Storing dehydrated foods

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larry_stewart

Master Chef
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ill be getting a new dehydrator shortly, and plan on dehydrating quite a bit ( Fruits, veggies, mushrooms..)

My question is, what's the best way to store such dehydrated items once dehydrated.

they dont have to last for years, but definitely months 3 - 6.

Vacuum bags? ( once sealed in freezer or on shelf)
Zip lock bags in the freezer/ shelf
Those jars with the gaskets that clamp shut ?

On the shelf in cupboard, freezer..?
 
I have stored dried eggplant and tomatillos for over 2 years at room temp, in sealed jars, and they were still fine, in the dishes I use them in. Tomatoes don't seem to keep as well, though I haven't stored as many of those. Chiles keep for the longest, though with all of them I pack them as tight as possible in the jars, and if it is a quart or half gallon mason jar, I do the thing with sucking the air out, so there is as little oxygen as possible. In the gallon pickle jars, I just add one or two oxygen adsorbers, if I am going to have a couple jars.

I don't put some of these things, like eggplant and squash, in vacuum seal bags because they would probably poke holes in them, with the sharp points. Things like chiles would be crushed. Some things, like fruits, are softer, and fare better in the vacuum seal bags.

I don't put any of the dried items in the freezer.
 
Ok Great, thanks for the info.
The only thing Ive out in the freezer is the tomatoes .
I still have some from 2 years ago which taste fresh ( no freezer burn).

What ive done with peppers is I grill them on the grill, skin and filet them and freeze them like that ( I do dry and grind some up to powder form which I just keep in jars in the cupboard), Other than that, I haven't really tackled any kind long term shelf life thing with the dehydrator, although last year I did a potato test run, since I often get much more potatoes Than I need ( especially with the kids moved out). So I sliced them thin, quick boil, towel dry and dehydrate. They look good, haven't tried them yet though.

I dont have place with proper conditions to store my potatoes so they either shrives over time or like this year, I went in the basement to the coolest room in the house ) probably between 55 and 60 during the winter). and the eyes were like 8 - 10 inches long :) I salvaged what I could, but most were sprouting and shriveled up. Just cant eat them quick enough.
 
I've been running my dehydrator for a few months straight now. I dehydrated 6 butternut squash (saving the seeds in the freezer), now 3+ times. So 18 of them gave me about 3.5 cups of seeds, which I roasted to snack on. The dehydrated squash goes 3 squash per quart jar, sealed and labeled. It's crispy dry, 125 deg F for 24 hours then 110 deg F for 24 hours.



I just started another batch of 6, first baking them for 1 hour 30 minutes at 350 deg F, cool, slit open, take out the seeds, then put onto parchment on the trays, up to 9 trays at a time.



They need to sit then, once dry, in the jar, for 1 week, check for stickiness or condensation, if still crisp, then it goes in the basement on the shelves, labeled butternut squash 3 (3 per jar). If it is not crisp, then it goes back in the dehydrator at 110 deg F for overnight, then try again.


If they are crisp they don't need oxygen or moisture absorbers in jars.
 
This is the squash (butternut) I use to make crustless pumpkin pie.
It is cooked, dried into chunks and chips. 1 cup chips fill the container to 3 cups with water, blend. It's a nice puree.
sproutssquash-005.jpg
 
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