Gabriel Cousens recommends dehydrating at 145 degrees to curtail time food is exposed to a humid ( thus predisposing it to mold) environment. Plus, he says that the ambient air cools down the temperature as well. He recommends that for the Excalibur.

That being said, what are other peoples' take on the optimal temperature for dehydrating raw foods? I've not used my excalibur a lot ... just a few times but I did notice certain things.

1) When I sprouted buckwheat, grinded it and made it into a kind of "paste" then tried to make crackers out of them. No matter what, they did NOT seem to dehydrate at all. They still had a rubbery flexible consistency. I was completely flummoxed. Should I have not grinded them and just dehydrated each grain individually like a cereal thing?

2) It takes FOREVER to dehydrate at 110 or even 118 degrees.

That being said, I did end successfully making some flax seed crackers that were quite good. I had to turn it several times though to expose it to the heat/air that was emanating from one side only. The center would get kind of mushy and so I cut the flax seed square at the middle and exposed THAT area to the air/heat and that is how I got it to work.

Any tips, tricks and experiences from others of what they dehydrated?

Also, does dehydrating reduce phytic acid content of things like sprouted garbanzo beans? I always wondered about that.

Not quite sure when it comes to dehydrating strategies as I don't use one on a regular basis, however, I wouldn't be too concerned about phytic acid. It's improperly labeled as an "anti-nutrient". Numerous studies show that the body adapts to phytic acid over time, allowing for the health benefits of phytates to take place sans the negative effects. Phytic acid is anti-cancer and improves bone density. Wait, what? How can a compound that decreases absorption of bone-building minerals promote bone health? Again, because the body not only adapts to be able to absorb these minerals over time but the phytic acid itself has its own positives for bones.

www.phytopanacea.com

La Veronique:
That being said, what are other peoples' take on the optimal temperature for dehydrating raw foods? I've not used my excalibur a lot ... just a few times but I did notice certain things.

Tai
The maximum temperature for enzymes retention is 118 farenheit. So let's say you are dehydrating sprouted sesame, you would not want to exceed 118. I have made sprouted buckwheat cereal and sprouted buckwheat snacks and I don't go over 118, because they are very small and easy to dry.

A properly made seed bar can sprout with water added. So temperature is important.

I have dehydrated giant Portobello mushrooms with a marinade and pate inside and I crank up the temperature, because I never heard of important enzymes inside of mushrooms. The same goes for marinated veggies. When you dehydrate sliced marinated veggies like zucchini and red peppers, it has a grilling effect, but with low temperatures like 145 vs. cooking temperatures.

When you dehydrate certain fruit like figs, you have to raise the temp to 145 otherwise the fruit will ferment because it will take too long to dehydrate.

La veronique
1) When I sprouted buckwheat, grinded it and made it into a kind of "paste" then tried to make crackers out of them. No matter what, they did NOT seem to dehydrate at all. They still had a rubbery flexible consistency. I was completely flummoxed. Should I have not grinded them and just dehydrated each grain individually like a cereal thing?

Tai
It's hard to comment on this. My experience making crackers with buckwheat is that the crackers are too thick and crunchy, so I don't like making them. Drying them is not hard for me.

My favorite way of making buckwheat is soaking overnight and then draining the next day in a sprouting jar with a sprouting lid. That way, the water drains out and the seed actually sprouts. When you see the heads sprouting on the buckwheat, they are ready to use. From there, I blend tomatoes with miso, raw habanero and other herbs and I mix with the buckwheat. I spread out on the teflex sheets of the dehydrator. Once these are fully dry (you can flip if necessary, but sometimes only the center part needs to be flipped), they are crunchy but easy on the teeth. For me, it's a substitute for popcorn. I should make an exact recipe, but it's so delicious.

La veronique
2) It takes FOREVER to dehydrate at 110 or even 118 degrees.

Tai
By forever, do you mean 24 hours? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, just overnight.

