Toaster Tart/Fig bars

[Green Life]

Hi,



I am making Allissa's Toaster Tart and Fig bars. The recipie says to dehydrate the wrapper for two hours at 105.. well.... two hours have come and gone and the wrapper is still to sticky to turn. It's been 6 hours, and their still too sticky to flip over. I made a quadruple recipie, so this can't be wasted. What is going on with this recipie? My dehydrater temp is fine, it's working just fine, so I don't understand why it's taking so long to dry.

Any suggestions, please?

:D Life

[Rawkinlocs]

You have to keep in mind that drying times can vary...what Alissa posts is a guideline, but depending on where you live, the climate, etc., sometimes things may take longer to dry.

For example, when we made the calzone at her place in CA, it turned out perfectly...I came home to WA where it's more humid from all the rain, and I did everything exactly and mine fermented in the dehydrator.

So, it can vary...if your temp is set lower than 110, turn it up a bit.

[Green Life]

Rawkinlocks! I just KNEW you would come to my rescue, thanks :)

Now, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The temp. will be set at 110 as soon as I get off this computer. We do live in a sorta rain forest., although it hasn't rained in a few days, LOL!


:D Life

[Rawkinlocs]

:D

Let us know how they turn out!

[Green Life]

Rawkinlocks, I'll tell you all how they turned out.

The temp was set up to 110. They look to be drying alot more rapidly. Time will tell. Hopefully by tomorrow morning they will be ready to flip?

Green :D Life

[rawpriestess]

I have to dry things so much higher and longer because I too live in wet Washington.

[Green Life]

Raw priestess, at what temperature do you have to dry yours on and for how much longer? We live in Oregon and probably share the same weather.

Thanks for your input, it's well appreciated, as is everyones!

Green :D life

[faith4u]

I am in Oregon too and had the same problem.

BUT in the end they were so good. I was eating them as they were dehydrating but they tasted even better the next morning out of the fridge. YUMMY

[Rawkinlocs]

I am in Oregon too and had the same problem.

BUT in the end they were so good. I was eating them as they were dehydrating but they tasted even better the next morning out of the fridge. YUMMY
Which one...the toaster tarts or the fig bars (or both)?

Thanks for the review! Think I'll make some this week or weekend :)

[Spectatrix]

All this talk about moisture in Washington makes me want even more to get one of the jobs that I applied for at Boeing! I was raised on wondrous Texas thunderstorms, so needless to say, the dryness of New Mexico drives me nuts (I lived in west Texas for 2 years too, which wasn't much better).

[Green Life]

Faith for you , thanks for that info.

Speckatirx, the reason why it's so green here is because of the rain all the time, of course. The back yard forest wouldn't be the same without all this rain to nourish the earth. It is, indeed, delightful.

Living the

Green :D Life

[Green Life]

Hi,



Oh, goodie :) the wrappers dried overnight at 110 and this morning they are perfect. Oh, I am so happy.

Now, here is another challenge. The Strawberry Tart filling is just too watery to be a good filling. Followed the instructions to a tee. I thought of adding ground flax to thicken it. What does everybody else suggest? Please/thank you!

Green :D Life

[Rawkinlocs]

Did you freeze the mixture? I just checked the book and the recipe says to freeze it for half an hour (or perhaps longer if need be but not TOO long).

[Green Life]

Yes. I froze it. The mixture has air bubbles in it, too. I wonder if that's causing it?


Thanks for your help, Rawkinlocks. ;)

[tvillemom]

OH yeah....I can't wait to try these! I think they will be great to carry when my family goes camping! Thanks for the review!
Wendi

[faith4u]

Which one...the toaster tarts or the fig bars (or both)?

Thanks for the review! Think I'll make some this week or weekend :)


The fig bars. Oh how I love figs!!

[Rawkinlocs]

Thanks faith4u! I will get some figs and try it out!

Green Life, hmmm..not sure then. I don't think I'd add flax to it...might throw the flavor off and make it funky-tasting. Ummm...let's see...how long did you freeze it? Will it spread onto the wrappers? I mean, maybe it might be too thin to pour on, but can you like, get some out with a large spoon and then spread it like jam using the back of the spoon? Maybe freeze a bit longer. Again, even with fridges and freezers...one's freezer might get colder than others, etc.

Freeze it a little longer, maybe check on it in 15 minute or half-hour intervals and see what happens (that is IF you are at home all day :D )

[Green Life]

Thanks so much, Rawkinlocks. I appreciate your help immeasurably ;)

O.K. no on the flax. Think I'll keep it in the fridge another half hour. Doesn't it melt again when it's put on the wrappers and dehydrated? I am wondering if I am going to find a huge mess in the dehydrator if it melts. Hummm. Guess time will tell........

I'll keep you informed.

[Rawkinlocs]

I'm thinking you don't want to freeze it to the point of being solid...just enough so it's a little easier to spread on. Just took another look at the instructions and she says to spread a thin layer onto the flat wrapper and dehydrate longer...then fold them, etc. So think of it like this...when you make fruit leather, it's pureed fruit that is kinda runny but slightly thick. When you dehydrate it, it gets more solid.

