I have just found this tip on an American Kayaking site that refers to methods of reducing the weight & storage issues for most food types. It may be of assistance to those of you who bush camp for extended periods.
I haven't tried it yet but am on the lookout for a Dehydrator at the right price. Will start with Ebay.
hako said
11:43 AM Apr 3, 2014
You could always make you own dehydrator with some old window glass and mesh - this costs nothing to run and there are heaps of plans for solar driers on the web..
We have a Sunbeam dehydrator but the problem is that it draws between 340 and 370 watts when running so if something takes 2 days to dry, it will consume upwards of 16 kw @30c per Kw or $5 worth of electricity during the 2 days drying period....this makes it expensive to run and consequently we rarely use it. There are plenty of other brands but make sure you check how much electricity they use as in our case after paying $109 for the drier plus electricity running costs we are not saving a penny. Check also how easy they are to clean as trying to remove dried tomato or whatever from the racks can be difficult.
Regards
dING said
04:05 PM Apr 3, 2014
We made a solar dehydrator years ago
And dry tomatoes and various veggies
And fruit all summer dries meat quite nicely
As well usually dry some beef strips b4 going
On a trip and they dont need refrigeration
Keep till needed then I pop em in a pressure
Cooker for a while to rehydrate then add the
Dried veggies --- 1kg of green beans when dried
Weigh 100 grams saves a lot of space ect
Cupie said
11:45 AM Apr 27, 2014
Thanks for the info.
I'll have a go at making a Solar drier as a first step.
I grow lots of tomatoes (& basil) & would like to try sun dried toms. Got piles of chutney & relish left from last year.
jules47 said
08:45 PM Apr 27, 2014
Cupie - dehydrators are not that dear - sites like "Deals Direct" and the like have various ones at good prices, and lots of other places do as wello
Dunmowin said
12:15 AM Jun 7, 2014
Cupie wrote:
Thanks for the info.
I'll have a go at making a Solar drier as a first step.
I grow lots of tomatoes (& basil) & would like to try sun dried toms. Got piles of chutney & relish left from last year.
We used a polystyrene box, lined with foil, cut tomatoes in half, place seed side up on a biscuit tray, also lined with foil. Sprinkle with ground sea salt. Place in poly box, cover with a sheet of glass or Perspex (glass is better) Leave air flow by propping up the glass. Place in full sun for as long as it takes (2 - 3 days), depending on heat and humidity. (We used cherry tomatoes). Bottle when dried with vinegar (balsamic or red wine) and good quality oil, garlic cloves, basil and/or rosemary. We used to make batched of these everyweek when we had a surplus of tomatoes.
Cupie said
09:54 AM Jun 7, 2014
Dunmowin wrote:
Cupie wrote:
Thanks for the info.
I'll have a go at making a Solar drier as a first step.
I grow lots of tomatoes (& basil) & would like to try sun dried toms. Got piles of chutney & relish left from last year.
We used a polystyrene box, lined with foil, cut tomatoes in half, place seed side up on a biscuit tray, also lined with foil. Sprinkle with ground sea salt. Place in poly box, cover with a sheet of glass or Perspex (glass is better) Leave air flow by propping up the glass. Place in full sun for as long as it takes (2 - 3 days), depending on heat and humidity. (We used cherry tomatoes). Bottle when dried with vinegar (balsamic or red wine) and good quality oil, garlic cloves, basil and/or rosemary. We used to make batched of these everyweek when we had a surplus of tomatoes.
Thanks for that ...
Just pulled out the last of my tomatoes ... bloody leaf curl!!!
Will replant in different beds in a couple of months.
When the glut of toms comes again I'll try this method..
Dunmowin said
09:29 PM Jun 7, 2014
Cupie wrote:
Dunmowin wrote:
Cupie wrote:
Thanks for the info.
I'll have a go at making a Solar drier as a first step.
I grow lots of tomatoes (& basil) & would like to try sun dried toms. Got piles of chutney & relish left from last year.
We used a polystyrene box, lined with foil, cut tomatoes in half, place seed side up on a biscuit tray, also lined with foil. Sprinkle with ground sea salt. Place in poly box, cover with a sheet of glass or Perspex (glass is better) Leave air flow by propping up the glass. Place in full sun for as long as it takes (2 - 3 days), depending on heat and humidity. (We used cherry tomatoes). Bottle when dried with vinegar (balsamic or red wine) and good quality oil, garlic cloves, basil and/or rosemary. We used to make batched of these everyweek when we had a surplus of tomatoes.
Thanks for that ...
Just pulled out the last of my tomatoes ... bloody leaf curl!!!
Will replant in different beds in a couple of months.
When the glut of toms comes again I'll try this method..
Let us know how you go, Cupie, I miss my jars of sundried cherry tomatoes.
Hi ..
I have just found this tip on an American Kayaking site that refers to methods of reducing the weight & storage issues for most food types. It may be of assistance to those of you who bush camp for extended periods.
http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?show=794&utm_source=email_newsletter&utm_medium=email
I haven't tried it yet but am on the lookout for a Dehydrator at the right price. Will start with Ebay.
We have a Sunbeam dehydrator but the problem is that it draws between 340 and 370 watts when running so if something takes 2 days to dry, it will consume upwards of 16 kw @30c per Kw or $5 worth of electricity during the 2 days drying period....this makes it expensive to run and consequently we rarely use it. There are plenty of other brands but make sure you check how much electricity they use as in our case after paying $109 for the drier plus electricity running costs we are not saving a penny. Check also how easy they are to clean as trying to remove dried tomato or whatever from the racks can be difficult.
Regards
And dry tomatoes and various veggies
And fruit all summer dries meat quite nicely
As well usually dry some beef strips b4 going
On a trip and they dont need refrigeration
Keep till needed then I pop em in a pressure
Cooker for a while to rehydrate then add the
Dried veggies --- 1kg of green beans when dried
Weigh 100 grams saves a lot of space ect
Thanks for the info.
I'll have a go at making a Solar drier as a first step.
I grow lots of tomatoes (& basil) & would like to try sun dried toms. Got piles of chutney & relish left from last year.
We used a polystyrene box, lined with foil, cut tomatoes in half, place seed side up on a biscuit tray, also lined with foil. Sprinkle with ground sea salt. Place in poly box, cover with a sheet of glass or Perspex (glass is better) Leave air flow by propping up the glass. Place in full sun for as long as it takes (2 - 3 days), depending on heat and humidity. (We used cherry tomatoes). Bottle when dried with vinegar (balsamic or red wine) and good quality oil, garlic cloves, basil and/or rosemary. We used to make batched of these everyweek when we had a surplus of tomatoes.
Thanks for that ...
Just pulled out the last of my tomatoes ... bloody leaf curl!!!
Will replant in different beds in a couple of months.
When the glut of toms comes again I'll try this method..
Let us know how you go, Cupie, I miss my jars of sundried cherry tomatoes.