La Veronique
That being said, I did end successfully making some flax seed crackers that were quite good. I had to turn it several times though to expose it to the heat/air that was emanating from one side only. The center would get kind of mushy and so I cut the flax seed square at the middle and exposed THAT area to the air/heat and that is how I got it to work.

Tai
It sounds like they were too thick. I would have mushed them down more before drying.

La veronique
Any tips, tricks and experiences from others of what they dehydrated?

Tai
Flax crackers get old really fast, as in boring and fatty.

Try making an herbed pate, marinating and stuffing mushrooms and drying them in the dehydrator. see what temperatures work to get it done by dinner.

To me the ultimate delight is using a japanese mandolin and making paper thin potato chips and sweet potato chips marinaded in lemon juice and drying them. They are potato chips without any cooking.

Raw gourmets make zucchini lasagna but I just marinate and dehydrate zucchini and it's delicious.

I have made so many things. THese are just a couple things to try.

I buy these raw vegan mushroom burgers from Whole Foods. They dehydrate Portobello mushrooms until they are thin enough to use like bread slices. They make a nut pate and form it into a patty and they use the mushrooms as buns and create a burger with tomato, lettuce, red onion and avocado and cashew aioli sauce. It's all raw vegan and quit delicious and very filling.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2018 05:40AM by Tai.

jtprindl

Yeah. It is kind of paradoxical how phytic acid can have BOTH effects. I guess it is just a matter of each individual calibrating and observing for oneself what the effects are and adjusting accordingly. Thanks.

Tai

I may just try dehydrating the sprouted buckwheats like a cereal. The habanero tomato miso plus herb recipe you mentioned sounds delicious but the habanero
is supremely tongue bitingly hot, is it not? I do like jalapenos though... but the one time I tried habanero... let's just say I never got them ever again lol


<<To me the ultimate delight is using a japanese mandolin and making paper thin potato chips and sweet potato chips marinaded in lemon juice and drying them. They are potato chips without any cooking. >>

Marinating in lemon juice sounds like an excellent idea. What do you think of also using raw coconut oil or raw olive oil? That would probably make it imperative to do it at 118 instead of 145 due to the fats though, any thoughts?


<<Try making an herbed pate, marinating and stuffing mushrooms and drying them in the dehydrator. see what temperatures work to get it done by dinner.>>

That's a novel idea. I never tried that. That does sound like it would be yummy and it would probably make a nice hors d'oeuvre as well. Maybe a pesto filling would be good.

What do you use to marinade the mushroom and/or zucchini?

Yeah, I did make a lot of flaxseed crackers. It was an interesting experience crunching on flaxseeds in the form of crackers. Texture takes a bit getting used to.

Maybe I'll grind it next time and see if that works just as well. Maybe i'll mix it with sunflower seeds grinded.

<<By forever, do you mean 24 hours? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, just overnight>>

Yeah, I do mean 24 hours and it even seems like it will take even longer than that as in literally "forever" lol!

I'm not sure how anyone makes breads unless they want their bread to be the thickness of paper. It took a while to make flaxseed crackers and mine were ( I thought) paper thin so I am not sure how people make anything resembling bread in a dehydrator at 118 .

It seems kind of mysterious. I'm thinking " What dehydrator are THEY using?"

LaVeronique
I may just try dehydrating the sprouted buckwheats like a cereal.

Tai
yes but spread very thinly, otherwise it dries too thick and is hard to chew. I do think waiting until the sprout forms on the buckwheat ensures the buckwheat is easier to chew later.

La Veronique
The habanero tomato miso plus herb recipe you mentioned sounds delicious but the habanero is supremely tongue bitingly hot, is it not?

Tai
Ah yes, I used a relatively small amount for a large batch. The end result was barely spicy.

La Veronique
Marinating in lemon juice sounds like an excellent idea. What do you think of also using raw coconut oil or raw olive oil? That would probably make it imperative to do it at 118 instead of 145 due to the fats though, any thoughts?