So again, can you spread a thin layer of it onto the wrapper with a spoon?

[Ming]

I tried a recipe I was experimenting with and it was too runny.(too much pineapple). It dripped on the bottom of the dehyrator - this would have been a mess in a regular hot oven right? But it was easy to clean up in the dehydrator even after the long time it took to dehydrate the recipe. It dehydrated into pineapple sprouted wheat crackers instead of the bread I wanted but it tastes great. Now I'm not afraid of something dripping some anymore -

[Green Life]

HI there

O.K. I put a T. of mixture on each wrapper (it was still runny, but not so bad). I missed the part where it said to dehydrate before folding, and did so without dehdyrating first. Oh, well.

The Strawberry filling recipie was waaaaaaayyyy to much for the wrappers, so, as to not waste anything, I am drying it as a fruit leather. Bananna strawberry fruit leather..not bad. There was about a quart left over :eek:

The fig bars came out so delicious. They are fresh tasting and not at all fermented tasting. Yum.

The Cinammon/Honey came out delicious, too.

For all of the filling recipies, the filling made waaayyyy wayyyyy to much for some reason, but not to worry, it will make a great fruit leather.



Much thanks again to all who contributed. You helped alot.


Green :D Life

[Green Life]

Another thing that I just thought of to thicken the strawberry/bananna filling. Dried pineapple! Just blend the dried pineapple with the strawberries and that should thicken up the mixture sorta like jam, wouldn't it? Especially if I started out with frozen strawberries?

Green Life

[ktkat]

You have to keep in mind that drying times can vary...what Alissa posts is a guideline, but depending on where you live, the climate, etc., sometimes things may take longer to dry.

For example, when we made the calzone at her place in CA, it turned out perfectly...I came home to WA where it's more humid from all the rain, and I did everything exactly and mine fermented in the dehydrator.

So, it can vary...if your temp is set lower than 110, turn it up a bit.

Hi,

I don't know if this will help, but I worked for a carpet cleaning company in the Chicago area where the weather can change drastically from dry to extremely humid, and the humidity level in the air is a HUGE factor in drying times (Anywhere from a few hours to 24 hours difference). I know food is different from carpets, but I'm sure humidity plays a huge factor in both.

kt

[Green Life]

Thanks, Ktkat. That really does make sense to me.

Green life

[Rawkinlocs]

Thanks for the review/report Green Life!! I will definetly have to make these soon AND the fig bars!

Ktkat, thank you for sharing that...I'm sure it's all relative as far as humidity goes!

[tvillemom]

I know this is alittle off topic, but my mother-in-law has a fig tree in her yard. Last year she gave me a couple of ripe ones to try because I had never had one. I took them home, and hate to admit that I threw them away :o Now, this was before my raw days, and I wasn't sure HOW to eat them! Can I just eat them peel and all, or are there seeds??? I really want to know, so I can DEFINITELY enjoy them this year!! Thanks.
Wendi

[Green Life]

Hi!

I know what you mean. My friend owns hundreds of fig trees. Last year, I gratefully recieved hundreds of fresh, ripe figs. For half of the batch she gave me, I gave to others to enjoy, then with the rest of the bounty, I simply washed them and put them into the dehydrator to enjoy all year long. No peeling is necessary.You may pull off the stem if you so desire, as they are like a little pebble to the teeth.


Live the

Green :D life

[brandilynn]

I have 2 figs in my yard and they are so yummy.

There are all different kinds of figs though, and I am not sure what kind we have. A neighbors is redder inside than ours and are ripe much firmer than ours.

If one has been on the tree/bush/thing for a good while (and wasps have not gotten to them!) then they are so sweet and nearly chewy, like sun dried!

[Green Life]

Yummie, I love figs!

[tvillemom]

So I could just "pop" them in the dehydrator?? Do you eat them dry AND fresh then?? Sorry to sound so dumb. Is there a "better" variety to buy than another. To explain my question, I am considering buying a fig tree for my yard. Can you replace dates for figs in some recipes?? OR are they totally different "creatures"?? Thanks for helping.
Wendi

[Green Life]

[QUOTE=tvillemom]So I could just "pop" them in the dehydrator?? YES.


Do you eat them dry AND fresh then?? YES, BOTH DRY AND FRESH ARE EDIBLE. Is there a "better" variety to buy than another.IT ALL JUST DEPENDS ON YOUR TASTES.

Can you replace dates for figs in some recipes?? OR are they totally different "creatures"?? Thanks for helping. YES, YOU CAN SUBSTITUTE DATES FOR FIGS, HOWEVER, FIGS HAVE MORE OF A SEEDY TEXTURE TO THEM AS THEY HAVE ALOT OF LITTLE EDIBLE SEEDS IN THEM, THEY ARE MORE TEXTURIZED AND CRUNCHY, IF YOU WILL.

I used caps to differentiate between your question and my answer. I wasnt yelling at you, LOL!



Green :D life

[tvillemom]

Thanks so much Greenlife! You answered my questions beautifully!!! I can't wait to try them now!! Summer can't get here fast enough!! (doing a little dance....smiling....)
Wendi