How to Solar Dry Your Vegetables
Many people are under the mistaken impresión that they need an electric dehydrator in order to effectively dry their vegetables. Although a dehydrator is a very useful tool, sunlight is natural and free and some say it adds a special flavour to dried foods.
Solar drying is an option for you if you tend to get more than 2 days in a row of direct, hot sunlight. Obviously, this technique is best suited to the summer months. Itīs important to dry vegetables as quickly as possible to prevent possible spoilage and to avoid problems with insects.
Select your vegetables with care. Donīt try to dry overripe or damaged products. To prepare vegetables for drying, you need to steam-blanch them first. This removes some moisture, helps prevent discoloration in veggies such as potatoes and stops enzymatic action. Itīs easy enough to do, wash your vegetables first in cold water and slice thinly. Itīs important to slice evenly so all the pieces will dry at the same time.
Next, dip all vegetables into boiling water for five minutes, counting from the time the water begins to boil again after dipping the vegetables in. After five minutes, dip quickly into cold water several times to arrest the cooking process. Pat dry with paper towels before arranging on the drying trays.
When drying, cleanliness is of utmost importance, so take care that dust and debris doesnīt get onto the food. All vegetables should be covered until you are ready to spread them on the drying trays. Protection from insects before, during and after the drying process is also vital, since a few insect eggs can ruin an entire batch of dried food.
Now that your vegetables have been prepared, itīs time to dry them. You should begin processing the food early in the morning so that everything is ready by about 10 am, when the sunlight begins to get fairly strong.
There are two main ways to solar dry, weīll look at tray drying first. This technique doesnīt require any special equipment, just regular baking racks will work fine for anything but the smallest pieces of vegetable, for smaller bits, lay a teatowel or cheesecloth across the baking rack. If needed, you can make your own trays by stretching fabric or stainless steel mosquito netting across the bottom of a wooden framed rectangle. The idea is to have air circulating under and around the vegetables.
When spreading the vegetables out on the trays, keep them separated so the air can get all around them and they wonīt stick together. Making sure the pieces donīt touch also ensures even drying. Trays should be raised at least 2" off the ground to allow for the best circulation underneath. You can stack trays on top of each other as long as you have at least 2" between them, but for best results, spread the trays out so they each receive the full benefit of the sun.
Place the trays in the sun and cover with cheesecloth to keep insects from getting in. The cheesecloth wonīt affect the ability of the sun to dry your food.
The second method of solar drying is a bit more complicated, but results in faster drying times, a must if you live in an area with unpredictable sun exposure. In order to speed up the drying process, you need a solar dehydrator. This could be as simple as a cardboard box with the sides cut at an angle and glass set into the top or as complicated as a ten tray wooden and metal dehydrator, complete with a solar heat collector. There are plenty of patterns on the web for solar dehydrators, if you are adventurous enough to build your own, but you can also buy one.
The basic idea of a solar dehydrator is to have an insulated box with a glass top that traps the sunīs heat inside the box. It needs to have ventilation and space around the trays so that the air can circulate and moisture doesnīt build up in the box. The ideal solar dehydrator is light enough to be moved throughout the day to allow for following the sun.
In the sun, if the humidity is low, most foods will be dried in just two or three days. If they take longer, the food may not be usable. Since weather can be unpredictable, it is quite possible youīll be surprised by rain in the middle of the drying process. Should this happen, you can finish drying in the oven. Set it to the lowest heat possible and set your drying trays in it. The heat should not exceed 140 degrees, you can leave a candy thermometer on the lowest tray to check the heat.
Drying trays should be brought in at night so the dew doesnīt rehydrate them. Keep trays out of reach of children and animals or you may find yourself redoing a whole batch of vegetables.
Vegetables are considered to be sufficiently dried when they are tough and brittle after cooling. If you shake the tray, the pieces will rattle around. Itīs important to check for dryness after having cooled a couple of pieces since hot vegetables will appear to still be moist.
Once you have your dried vegetables, store them in a cloth-covered glass jar for 2 weeks, stirring daily. Take out any bits that seem to be limp or moist as they can spoil the entire batch. After 2 weeks, you can store the dried vegetables in airtight containers with tight lids. Dried vegetables can be stored for up to 4 months.
For finely chopped dried vegetables, you may wish to pasturize them in the oven. Simply preheat the oven to 175 degrees and loosely cover two trays with the dried veggies. Heat for about 10 minutes. Cool before storing.
To reconstitute dried vegetables, cover with cold water until they are nearly rehydrated. Then cook in the same water. For greens, just cook directly, without any soaking.
