Today, it’s all about how to dehydrate frozen vegetables and make vegetable powder. This is one of the easiest ways to get started on your journey to dehydrating your own food. When I dehydrate food, I don’t use oxygen absorbers because the food will be consumed within one year.
Then the process starts all over again.
When I was a young mother, we did a lot of water bath canning and pressure canning with all the food we could grow or purchase to help our food budget stretch for the year.
We planted just about every vegetable you could grow in the dark, rich soil.
We didn’t know anything about organic foods back then; we just planted seeds, weeded, thinned the seedlings, and watched our plants grow. Using no pesticides, we were blessed with healthy tomatoes, corn, green beans, peas, and so much more.
We had a gas-powered tiller we bought secondhand, and thankfully, it worked. It lasted many years as our family worked together to raise food for the six of us.
We grew strawberries, the biggest and juiciest we have ever eaten. We grew grapes for grape juice. It’s funny how wonderful the memories are when you work as a family to produce your own food.
We also dehydrated whatever fruits and vegetables we could grow. I lived in Logan, Utah, where I frequently visited the Utah State Extension Service.
It was vital for me to safely can for my family. I love learning, it’s my passion for sure.
Many years later, a reader told me about buying frozen vegetables when they are on sale. Why didn’t I think of that? No washing, blanching, dicing, or chopping. Open the bag of frozen vegetables, and they are ready to go.
Today, I’m going to show you how to dehydrate mixed vegetables, which can be added to many recipes, such as soups and stews.
How To Dehydrate Frozen Vegetables and Make Vegetable Powder
Kitchen Items Needed
- Cookie Sheets
- Excalibur Dehydrator or Nesco Dehydrator, or your oven
- Dicorain Food Saver
- Mason quart-size, or pint-size jars, or these jars I used today: 17-Ounce Jars with Clamp
- Magic Blender or High-Powered Blender
- Label Maker
How To Dehydrate Frozen Vegetables and Make Vegetable Powder
Step One
You start by spreading out the frozen vegetables on cookie sheets. You may see the white bath towel I have underneath the cookie sheets to let the condensation be absorbed rather than run all over the countertop.
I let them get to room temperature so the moisture would not drip inside my dehydrator.
Step Two
Spread the mixed vegetables evenly over your dehydrator racks.
Step Three
It’s great to see all these dehydrating racks ready to be used.
Step Four
I set my Excalibur Dehydrator at 125 degrees F. (51°C). These took about 10 hours; this time will all depend on the humidity in the room where you are dehydrating your items.
Please refer to your dehydrator booklet for the correct temperature setting. Here’s the finished product.
Step Five
How To Condition Your Fruit or Vegetables
If you live where it is HUMID: “To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days.
The drier pieces will absorb the excess moisture in some pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation.
I used to live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.
Make Vegetable Powder
Step One
Now, we will use a high-powered blender to pulverize the dehydrated vegetables into a fine powder.
Step Two
You can see how it looks below. The powder takes up less space and is more concentrated. Sometimes people don’t like the texture of vegetables, so this is one more way to add vegetables to just about any meal without it being obvious.
Step Three
These are the little jars I love to use; they are airtight and hold just the right amount.
Step Four
Now you can portion out the dehydrated vegetables in mason jars or quarts. Use your FoodSaver to remove the air from your jars.
Keep the rings on these jars after dehydrating food. With wet canning, you must remove the rings after they seal to ensure they do not pop up and seal improperly.
Step Five
This is another way to preserve our food and avoid using freezer space. If you want to make labels, this is what I use: Label Maker.
Can I dehydrate these in my oven?
Yes, you can. Set your oven to the lowest temperature available. Place a ball of foil to keep the oven door ajar. You will need to check them every 15 minutes or so, as they will dry very quickly.
In case you missed this post, Vegetable Powder: How To Make It and Use It
How can I use Vegetable Powder?
- Use to garnish soups and salads
- Add to dips for added flavor
- Spice up tuna and chicken salad
- Great addition to taco and potato salads
- Also great in fajitas of all kinds
- Add to smoothies
- A great addition to soups or stews
- It’s a perfect addition when cooking rice
- Sprinkle over salads
- Add a sprinkle to cooked vegetables
- Mix in with mashed potatoes
- Meatloaf
- Scrambled eggs
- Quiches
How To Dehydrate Mixed Vegetables
Dehydrate Mixed Vegetables
Ingredients
- Frozen Mixed Vegetables
Instructions
Dehydrating Vegetables
-
I set my Excalibur Dehydrator at 125 degrees F. (51 °C).
-
You start by spreading out the frozen vegetables on cookie sheets.
-
You may want to put a bath towel underneath the cookie sheets to let the condensation be absorbed rather than run all over the countertop.
-
When thawed, spread the mixed vegetables evenly over your dehydrator racks.
-
I let them get to room temperature so the moisture would not drip inside my dehydrator.
-
These took about 10 hours; this time will all depend on the humidity in the room where you are dehydrating your items.
-
Please take a look at your dehydrator booklet for the correct temperature setting.
-
Store your fully dehydrated and conditioned fruits and vegetables in mason jars and use your favorite FoodSaver to remove the air from the jars. Keep the rings on the jars to store them.
How To Condition Your Fruit or Vegetables
-
If you live where it is HUMID: “To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days.
-
The drier pieces will absorb the excess moisture in some pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation.
-
I used to live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.
-
Now, you can use a high-powered blender to pulverize the dehydrated vegetables to make a vegetable powder, if you'd like. It's more concentrated, so you will use less when cooking with it.
-
Use airtight jars to store the vegetable powder.
Final
When you start your dehydrating journey, if you haven’t already, this is the easiest way to dehydrate frozen vegetables. It’s all about storing food for the year in your pantry.
No freezer is needed, it takes up very little space, and we can eat healthy vegetables. Please keep prepping, we must. May God bless this world, Linda
Here are the other Dehydrating Posts I have done:
- Dehydrating Green Onions and Powder
- Dehydrating Mushrooms and Mushroom Powder
- Dehydrating Tomatoes and Powder
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