Dried and Dehydrated Veggies

[Coyote_Bandit]

The thread about the 'shrooms prompts this inquiry.

I've been considering buying a number of freeze dried/dehydrated veggies. Celery, garlic, jalapeno, mushrooms, onions, peppers.

I'm single and live alone. I prefer to cook in small batches so I don't have to eat the same thing more than twice - and so that I don't have lots of leftovers to be forgotten for too long in the freezer.

I'm think this might be an easy way to add more variety while reducing waste - which would make both menu planning and food prep easier.

I'm guessing that cooking once for two meals will also help me better manage portion control. It can be far too easy to prepare four portions and then consume them as three portions - the current meal, the one designated for lunch the following day and the one remaining for the freezer.

I'm also guessing I could probably make a few different mixes of dried veggies to use as a base for different cuisines (i.e., a mix of dried celery, peppers, and onions - the holy trinity - as a base for cajun foods).

I'd appreciate comments from anyone who has tried - or contemplated - something similiar.

Thanks.

[trud]

1. sounds interesting

but is there dried celery? Somehow that doesn't seem like something that would dry well.

I have a stock of dried cranberries. I throw them in lots of things to make them more interesting - salads, egg salad, etc. Also I add nuts to things like that.

[Coyote_Bandit]

4. A quart size jar of dried celery will run you about $10

http://www.amazon.com/Harmony-House-Foods-Dehydrated-Emergency/dp/B0039QS4OQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315356453&sr=8-2

Or you can get a gallon for about $25.
http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/Celery-26-oz_p_1721.html

It keeps for about 2 years and the rehydration ratio is about 1:15.
http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/assets/images/default/PDFs/Celery.pdf

I'm thinking of getting veggies that are used to flavor and add aroma - and, like you, using them to supplement and flavor other foods.

[housewolf]

2. Suggest that you do some research on the nutritional differences between dried and fresh

I don't know, but that might be something you'd want to take into account

Convenience is great, nutrition is hugely important

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. I've done that

Freeze dried vegetables are dehydrated in a vacuum chamber and retain most of their nutrients. Dehydrated vegetables (not treated with sulfities) can lose some of their vitamin A and C nutrients. Blanching (as you would do before freezing) the vegetables also causes loss of nutrients. Nothing is as good as fresh veggies - but the freeze dried and dehydrated vegetables probably are comparable to frozen and canned vegetables in nutritional content.

You will note that the veggies I named are typically used to season and impart flavor and aroma. And that is how I intend to use them - as supplements to other foods.

[Warpy]

5. Not to mention the flavor differences

which, plus the cost, is what discouraged me from using dried veg.

Some aren't too bad, like corn and carrots. I have been far less than thrilled with things like celery.

I'd rather toss the pale and limp inner celery ribs every three weeks or so (or not, depending on what I've been eating--mostly not). I buy onions as I need them, so there's no waste there. About the only thing I used dried is garlic and only when I've run out of the real thing or it's dessicated beyond the point of retrieval. I buy mushrooms rarely and only when I'm going to cook them that night because they tend to get forgotten to death otherwise. I do keep a couple of small cans of mushrooms in the pantry for additions to soups and veggie loaves. Mushrooms survive the canning process quite well and the stems and pieces are cheap. Since the cans are tiny, there's no waste there.

One great thing that's come out recently that's really cut the last vestige of waste I had is tomato paste in a tube. Forget sliced bread, not having that quarter can of tomato paste turning black as it dries out in the fridge is wonderful, just cap the tube and wait for the next time.

[fizzgig]

8. i was thrilled to find tomato paste in a tube

gods only know how many cans i've thrown out

[trud]

10. how about tomato paste in a glass jar...no plastic, no drying out. n/t

[trud]

9. Warpy

We should live next to each other and form a celery cooperative. It's the whitish inner celery that I like :-)

As to dried celery, now that I see what it looks like, it is not what I was imagining. I had never thought of it as flakes for seasoning. I was imagining somehow trying to get the crunch effect of sliced celery and not seeing how that could be done.

