I had carrots left over from some Thanksgiving baking I did (as in left over from baking a carrot cake). We used some in a meal and this is what we had left. It was not enough to do a canning and I didn't want to freeze them so I dehydrated them.
Carrots before peeling and chopping.
Chopped using a chopper like this one.
Steaming for 3 minutes ... I had a lid on it but took it off to get the picture.
After the 3 minutes were up I ran cold water over them to stop the cooking. I cooled the carrots down by running water over them in the kitchen sink while they were still in the colander.
Please note: This carrots are steamed, not put in boiling water. I never let the carrots touch the boiling water in the pot, they sit suspended just above it in the colander with a lid on them. The steam from the boiling water gets to the carrots through the holes in the colander. I steam the carrots instead of dropping them in the boiling water for 3 minutes because I don't want to lose any of the nutrients that would leach out into the water if the carrots were actually in the boiling water.
I used the same metal colander throughout the whole process. It fit nicely over/in a pot I have while keeping the carrots out of the water in the pot. The pot lid covered the carrots perfectly while they were steaming.
After the 3 minutes were up I ran cold water over them to stop the cooking. I cooled the carrots down by running water over them in the kitchen sink while they were still in the colander.
Please note: This carrots are steamed, not put in boiling water. I never let the carrots touch the boiling water in the pot, they sit suspended just above it in the colander with a lid on them. The steam from the boiling water gets to the carrots through the holes in the colander. I steam the carrots instead of dropping them in the boiling water for 3 minutes because I don't want to lose any of the nutrients that would leach out into the water if the carrots were actually in the boiling water.
I used the same metal colander throughout the whole process. It fit nicely over/in a pot I have while keeping the carrots out of the water in the pot. The pot lid covered the carrots perfectly while they were steaming.
Spread out on the dehydrator sheets.
Vacuum sealed in a jar and ready for my pantry!
Update: A reader shared how she dehydrates carrots that I had not heard or thought of and I asked her if I could share it. She agreed so here you are ... (Thanks Penny!)
Cubed, sliced and shredded for cakes and muffins. Shred carrots in food processor. Place in large zip lock bag with some water . Microwave one minute each side, drain and dehydrate.
That's certainly a lot less messy isn't it and quicker too? I'm going to try Penny's method the next time I have carrots to dehydrate!
Update: A reader shared how she dehydrates carrots that I had not heard or thought of and I asked her if I could share it. She agreed so here you are ... (Thanks Penny!)
Cubed, sliced and shredded for cakes and muffins. Shred carrots in food processor. Place in large zip lock bag with some water . Microwave one minute each side, drain and dehydrate.
That's certainly a lot less messy isn't it and quicker too? I'm going to try Penny's method the next time I have carrots to dehydrate!
patsi
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I'll do some of these tonight. I was gifted a bag of "baby carrots" and have a few old fashioned ones (!). Being single, its hard to use some things up fresh. They'll be a great addition to winter soups.
ReplyDeleteDo you dehydrate celery as well? Despite trying several methods including foil, I can't keep it in the fridge any length of time.
mdoe37, yes, I dehydrate celery too, which reminds me I need to get some and get it dehydrated before the prices go back up! I would follow a very similiar method for the celery as I do the carrots. The carrots and the celery would be great additions to soups and casseroles!
DeleteThankyousoverymuch!
DeleteI have a similar chopper and I use it nearly every day.
ReplyDeleteWith just the two of us home now it is not unusual for me to dry half of a basket of strawberries or anything we might not get used in time. I keep what I know we will be able to eat fresh when it is at its freshest and the rest gets dried and saved while it is still fresh too...no waste. When I have the dryer going anyway I might toss in several celery stalks worth and half of any thing like blueberries or strawberries or bananas and such. Even half a bag of frozen peas.
ReplyDeleteIt took me two years but I found that chopper used but like new. I was one happy women! Thank you Patsy for all your inspiration. I have learned so much. Sarah
Sarah, it is just the two of us now too and you're right, if we're not deligent we can let a lot of food go to waste. I really like your idea of drying half and eating half instead of letting the uneaten portion sit in the refrigerator and get old. So glad you found the chopper. Mine gets a lot of use!! Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement!
DeleteI love your blog! I plan to learn so much from you, my husband and I are retiring next year and I plan to become very frugal. Can you tell me what dehydrator you use? I have been saving my credit card points for a couple of years to purchase a good one! TIA
ReplyDeleteNawm, thank you! The dehydrator I have now is an Excalibur but for some 25 years I used an American Harvester. I wanted an Excalibur for years but it just wasn't in the budget. One day within the last year I learned that Amazon had them on sale for $104. I told my husband and he told me to order it ... I love it. It is so much more efficient than my 25 year old American Harvester.
Delete