dehydrating

[goyethere4raw]

I have a serious question about dehydrating. I have been trying to make peace with this in my mind for a long while.

I made some patties that are out of this world delicious. I dehydrated them from last evening to overnight (was supposed to be 12 hours, but I forgot and went to bed and left the dehydrator on). This morning when I took them out, they were crunchy and definately dry and so good I had to tell myself to stop eating them.

My question is this, does the dehydrator at 105 degrees for that long still leave the enzymes intact? or is this just a slower way of cooking, not using the high temperatures, but making up for it in the length of time? Do we truly get all of the nutrients we would otherwise get in dehydrated food? Should I feel guilty about not eating it in its total natural state?

[Revvell]

You might wish to listen to my interviews with Jinjee and Nomi (especially). I ask both of them about dehydrating.

For me, 105 is waaaay too low. Too much chance of mold with the burgers sitting around like that in the heat for so long. The temperature inside the burgers never reaches the outside temperature either so now, what folk are saying is, set it for around 140 for about 2 hours, then turn it down to 118 or so.

I doubt ALL the nutrients stay intact just for the fact that so much processing is done and then the food is exposed to air and heat for so long. Thing is, if it's satisfying something you need or want right now, go for it. It's still better than hamburgers.

Revvell

[spicyfull]

Thing is, if it's satisfying something you need or want right now, go for it. It's still better than hamburgers.

Revvell


DITTOOOOOOOOO..............

[Tirza]

I did the same thing with the falafels. They were so crunchy and so great tasting. Wow.

[lavendarJ]

I haven't purchased a dehydrator yet because I just don't know how much I'll be using it. I made some excellent lasagna the other night and it was soooooooooo good. I know it would have tasted out of this world had it been slightly warmed in a dehydrator. Sorry to stray away from your subject goyethere4raw but what sort of burger recipe did you use that held up so well for that long?

[rawfigure]

I have been raw a year and have played with the soaked then dehydrated almonds, seeds, flax crackers, rye bagels and a few "main dishes, my Fav became dried apples strawberries and cherries and buckwheat to make granola cereal.

My finding is that dehydrated foods effect me in a similar way to cooked. I can eat most of the foods I listed above in its whole food state and feel fine but when I eat them dehydrated it makes my blood sugar to go off and causes me to want to eat it again later, to fight the fatique, eating more than my body needs.

One reason I went raw was the fact that complex carbs made me feel soooo sleepy ...so I get that same feeling from dehydrated.

So ditto here to....

I will use my dehydrator to warm soup and dry herbs....

[goyethere4raw]

This was supposed to be the meatballs for the spaghetti, but I decided to make patties instead. I forgot where I got this recipe, but I pulled it off the internet somewhere.

Angel


Spaghetti and Meatballs (Savory Nut Balls)
Spaghetti
2-4 yellow and green zucchini cut on a saladacco, toss in a little lemon juice and set aside.
Sauce
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cup sun dried tomatoes (soaked for 1-2 hrs)
1 tsp. tomato concentrate
2 dates (soaked for 2 hrs)
3 tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 tbs. fresh parsley
1 pinch fresh oregano
1 handful fresh basil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. sea salt

How to: Blend everything till smooth. Add tomato soak water if you want the sauce thinner. Toss with "spaghetti" and serve with savory nut balls.

Savory Nut Balls
1 small red onion
1 bell pepper
2 carrots
1 cup burdock puree (you can grate it on a very fine grater, or blend it with the water); The burdock root CAN NOT be substituted, this is what gives the burger a meaty flavor
1 cup soaked almonds,
1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds
1/4 cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic
1 stick celery (minced)
Pinch of turmeric
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. dried cilantro or 1-2 C fresh
How to: Process everything in a food processor. Add a little water if needed. Lay a piece of parchment paper on the table, put your burger mixture on top, get another piece of parchment and put it on top of the mixture, using a rolling pin or the palms of your hand, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Then using a cookie cutter or a cup cut out patty shapes, and place the patties on teflex sheets, dehydrate in the Excalibur Dehydrator for 2 hours at 145 degrees (only in the excalibur at this temperature). Then bring the temp. down to 115 degrees and continue to dehydrate until a desired consistency.