Silly amounts of strawberries.....

[British Red]

Well I packed up the Strawberries this morning - they do lose a lot of bulk

Dried Strawberries by British Red, on Flickr

As a fringe benefit we got a nice lot of strawberry seeds too - we have raised strawberries from seed before and it works well

Strawberry Seed by British Red, on Flickr

so they all packed up into one large spring clip jar

Dried Strawberry in Jar by British Red, on Flickr

I've thrown in a sachet of dessicant and a couple of oxygen absorbers - that'll keep everything airtight and fresh until the darker days when these little flavourful crisps will end up on cereal, deserts and just as a snack.

 

[British Red]

Interested in the dehydrator, any advice I certainly on what to get and how to do it?

Cheers

Steve

This one is an Excalibur 9 - a high end one and pricey but with lots of fancy features. You can get basic dehydrators for £22 delivered though

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/3509...f11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

I started with one like that - and they work very well indeed

10. 2 hours by British Red, on Flickr

Happy to offer any insights that I can - there are some tutorials of mine on the site

 

[shaggystu]

....You can get basic dehydrators for £22 delivered though

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/3509...f11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

I started with one like that - and they work very well indeed...

I had no idea that dehydrators were available so cheaply, thanks for that Hugh, I shall be ordering one of those next payday

Cheers,

Stuart.

 

[Goatboy]

I use a bit of a mix though mainly imperial (well forestry was a throwback using measurement systems that were archaic even by UK standards.) Some things I'm OK in metric, but I have no ready comparison in my head as to height and distance in metric terms, whereas if you tell me it's so many yards or miles and how high in feet I have a ready reckoner in my head as to what you're talking about; it's instinctual almost. Our predecimal money must've been a nightmare for visitors though. Must say I think I'd struggle for a day or two if we went back to it tomorrow. (Though being a canny eastcoaster I'd work out my bawbees pretty quick)

 

[British Red]

I had no idea that dehydrators were available so cheaply, thanks for that Hugh, I shall be ordering one of those next payday

Cheers,

Stuart.

No idea if that particular one is any good Stuart - but I suspect all the round ones are much of a muchness. The one thing this has which I like is a variable temperature control.

 

[shaggystu]

No idea if that particular one is any good Stuart - but I suspect all the round ones are much of a muchness. The one thing this has which I like is a variable temperature control.

Is this style any good for doing things like dehydrated chilli/spag bol etc. or would it be best just to stick to fruit and veg?
I suspect that it would mainly get used for things like bananas/spuds/carrots/apples.....the things that we tend to buy in bulk and then end up throwing away the end of the bunch/bag because they're well past their best, but it'd be nice to have the option of making a few dehydrated meals for camping.

Cheers,

Stuart.

 

[British Red]

Its fine but you need to cover the mesh with parchment or non stick sheets (which are silly cheap)

I used to use cling film and it worked fine when making fruit leathers

5 gooseberry by British Red, on Flickr

7 gooseberry by British Red, on Flickr

 

[copper_head]

Is this style any good for doing things like dehydrated chilli/spag bol etc.

I have the Andrew James branded version of this, at least it looks exactly the same from the photo, and use it for just that purpose. I'd estimate I've used it for 70-80 hours on the max setting and no issues so far. Good for jerky too.

 

[shaggystu]

Its fine but you need to cover the mesh with parchment or non stick sheets (which are silly cheap)

I used to use cling film and it worked fine when making fruit leathers...

I have the Andrew James branded version of this, at least it looks exactly the same from the photo, and use it for just that purpose. I'd estimate I've used it for 70-80 hours on the max setting and no issues so far. Good for jerky too.

Thanks chaps, I shall get one ordered in a couple of weeks and let you know how I get on

Cheers,

Stuart.

 

[TeeDee]

Is this style any good for doing things like dehydrated chilli/spag bol etc. or would it be best just to stick to fruit and veg?
I suspect that it would mainly get used for things like bananas/spuds/carrots/apples.....the things that we tend to buy in bulk and then end up throwing away the end of the bunch/bag because they're well past their best, but it'd be nice to have the option of making a few dehydrated meals for camping.

Cheers,

Stuart.

Hello ,
I only have a cheap one and have done spag bols , chillis , etc with no problem.

HTH

 

[david1]

strawberry seeds ? are they out of the dehumidifier ? will they grow ?
or have I got it all wrong

 

[British Red]

They are out of the dehydrator (a dehumidifier is a beast of another colour). They certainly will grow, they do very well indeed - we have raised strawberries from seed very cheaply

 

[david1]

lol ah yes I wont even bother editing it I have a dehumidifier not a dehydrator...
no wonder I cant fit the strawberry's in ...... runs off and hides in shame.

 

[cranmere]

But it's our smaller measure where the saying, "A pint's a pound" is true. Believe it or not, this simplicity can be very helpful in many recipes where you need to add ice, but need to do so judiciously so that the recipe keeps its integrity as the ice melts.

The trouble starts when an American cook carries on with the second part of that, "A pint's a pound the world around" and then gets confused when the Brits fall about laughing. Then there are "sticks" of butter and cup measures, and UK cups are a different size to US although we very rarely use them. I'm so used to converting between UK Imperial, US and metric that I can think in any of them.

Metric is dead easy, 1 litre of water weighs 1 kilo. So does a litre of milk or fruit juice, as near as makes no difference. Beware of oil however which is lighter for the same volume.

 

[santaman2000]

The trouble starts when an American cook carries on with the second part of that, "A pint's a pound the world around".....

Yep. That's the problem

 

[santaman2000]

.....Metric is dead easy, 1 litre of water weighs 1 kilo. So does a litre of milk or fruit juice, as near as makes no difference. Beware of oil however which is lighter for the same volume.

Yes on the water, and yes oil is lighter. Didn't know about the fruit juice though (still imagine it varies with exactly which fruit)

 

[British Red]

...another good haul today. Combined a Gallon of Strawberries

Strawberries even sized by British Red, on Flickr

with a gallon of rhubarb

1 Gallon of Rhubarb by British Red, on Flickr

and four pints of sugar

4 pints of sugar by British Red, on Flickr

and cooked it all down

Cook fruit by British Red, on Flickr

Then canned a dozen pints of compote

Process for 15 minutes by British Red, on Flickr

Label by British Red, on Flickr

and half a gallon of fruit squash

Sieved squash by British Red, on Flickr

I'll do another dozen pints next harvest day and then on to freezing and canning plain strawberries I think

 

[GGTBod]

my face is curling up imaging the sweet n sour deliciousness of that an inch thick on an inch thick slice of wholemeal toast as a wake me up breakfast

 

[British Red]

Pour a shot of the juice (which comes from the pan after the jars have been "hot packed") into some ice cold water as a drink to wash it down with too

 

[GGTBod]

so will they keep fruiting for the next 4 weeks?