Dehydrator question

Cliff · #1 08/14/12, 11:12 AM

Got my Excalibur dehydrator back from my sis to dry a bunch of extra tomatoes we have. I've never tried to mix foods while dehydrating, just dried big batches of all the same thing. If I were to dry different foods at the same time would it mess up the tastes? Say for instance apples or pears with the tomatoes? I tried googling it and the info may be there somewhere but it wasn't easily found.

KaiserW · #2 08/14/12, 11:14 AM

we've done different foods on different trays at the same time with no ill effects plenty of times. you should be fine.

#3 08/14/12, 01:08 PM

What do you do with the dried tomatoes? can you make sun dried tomatoes that you buy from the store this way? Thanks.

Cliff · #4 08/14/12, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mythreesons

What do you do with the dried tomatoes? can you make sun dried tomatoes that you buy from the store this way? Thanks.

Yes. And we use them in soups and stews. Drying them saves canning space. We haven't done this yet but you can also grind them up to make tomato powder that you use in cooking. They charge a fortune for that stuff if you buy it.

Feeling an urge to seriously put back food this year so I think we're going to dry a lot of stuff.

aftermidnite · #5 08/14/12, 04:14 PM

I dry different things in the same batch as well''

I also make the tomato powder and use it in may dishes as well as make a cup of soup or a small amount of paste if needed while cooking ..
This year I used the pulp left after making my juice and then turned it into powder ...
I have some plain fine grind and some with garlic and seasonings in a coarse grind ..

I love using my home made tomato powder ..
I have also made some of the "sun dried" tomatoes in EVOO...and they are awesome