Comments on: Dry Summer Produce to Keep Through Winter Plastic-Free

By: Breaking it all down: Guest blog post by Roz! | Passing Up Plastic 2012

Breaking it all down: Guest blog post by Roz! | Passing Up Plastic 2012 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 06:51:58 +0000

[...] but these are way better than the alternatives! My Plastic Free Life also has a great post on drying foods for storage. Canning is another great option. The lids will be plasticized [...]

By: Cracked Seed | Vellum Information: Knowledge as art

Cracked Seed | Vellum Information: Knowledge as art — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:12:35 +0000

[...] Dry Summer Produce to Keep Through Winter Plastic-Free (fakeplasticfish.com) [...]

By: Anna@GreenTalk

Anna@GreenTalk — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:28:42 +0000

Jean, I have been looking for a used or new stainless steel dehydrator. Most come with chrome and one manufacturer says there is no aluminum but iron underneath. The steel shelved ones are so expensive.

What do you think. In fact, if they made a solar do it yourself kit rather than offering a book, I would opt for that in a minute…

I am at my dehydrator end of the rope with produce multiply as we speak….

By: Jean Nick

Jean Nick — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:01:51 +0000

Cooling racks designed for cooling cookies, etc. are fine for larger, firmer foods such as apple slices, as long as the racks are made of something that will not react with acidic foods as the moist slices will be in contact for long enough to discolor/develop off tastes if they are in contact with iron, tin, aluminum. I avoid non-stick, so that pretty much leaves stainless steel as the only safe metal rack material I can think of right now.

By: edna

edna — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 02:49:50 +0000

For drying the apples, what about using a cookie drying rack??

By: Jean Nick

Jean Nick — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 16:37:18 +0000

RE: Seeded grapes: leather will be easier…unless you like crunchy raisins. As I recall if you de-stem the grapes, add just enough water to keep them from scorching, and cook until they get soft and mushy. Mash well and the seeds will mostly settle to the bottom of the pot and you can separate them pretty easily. Then whir the skins and pulp in a blender to pulverize the skin (Concords have notoriously substantial skin). If you blend a seed or two it won’t hurt anything and you will increase the antioxidant goodness of the final product. Alternatively you could run the cooked pulp through a food mill or sieve to remove both seeds and skins.

By: Stephanie - Green SAHM

Stephanie - Green SAHM — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:44:22 +0000

I have a dehydrator I inherited from my grandmother. We’re going to dry some apples in it soon. I hope it works well for us. Takes a little electricity, but it’s not too bad.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:19:01 +0000

Hmmm.. has anybody ever tried making raisins, or maybe fruit leather from concord grapes? The vine is totally loaded with them at the moment… of course they have seeds. Any suggestions?

By: Jean Nick

Jean Nick — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:04:23 +0000

Cover fruit with a couple of layers of cheesecloth to help keep off insects.

I keep an eye on my local Craig’s List and see a high-quality dehydrator with stainless screens come up every few months, you could also set up an alert on eBay.

Or just buy good stainless steel mesh trays and build a simple wooden box with a small fan fitted into it to pull air in a screened opening and discharge the moist air out and with or without a light bulb or heat element. There are lots of plans online such as http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/sanders63.html or http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/2006-08-01/Build-a-Solar-Food-Dehydrator.aspx.

By: Ms. Adventuress

Ms. Adventuress — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:37:17 +0000

I have a little toaster oven that I carefully, gently and quickly “cook/dry” my produce with, when I want something a little warmer than raw food. It’s not perfect, but it works fine for now. Eventually, I hope to have a small stainless steel dehydrator. Right now, I’m storing everything in mason jars, whether they stay out on the counter, go in the fridge or the freezer. Love that dried foods don’t need to be frozen!