicated in the Vegetable Drying Guide below.
Immediately after steam or water blanching, dip the vegetables in cold water to quickly cool them. Drain the vegetables and arrange
them in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. Refer to the Vegetable Drying Guide below for drying times.
Determining Dryness
Refer to the Vegetable Drying Guide below and begin checking the vegetables at the beginning of the average drying time range.
Remove a few pieces of vegetables from each dehydrator tray and allow to cool to room temperature. Test for dryness by breaking the
pieces in half. Most vegetables will be crisp when appropriately dried and will break easily. If vegetables do not break easily, additional
drying time is needed. If vegetables seem to have a lot of moisture remaining, recheck every 1 to 2 hours. If vegetables appear to be
almost done, check again in 30 minutes. Always check vegetables from each tray.
Follow "Packaging and Storage" information on page 4.
Drying times are highly variable depending on the type and amount of food, thickness, evenness of food pieces, humidity, air temperature, personal
preference, and even the age of the plant at the time of harvesting.
Vegetable
Asparagus
Beans, green/wax
Beets
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Corn, cut
Mushrooms
Onions
Peas
Peppers and pimientos
Potatoes
Summer squash and zucchini
Tomatoes
Uses
Dried vegetables have a unique flavor and texture and are best used as ingredients for soups, stews, casseroles, and sauces rather than
stand-alone side dishes. When using in soups, dried vegetables can be added without soaking. Dried vegetables used for other purposes
need to be soaked before cooking. To soak, start with 1½ to 2 cups of boiling water for every 1 cup of dried vegetables. Soak for 1 to 2
hours or until vegetables have returned to nearly the same size they were before dehydrating. Additional water should be added as needed
during the soaking process. After soaking, simmer the vegetables in the soaking water until tender, allowing excess water to evaporate.

VEGETABlE DRyING GUIDE

Dry vegetables at 125°F or 52°C.
Preparation
Cut into 1˝ pieces.
Remove ends and strings. Cut into 1˝ pieces.
Cook until tender. Cool and peel. Cut into shoestring strips ⅛˝ thick.
Cut into serving pieces.
Peel and cut off ends. Cut into ⅛˝ to ¼˝ slices.
Cut into serving pieces.
Trim ends. Cut into ¼˝ slices.
Husk and remove silk. Blanch and cut corn from cob.
Wash and slice ⅜˝ thick.
Remove outer skin. Cut off top and root ends. Cut into ¼˝ slices.
Shell.
Remove stem, core, and inner partitions. Cut into ¼˝ strips.
Peel and cut into ¼˝ slices.
Trim ends. Cut into ¼˝ slices.
Peel, if desired. Cut into sections ¾˝ wide.
7
Pretreatment
Average Drying
water blanching or
steam blanching
water 3½-4½ minutes
steam 4-5 minutes
water 2 minutes
steam 2-2½ minutes
None – Already cooked.
water 2 minutes
steam 3-3½ minutes
water 3 minutes
steam 3-3½ minutes
water 3-4 minutes
steam 4-5 minutes
water 2 minutes
steam 2 minutes
water 1½ minutes
steam 2-2½ minutes
None
None
water 2 minutes
steam 3 minutes
None
water 5-6 minutes
steam 6-8 minutes
water 1½ minutes
steam 2½-3 minutes
None
Time
6-8 hours
6-11 hours
4-7 hours
4-7 hours
4-10 hours
5-8 hours
2-4 hours
6-10 hours
2-6 hours
3-7 hours
5-9 hours
5-10 hours
4-8 hours
4-6 hours
6-11 hours