Serendipity. Dehydrating Vegetables.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XKMVQ 21 July 2012 Serendipity. Dehydrating Vegetables.
Experimenting dehydrating vegetables, and expecting a mundane leather, a serendipitous result was obtained. The vegetables completely dehydrated into small pieces. Dehydration was for six hours in the Excalibur set at 125F\52C. At first I was in a muddle, then an epiphany struck. Adding hot water, this would make a fine nourishing soup.The result was spectacular. Clearly, this is a superb method of utilizing most vegetables for long term storage at room temperature. The choice is only limited by one’s imagination. The thoroughly dried dehydrated vegetables were vacuum packed to be used in the future as desired. Absolutely no extraneous material was added not even water. The soup served, may be spiced to suit any palate. The process is dead simple. Annotated photographs depict the procedure.

[Odsox]

I only dehydrate onions, mushrooms and peas, and the peas are only the old ones I miss when picking.
With the exception of mushrooms, the only problem in my view with dehydrated vegetables is they taste like crap, even in soup. There is no comparison between vegetable soup made from dehydrated veg and one made from fresh.
It is unfortunate though, otherwise I would agree with you that it would be an ideal way to store vegetables.

[Durgan]

I only dehydrate onions, mushrooms and peas, and the peas are only the old ones I miss when picking.
With the exception of mushrooms, the only problem in my view with dehydrated vegetables is they taste like crap, even in soup. There is no comparison between vegetable soup made from dehydrated veg and one made from fresh.
It is unfortunate though, otherwise I would agree with you that it would be an ideal way to store vegetables.

I am still experimenting. I intend on using the dried material as the basis for soup, then adding fresh vegetables to enhance appearance, and add some condiments to improve flavour.I have four grandchildren visiting within the next month and they are under five, so will use them as guinea pigs. For me personally it makes little difference, since I eat generally for the nutrients and taste and appearance are of little consequence.. This is usually too drastic a step for most people, particularly if they have never known hunger in their lives, which is usually the case in Western societies.

This morning every vegetable from the garden was collected and prepared for dehydration.The preparation took three hours. Eight trays are in the dehydrator now. There was about nine litres of material. Vegetables are, Russian blue potatoes, tomatoes, okra, green beans, purslane, carrots, cucumber, basil, parsnips,green peppers, egg plant, cabbage, and beets.Apparently the nutritional value is about the highest of all he current preparation and storage methods.

[Odsox]

For me personally it makes little difference, since I eat generally for the nutrients and taste and appearance are of little consequence.. This is usually too drastic a step for most people, particularly if they have never known hunger in their lives, which is usually the case in Western societies.

Ahh, this is where you and I are poles apart. For me taste is everything, and is one of the main reasons I only eat my own vegetables, the others are knowing where my food comes from and personal satisfaction. The mainstay types of vegetables that I grow have been whittled down over the years to the tried and tested varieties that have both the best flavour and will grow well in my micro-climate, although I'm still trying a few new ones every year.
You are right though, I am thankful that I have never known real hunger, but I can't really see the significance of your argument on that score. Eating just for nutrients alone would defeat the reason for growing a variety of veg as it would be far more efficient to find the right combination to supply all your needs and eat that every day, ad infinitum.
Major Tom and protein pills springs to mind.

[Durgan]

Unfortunately, no one ingredient(s) is adequate over the long term, hence the constant search for variety. There appears to be no simple solution, like on shoe fits all. Avoiding fat,sugar and salt is my aim and am quite successful at that. The plus side is being slim, trim and full of energy.