Tai
Sure, it's just more calories, which can be fattening. Paper thin slices only need 118 degrees. You don't have to dry at higher temperatures.

For the marinade for zucchini and mushrooms, I drizzle a little olive oil from my sundried tomato jar (packed in olive oil and herbs) because a little bit goes a long way because it's so flavorful, add lemon juice, herbs and salt.

La Veronique
I'm not sure how anyone makes breads unless they want their bread to be the thickness of paper. It took a while to make flaxseed crackers and mine were ( I thought) paper thin so I am not sure how people make anything resembling bread in a dehydrator at 118 .

Tai
yes all the raw vegan chefs DO make thin bread to make burgers and sandwiches. The bread isn't paper thin but tortilla thin. The ones who make the most pliable and easy to chew bread use young coconut meat as one of the ingredients. I have eaten my share of raw vegan sandwiches using this kind of "bread".
As for real bread, forget it entirely. The closest bread I ever ate was manna bread but it was baked at 200 degrees and it was so moist inside that you could never slice it to make a sandwich.
I found out the easiest way to make a sandwich is just slice raw eggplant for the bread slices. Just peel the eggplant before slicing.

Tai

That is interesting. I never thought to slice eggplants for bread. Do you dehydrate and marinate that too? Sounds kind of yummy. Maybe I'll put oregano on it so it can have a pizza flavor to it and marinate it in blended tomatoes and lemon or something like that.

Yeah, I had a "quesadilla" in which coconut (pulverized and spread paper thin) was used as the tortilla. It was REALLY delicious. I think the cheese was cashews.
Very inventive!

I used to see videos where people made these SUPER THICK raw vegan cakes and pies that they put in a dehydrator and it seems kind of strange now because I think it WOULD take as long as Elon Musk's crew gets to Mars to dry out such incredibly thick pies and cakes in the dehydrator since the paper thin stuff takes quite a long time as well lol!

La VEronique
That is interesting. I never thought to slice eggplants for bread. Do you dehydrate and marinate that too? Sounds kind of yummy

Tai
When you use eggplant as bread, do not marinade it or dehydrate or treat it in anyway, other than peeling it, because it will be wet and unpleasant to touch. But if you wanted to make an eggplant sandwich with eggplant as the centerpiece, go ahead and marinade it.

LaVeronique
I used to see videos where people made these SUPER THICK raw vegan cakes and pies that they put in a dehydrator

Tai
I am not a fan of those. The one tempting thing I like is making a cheesecake pie out of blended young coconut meat sprinkled with cacao nibs and fresh cherries, but this kind of pie is not dehydrated, it is either frozen or put in the refrigerator.
My sweet tooth is for fresh fruit, not dehydrated goodies

Tai

<< I am not a fan of those. The one tempting thing I like is making a cheesecake pie out of blended young coconut meat sprinkled with cacao nibs and fresh cherries, but this kind of pie is not dehydrated, it is either frozen or put in the refrigerator>>

This sounds delicious. I like the idea of having it in the fridge because it seems like cheesecake is a "chilly" dessert rather than a dry thing.

I think eggplants have both a unique texture and flavor. I don't use it much but it will be an interesting experiment to try it as a bread and a main dish.

I think it OK to start at 145 degrees, but once you feel your food's temperature is hitting 100 degrees, lower the dehydrator's temperature to a raw-safe temperature, say like 115.

By the way, I have been to hot springs where the water temperature was 115. It takes me some time to acclimate to that high temperature, and in fact is painful at first, but once I get used to it my body really likes it. I do have to be careful not to faint when I get out to jump into the cold pool.

Prana

<<I think it OK to start at 145 degrees, but once you feel your food's temperature is hitting 100 degrees, lower the dehydrator's temperature to a raw-safe temperature, say like 115.>>


That's a good idea. Thanks.