Is dehydrated food cooked?

[Thick]

I know that below a certain temperature the enzymes of a food are supposedly intact--but how do we know this?

And, how do you think dehydration affects the life force of a food?

I suppose it's still better than SAD food, but is it inferior to fresh? How inferior?

[RawRose]

I would say that dehydrated food is cooked, although inadvertently perhaps, it's just not natural, IMO. Maybe it's not dead, but it's been adulterated.

[Revvell]

I know that below a certain temperature the enzymes of a food are supposedly intact--but how do we know this?

It's been tested and proven. It's not "cooked" since Sergei Boutenko threw some crumbs from a flaxseed cracker on the ground and flax grew.


And, how do you think dehydration affects the life force of a food?

Well, it's not a "whole" food anymore since the water is removed.


I suppose it's still better than SAD food, but is it inferior to fresh? How inferior?

Sure it's inferior. It's not a whole food. How does one measure the how?

[Marco]

I am by no means an expert on dehydration, but if you are asking is the raw food still alive I would say no it is not. Let us think about this for a moment. We put living food in a dehydrator to remove all of the water. If you or a human were put into a dehydrator at 41.7 Degrees C until you had no more water would you be alive?

Seeds are a different animal. They are meant to be able to survive harsh conditions to continue the natural cycle.

[Rawkinlocs]

It is not dead. Perhaps "dormant" is a better choice of word.

As Revvell stated, Victoria B. put out in her newsletter about a couple of months or so ago that flax flowers grew from some flax seed crackers that were tossed out in her yard.

Other raw fooders have (and yes, some that do not sell books in case anyone gets that whole notion going) attested to similar stories...AND...

I've soaked, sprouted and dehydrated grains and buckwheat; stored it in the fridge or in a jar at room temp. and then re-soaked and guess what? Those baby sprouts continued to grow after a day or two in a glass jar. Dead foods wouldn't be able to do that...would they?

So, they may not be "alive/alive" (whatever that means) but they are not dead...as I said before, dormant may be a better terminology for foods dehydrated at raw-acceptable temperatures.

[Stina]

Also, food had volatile oils that get mutated from being cooked at high temperatures, and that damaging process is avoided with dehydrating.
I look at dehydration literally: to take the water out in order to change the texture. If it wasn't for my precious Excalibur, it's not likely that I'd be eating as much raw food as I do, which is mostly fresh, but I occasionally need that comfort fix.

[SheLovesToEat]

how can dehydrated food be 'cooked' when were are here talking about using dehydrators on a raw food diet and on a raw foodists board! LOL !

YEAH! LOL .... Alissa is selling small ovens.

i dont think the term 'cooked' applies. i believe that Rawkinlocs is right when she said 'dormat' is a better choice of words.

thats why i like this board.... you never know whats going to pop up.

[srsarri]

Im not going one way or the other here, but when I eat dehydrated food, I get the same feeling as I do when I used to slip up and eat cooked, and my digestion becomes poor with too much of it even with high water intake....

but like I said, I am not going one way or another here, it just got me thinking. I think its mental, when I think "wow, I only ate fresh fruits and vegetables today" it gives me a warm fuzzy energetic feeling!

[Eva]

I feel flippin' fantastic with dehydrated foods as a PORTION of my 100% raw diet.

I feel flippin' fantastic with just raw, whole foods.

I feel OK with mostly raw and other stuff tossed in when it comes up.

I feel like heck without raw.

[Veganforlife]

I try to pattern my eating after the way my ancestors from way way back lived. Nuts, seeds, sprouts, veggies, fruits. The dehydration I feel is like when the sun dries food. I KNOW my eating is much, much better than when I was non-raw, even though I've been vegetarian for over 30 years now. I was not eating healthy. I'm not going to question everything. It wastes too much time...

[Thick]

Also, food had volatile oils that get mutated from being cooked at high temperatures, and that damaging process is avoided with dehydrating.

Oh, such a good point. Thank you=)>

[Thick]

I feel flippin' fantastic with dehydrated foods as a PORTION of my 100% raw diet.

I feel flippin' fantastic with just raw, whole foods.

I feel OK with mostly raw and other stuff tossed in when it comes up.

I feel like heck without raw.

That's true! I am not an expert in the chemical reactions of food, or the nutrition--plus there are, I believe, thousands of nutrients in food that scientists do not yet understand. I am an expert on how I feel, though!

I'll just trust that since it is occasionally 105 degrees where I live, that that in an exceptable temperature for my food=)

I'm not overcomplicating things, or questioning everything..I was just curious about what you guys thought about this--and I made this.

Wilted Spinach Salad

Take about 2 large handfuls of spinach
1 clove garlic (crushed)
Aprox 2-3 Tb. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
1/2 Tomato cut into wedges

Put your spinach in a large bowl. Combine garlic, EVOO, Salt, Pepper and drizzle over spinach. Toss so that the leaves are lightly coated. Put your tomato wedges on top and put the whole thing in the dehydrator for about 1.5 hrs. Toss, enjoy.

My kids even like this. Oh, also Alissa's Blueberry pie is super easy and WONDERFUL.

Blessings,
Heather



It was so good that it made me wonder if I had really cooked it=) By the way, I think applying heat is cooking imho--though I am at peace now with the gently heated foods being a portion of my diet.

[petaltothemetal]

It was about 100 degrees for several weeks here in southern Oregon - very unusual for us - and when I was picking plums at the beginning of September some of them were already dehydrated and tasted much like those I took out of my dehydrater.

I'm part American Indian and my ancestors dried fruits, veggies and meat all the time to tide them over during the winter.

The only thing I worry about with the dehydrator is that since it concentrates the food, it is easy to eat too much from a caloric point of view.

[Emma-Liza]

thick--

As far as the spinach goes, an hour in the dehydrator to wilt some greens or heat up something is not removing enough water to consider it dehydrated at all. You've still got plenty of moisture going on.

When we talk about food being dead or alive, we (and by "we," I mean "I" ;) ) mean active enzymes, which we still have in our dehydrated food. Of course most of the plants we put in a dehydrator are "dead." They have been plucked or have fallen from their plant.

So in dehydrating, we are preserving the enzymes, but that is only one of several things about the food that enhances health. We've also preserved fiber and loads of minerals/vitamins.

What we lose--water content--is vitally important, too. But in my uneducated yet I think logical opinion, :p if we don't make a an entire day's menu from concentrated, dehydrated food, we can find a good balance for our individual goals and needs and still be plenty healthy.

Wilted or warmed food does not fall into the category of dehydrated, IMO.