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Hello all food dehydrators, that's people who dehydrate food, not the machines themselves.

I've just purchased one of these beauties, from Tchibo, or whatever their name is, and have dehydrated some food. Pretty easy so far, but...

What's the best way of rehydrating said meals? Do you just add the same amount of water that has been taken away (I've weighed the food before and after)?

Do you just put the boiling water in the bag and put it in a cosy, or cold water and then cook then heat the food up?

I'm thinking of just putting the boiling water in a heat proof plastic bag and putting it in a cosy.

Any advice would be most welcome.

jj

Hi SD

I find that different foods/meals need different rehydration methods. For example, my risotto-based and rootveg-based meals are fine with boiling water and a five-minute wait, but my pasta-based meals are better after a pre-soak of about 30 mins, then reheat or boil-in-the-bag.

HTH

Thanks for that BG, I've only made pasta meals so far. Do you soak with cold water or boiling?

Just have a pot noodle ..just add water..eat..lol

I've always used boiling water. Add the water at lunch and it's got plenty of time to rehydrate. Although my new cookbook suggests all it's meals should be just covered with water in the pan and cooked - not rehydrated at all.

Hey Shed Dweller, by all means give me a call and I'll talk you through your options! It will be quicker.

Basically, in this day and age of the metric system, cubic capacity and weight are the same, so the method we use is simple in the extreme.

I use a 330ml Nalgine 'Addis' screw top pot as my measuring cup when I scoup out one portion of pasta sauce from the pot.

When that portion has dried (remember you can't over-dry it) shove it in a plastic bag, lable it, and store in a cool dark place. (Freezer works for me)

To rehydrate, you can either add hot or cold water, a few hours before you want to eat OR add water to the food and simmer it (for a long time - depending on what food it is and size of pieces. <this is the prefered US method as they like to light fires>)

But how much you ask? Easy! Use the same Addis pot, put the dried portion in it, fill it up with hot/cold water (hot does seem to make it faster, but not much), screw the lid on and carry on walking for 2-3 hours. (Note: If you leave the food in a long necked plastic bag and add the water to the bag and put it inside the pot, it saves having to keep cleaning the pot after each use)

A few hours later, tip the whole thing into your cooking pot, heat through, simmer for 5 mins and you should have you meal back again!

As BG rightly says, certain foods take less time than others. Red meat is quicker than chicken or turkey (unless its minced). Certain things like tuna (in brine out of the tin) can be dried seperately and then added as you heat it through, and that comes back very quickly.

Certain veg is better than others. Also don't forget you can also dehydrate your cooked pasta too! So cook the pasta, refresh it, add your pesto or whatever, then dry it. When your sauce is simmering nicely, add a little more water (not much) then drop in your dried pasta, which will reconstitute in about 3 mins.

Rose and I recognise there is need for a UK based 'how to' book which she is working on for this year, and we hope to cover all the various ways you can use a dehydrator, specifically for backpackers. All the other books on the market tend not to be of great use to our needs, but they are great for ideas.

So that's something else on our very long list ....

Hi again, SD

Sorry that I didn't get back to you straight away. My answer to your question is "boiling", more or less as per the replies by Rob and Bob.

One thing that I've started doing to make rehydration better is to stop dehydrating cooked meat and fish. I find that meat that has been cooked then dried can be as tough as old boots, so by the time it's been softened enough to be pleasant, the rest of the meal is mush. Nowadays I dehydrate any meat/fish without pre-cooking it, and then add it to the bags of dried "base meals" before freezing them.

Sometimes I'm just plain lazy and I'll make up a batch of food that doesn't need rehydrating, so it can be eaten on the move straight from the bag. Raw bacon covered in a mixture of onion & root-veg puree and bolognese sauce with a few herbs then just dried and bagged is the current favourite.

SD,

I have this strange aversion to carrying food that's being rehydrated (the reason for dehydrating is to save weight in the first place!)So I've been exploring other ways that dont involve a huge amount of simmering either, which means carrying an increased weight of fuel.

The answer is a cozy. These can be made, bought or improvised. You can fit them around your pan or make one to fit a zip lock or Aloksak. A Beanie hat, fleece and even your sleeping bag can be used - providing the food is in a liquid tight container.

SD, Quick Q - where and when did you buy the dehydrator? Baz

We're also looking at using some of this Thermawrap we've got left over to make cosy's with some Gaffa Tap, and so heating the meal to boiling and then putting it in a cosy for 20 mins.

I've going to be doing a podcast on that shortly to see how it compares, which might be of interest.

Also, BG, try steaming or poaching the meat, as that reconstitues much faster and better than when cooked by traditional stewing.

Bob, I'll keep my eyes open for that one.

"bacon covered in a mixture of onion & root-veg puree and bolognese sauce with a few herbs"

Mmmm! BG I knew I should have tried one of your meals last weekend!

Do I detect irony in that statement?

Cheers for the advice, Bob. I'll get the steamer stoked up this weekend.

Jamie, you'll always be welcome to raid my camping larder - I always bring too much.

BG you did state <raw bacon> saves on fuel I guess :0)

LOL, Baz

Anyway, the cheap dehydrator was on sale at http://www.tchibo.co.uk but it's now sold out. It's in their current catalogue as item number 220618, £26. They can also be found on QVC, they do the same model but it's badged differently. FWIW, the maker is Koolatron.

Of course, I'm sure that Bob would be more than willing to sell you some of his professional machines - they're more versatile (timers, temperature controls etc.)

HTH

I've already got one from Bob - it's my well paid mate who doesnt want to splash the cash on something that he will only use infrequently... (perhaps I could rent mine out to him, he he!)