[Arkansas Granny]

6. I recently bought a jar of vegetable soup mix and a jar of sliced mushrooms from Harmony House.

So far, I've used them in a couple of soups, but I've been pretty pleased with the results. Like you, I live alone and cook in small batches, if I bother to cook at all, and fresh veggies often go bad before I use them up. Most of my cooking is done on weekends when I cook for friends and family.

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. Thank you!

My idea really is prompted because I am sooooooo tired of tossing veggies that have gone bad before being completely used up.

As you no doubt have experienced, cooking in small batches presents its own challenges. Everything from appropriately sized cookware to menu planning that produces the least waste of food. The foods that seem to have the most loss are those that are used to lend flavor and aroma to other foods.

If I cook 4 half ears of corn I might eat one as corn on the cob, make creamed corn from one, make maque chow from one and use the other to add kernels to both cornbread and soup.

If I buy a bag of celery hearts then I will use a little at a time - and a little goes a long way when preparing small batches - and then maybe chop some into sticks to eat plain or with cheese or peanut butter. But I'm probably going to get tired of that long before those celery hearts go bad.

Nearly 28% of US households consist of just one person. I understand exactly why so many of them eat prepared foods or eat off dollar menus or out at resturants. While social interaction and convenience are factors so too are the cost and waste associated with cooking.

Thanks again for sharing your experience with Harmony House dried vegetable products.

[grasswire]

11. why can't you chop the veg remainders and freeze them?

Some people keep a stock freezer bag in the fridge and throw those kinds of bits in as the days go by, and then when it's time to make soup or stock, into the pot they go.

I've personally gotten tired of throwing away extra chopped scallions from a dinner of tacos or curry or whatever, and I pop the leftovers into a small tupperware into the freezer. Then I use them on nachos or something else. I do the same with bell pepper leftover. Dice it, freeze it.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. The veggies I named -

celery, garlic, jalapeno, mushrooms, onions, peppers - are typically used to add aroma and flavor. A little bit goes a long way when cooking in small two serving batches.

I dare say that most here have more than a passing familiarity with dried jarred minced garlic and onion. Yes, the dried stuff is different than the fresh stuff - but it serves the purpose of adding desired flavor and aroma.

All veggies really are supposed to be blanched before being frozen. Celery and mushrooms don't freeze particularly well. And if one intends to use the frozen veggies in small increments then they would need to be spread in a single layer to freeze and then put into a freezer container so that they don't all freeze into a big lump.

Anything frozen of couse has the potential to ruin in the event of a prolonged power outage. I've had two of those in the last couple of years - one of which lasted over a week.

I can also see the possibility of putting various dired veggies together to form a mix. For example, a mix of celery, peppers and onions - the holy trinity of cajun cuisine.

I guess my concern isn't what to do with the leftover and unused veggies. Instead I am more concerned about having veggies available to add flavor and aroma when I only use a small amount of those veggies - and having them available in a cost effective manner. If I buy a package of celery stalks I may only use two or three stalks of celery before they go bad - unless I choke down lots of celery sticks. After a couple of decades of doing that and dipping and filling them with all sorts of stuff that has lost its appeal.

It is far more convenient, cheaper and less wasteful for use folks that live and dine alone to eat take out or frozen prepackaged crap than it is to prepare healthy meals.

[trud]

13. celery sticks

My supermarket has started selling celery sticks by the each. I haven't done a price comparison. But since I don't like the dark green outer stalks, a lot of a bunch goes into the compost heap anyway.

[grasswire]

14. here too

It is more expensive to buy that way, but probably not more than throwing some away.

[Coyote_Bandit]

15. The stores here don't do that

If you want celery you can buy a package of celery hearts or a bunch of celery or a vegetable tray with a few celery sticks. Some of the stores used to sell a good sized overpriced bag of celery sticks. No more. They cut that out when they expanded their vegan and vegetarian offerings.