How to Dehydrate Carrots
Imagine how much easier life would have been for the Pilgrims if they would have only had food dehydrators. The Pilgrims would have been able to dry tons and tons of vegetables for winter and provide hot and hearty stews for their peeps.
But I suppose they would of needed electricity for that. Oh well, at least this Pilgrim has electricity.
Making dehydrated carrots requires two easy steps.
- Slice clean carrots 1/4 -inch thick
- Place carrots on dehydrator trays and turn the food dehydrator on {about 6 hours}
Once the carrots are fully dried, place them in an airtight container and store in a cool, dark place.
Pretty easy stuff if you ask me.
Mavis wants to know – What is the strangest thing you have dehydrated?
Looking for more ideas on how to use your food dehydrator? Check out Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook. Amazon currently has it on sale for only $12.53. The reviews on this book are rock solid!
Need a food dehydrator? Go HERE.
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The strangest thing I’ve ever dehydrated was marshmallows. We buy those packages of the seasonal flavored ones and then we pop ‘em in the dehydrator trays and let ‘em go until they are super crunchy like the kind you get in cereal. We store them in glass jars so they don’t get crushed, but they never last long because everyone loves them so much.
Wow. I’ve never thought of that. Very clever!
I like that idea!
I am going to try dehydrating marshmallows that sounds neat. Oh and some veggies to I guess. BTW Pioneers and probably Pilgrims did have food dehydrators. They put stuff out in the sun and let mother nature do the work.
I beg to differ. While most modern dehydrators rely on electricity, people have been dehydrating food for as long as we have been hunter-gatherers and needed to store food for winter. There are some great plans out there for building electricity-free dehydrators, and you can always default to the old method of simply laying everything out in the sun.
Touche’
Mavis a nice treat and away to use your carrots!
Carrot Snack Bars
Carrots give these treats a natural moistness. Studded with coconut, raisins and pecans, they’re packed with nutrition and make a perfect pick-me-up snack anytime. If you prefer to omit the butter, use 1 cup of canola oil instead. The bars will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
1 cup Unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup Whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/3 cups Light brown sugar (packed)
2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sweetened shredded or flaked coconut
1 cup Grated carrot (packed)
3/4 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Chopped pecans
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Canola oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) Melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
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Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 7 x 11-inch rectangular or a 9-inch square baking pan, then line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper. Butter the paper and set the pan aside.
Place the flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the coconut, carrots, raisins and pecans, and stir to blend. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, butter and vanilla. Add to the flour-carrot mixture and stir to combine.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn out and let the cake finish cooling on the rack. Cut into 12 bars to serve.
If I remember my Laura Ingalls Wilder correctly, they did dehydrate apple slices in the sun and then stringed them up into garlands that they hung in the attic with their hams and such. I think carrots were stored in sand in barrels in the cellar?
Thanks for all your awesome post. I just pulled some of my carrots and plan to use this method to store some of them.
Question, if I seal a bag with my foodsaver will that work?
The carrots I put in a seal a meal bag poked small holes in the bag, but maybe it was because I over stuffed it. For potatoes and carrots I seal in a seal a meal bag, then a mylar bag for long term storage. Otherwise I keep them in a mason jar in my cabinet, I usually use them about once a week.
Hey Mavis – what dehydrator do you use?
The first time I dehydrated chili with beans I thought that was weird…but now it’s old hat. I dehydrate refried beans, cooked rice, cooked mashed potatoes…heck I dehydrate just about everything…except I haven’t done marshmellows: thanks for that tip. The BEST thing I’ve dehydrated is watermelon…my grandkids can’t keep their sticky hands off of the melon leather!
My dh climbed on the roof with the apricots he dipped in pineapple juice, and dried them on a screen on the roof. They were not very good. My apricot trees are ripe right now, and we will make some jam and eat lots just by the handful.