Science Experiments with the Dehydrator

I have been crazy obsessed with my new dehydrator. I stay up late and wake up early thinking about all the things I want to make. Trouble is, it is a time investment. Drying times are like those that the cable guy gives you. "Dehydrate fruits for 4-12 hours." Really??? No better direction than that?

So this means, in the experimentation phase I can really only dehydrate when I know I am going to be home all day. And lucky for me, I do freelance writing from home Mondays and Fridays...so these will be my new dehydration days.

Here is the scoop on the first few science experiments.

Lab1: High density power bars
I tried two different concoctions with this round. One was made from chia gel, unsweetened cocoa, banana puree, and quinoa flakes topped with coconut. I thought these were ok but very bland. The other was made from the almond pulp leftover from making chocolate almond milk, some more unsweetened cocoa, maple syrup, banana puree, and rolled in kasha. I liked these a lot better - especially with the crunch of the kasha.
Sorry no pics, I was overwhelmed with excitement and Brian ate them all really fast.

Lab 2: Fiber Focus
Buckwheat and Gluten Free Oats Granola Bar: Cooked buckwheat, raw oats, apple slices, raisins, almonds, sunflower seeds, ginger, cinnamon, apricots, walnuts, quinoa flakes, and a bit of chia seeds. Wow thats a lot of stuff packed into a bar. These came out like your more traditional style chewy granola bar.
Kasha Crunch Bars: kasha, quinoa flakes, raisins, sunflower seeds, walnuts, maple syrup, ground sprouted flax, cinnamon, almond meal. These had a nice crunch and the maple syrup added a nice flavor.

Impromptu Cookies: I had leftover almond meal so I thought a little treat would be nice. I used almond meal, quinoa flakes and unsweetnened cocoa - sweetened with a teaspoon of maple syrup and a syrup made from processed dried apricots, dates and figs with water. I rolled these into balls and flattened them into cookies while coating them with a kasha chia seed mix. These came out really yummy - especially the ones that I later put a frosting on top made of melted unsweetened chocolate bars with a touch of honey.

Lab 3: Dehydrated Veggie Chips
I found this lab to be the most frustrating at times. Getting them to crisp up was a bit of a challenge and, just like the cable guy, they were done 3 hours later than promised. Not to mention how much space they take up at first to shrink down to tiny little bites of chip. But, in the end I was pretty pleased with about half of them.
I tried out 5 different veggies. Beets, Rutabaga, Sweet Potato, Carrots, and Yellow Squash. I pretreated all of them differently:

Beets with lemon, salt, and pepper, and garlic

Sweet Potato dry with garlic, salt, and cayenne

Squash with olive oil, garlic, and salt

Carrots with watered down braggs, honey, ginger, and seasame seeds

Rutabaga soaked in water with apple cider vinegar and lemon

Beets won with the most crispiness and zazz, sweet potato next with good flavor (although I wish they were a bit crispier, Squash next, only because it ended up tasting like pizza, but they were too greasy to eat much of. Rutabaga next which was just a moderate chip, and carrots came in last because they refused to crisp up and didn't retain any of the flavor of the pretreatment.

So what do you do with all these chips? Dip them in something yummy of course! I mixed together sunflower seeds, spinach, olives, and garlic, S&P, CRP in the food processor and it was a great reward for all this work in the kitchen!

finished product ready to dip

I wouldn't say any of these recipes are near perfected, but the learning process is a lot of fun. Next up is fruits. I've got some strawberries, mango, blueberries, kiwi, and apples that can go in. Maybe some banana too! I'm also excited to try seed and nut chips and more dessert stuff. I think it will be a while before I work my way up to dehydrated meals...which will be awesome for backpacking this summer!!

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