[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[pct-l] Re:



--On Wednesday, January 06, 1999, 2:22 PM +0000 "Rebecca Williams"
<rebecca_pct@usa.net> wrote: 


If I wanted to make beef jerky ...
> 1. is is better to do it in a dyhydrator or is an oven ok?
I've made jerky both ways; if anything, an oven is slightly faster (5-8
hours for oven drying versus 12 hours in my dehydrator).
> 2. how long in advance of when you'll eat it can you dehydrate it?
Jerky that has very little fat (and it should) will keep for quite a while. 
You can eat it as soon as it's dry, or you can keep it for perhaps three
weeks in a backpack, or for several months if placed in an airtight
container and kept in the freezer.
> 3. what do you do with it in the mean time? how do you store it between
when
> you make it & when you take it on a trip?
See the answer for question number 2.  Actually, if I make jerky too long
before I plan to use it on a trip, it doesn't survive filching by various
members of my family.
> And are the answers to these questions different for other foods,
> (fruit veggies etc.) in case I decide to experiment.

Properly dried fruit and veggies will keep for several weeks in a clean,
airtight container at room temperature, and several months in the same kind
of container in a freezer.  For example, I have kept dried roma tomatoes
(leather-dry, barely flexible) in a ziploc bag (with most of the air pressed
out) for a month at room temperature before I used them in a casserole. 
Same with bell peppers (green, yellow, red).  Banana chips (brittle-dry)
will keep indefinitely if soaked in lemon juice before you dry them.  Apple
slices (soaked in lemon juice, leather-dry) I have used within two to three
weeks and they were still good. They might keep longer, but I don't know. 
Peach slices (underripe, soaked in lemon juice before drying, leather-dry),
same thing.  One thing to remember when drying veggies or fruits is to slice
them thinly (certainly not thicker than one-quarter inch, better if
thinner).  Tomatoes, apples and peaches I slice at one-quarter inch.  Bell
peppers have somewhat thin walls, so I make the slices about one-half inch
wide.  Banana chips I slice at one-eighth inch.

I have not been too happy with the dried potato slices that I've tried to
make.  I've parboiled them to help them keep from turning gray or brown
while drying, but they haven't rehydrated well.  Now, when I want to
rehydrate potato slices on the trail, I take the dried sliced potatoes that
come packaged in a plastic bag out of a scalloped or au gratin mix.  They
are very thin, and will rehydrate very well if brought to a boil and
simmered for about ten minutes and then left to soak in the hot liquid for
another fifteen minutes (leave the pot lid on).  Hope this helps.

Craig Smith
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

==============================================================================