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JCB44
11-30-2008, 08:49 PM
I bought the good4u dehydrator from Alissa and I really do like it so far. I do have a question concerning blanching food as a preparation to dry. Does blanching food (example putting Cranberries in boiling water for 2 minutes) violate the raw rules?
juliebove
11-30-2008, 10:45 PM
Blanching is cooking.

Ignore the directions for dehydrating if you're doing it raw. Blanching will make it dehydrate quicker.

What you might have to do is cut or pierce things to speed up the process. I once did some whole cranberries. They took days and they puffed up full of air. Nice tasty snack actually, but not at all the raisin-like texture I assumed they would have. To get that you'd have to cut them.
Crazy Healer Lady
12-01-2008, 01:55 AM
Ooooo cranberries! I have BAGS of these in the freezer! I'm going to experiment. Thanks, Juliebove!

And yeah, blanching is a nono. Good rule of thum (pun intended) is anything that hurts/burns to stick your finger into is not raw. That's about 104F.
spicyfull
12-01-2008, 06:32 AM
Ooooo cranberries! I have BAGS of these in the freezer! I'm going to experiment. Thanks, Juliebove!

And yeah, blanching is a nono. Good rule of thum (pun intended) is anything that hurts/burns to stick your finger into is not raw. That's about 104F.

What I did with Cranberries for ThanksGiving. I blended whole Cranberries in the Food Proccesor, put them aside. Blended Dried Cranberries in the Food Processor, put them aside. Red Onions in the F. P. ,Walnuts. Mixed everything together with a small amount of ollej and chilled in the Fridge.
HolyGuacamole
12-01-2008, 06:59 AM
Just FYI, on the cranberry tip:
We do cranberries by cutting them in half and tossing them in a little sweetener, then dehydrating.
My 3 year old loves them!
JCB44
12-01-2008, 07:09 PM
Thanks to all for the tips. I bought some cranberries and will give it a try.
Crazy Healer Lady
12-01-2008, 11:50 PM
Yum, those cranberry tips and the recipe sound great!
jacsam
12-03-2008, 11:21 AM
My mom puts fresh orange in her cranberry sauce....it's really nice.
oceanee
12-03-2008, 12:14 PM
I made an awesome cranberry relish in fp and added orange, apple, pear, some orange zest.....next time walnuts will go in it. Yum !
I keep in freezer to add to smoothies but I may need to try drying.
Oceanee