Dried Carrot Views
Dried carrots is one of the first things I think of when people mentioned dehydrating foods. My mom dried a lot of shredded carrots, and we always had a big jar full in the basement. Whenever she was in a hurry to make dinner she,'d grab a cup or so of the carrots, and a cup of the dried onion pieces, add them to cooked ground beef and potatoes in a pot of boiling water and make soup. It'm sure there were some spices, too, but I unfortunately I didnl't pay that close attention then. I should ask her for the recipe.Thom @ www.kitchenriches.com
The effects of different drying methods on the cellular structure of carrots were examined. Carrots were dried by vacuum drying, freeze drying and oven drying in combination with microwave pre-drying. Dried and fresh untreated samples were analysed by light microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The cellular structure of vacuum dried as well as microwave pre-dried samples was found to be very different from that of fresh samples. Most, if not all, of the original microstructure was lost during drying with these techniques, though traces of original structure were preserved on external surfaces. Most of the original microstructure was preserved in the freeze dried carrot. ESEM was also used to observe the behaviour of the dried samples in an atmosphere of increasing humidity and showed that dried tissues did not regain their original cellular structure though some turgidity was regained by the freeze dried samples.
Fresh carrots last for a long time when stored under proper conditions, but few people have enough space to store many carrots. Carrots can be canned, of course, and they can be frozen, but for long-term storage, carrots can also be dehydrated. Dehydrating, or drying, food dates back to biblical times, well before canning or freezing food for preservation was an option. By removing most of the moisture, foods kept much longer, even without refrigeration. Today there are still benefits to drying foods. Dried foods take less space to store, they are easy to transport, and most only need water to reconstitute them. In modern times, it gives a person a measure of security to know that even in a prolonged power outage their dehydrated foods will not spoil. This article will show you how to easily dehydrate carrots with the aid of your food dehydrator.
Place the dried carrots into glass jars with a tight-fitting lid. Turn the jars upside down for about one day to check for moisture. If condensation forms on the bottom of the jar (the jar is upside down, remember), spread the carrots out on a dehydrator rack, return them to the dehydrator and dehydrate a little longer. If no condensation forms, return the jars to their upright position and store in a cool dark place.
Dried Carrot Images
