Dehydrating Treats for the dogs......a disater story.

[CorgiMum]

As I mentioned before, I dehydrate treats for the dogs as a staple. Apples, bananas, yams, oatmeal, etc.

With the discussions about bladder infections, dogs holding their urine and refusing too pee & the benefits of cranberries I dried some for my dogs.

I had 3 bags of fresh frozen in the freezer and put them onto the trays yesterday right out of the bag.

It was a disaster! They all stuck to the trays.:REALLYMAD:

That and they didn't dry like Craisins do, I'm guessing because they add sugar? The berries sort of turned out like round little balls of hard red ash.:EEK:

Mind you, I gave some to the dogs and they did eat them. But I won't be dehydrating cranberries again.:NAH:

I should really make myself some nice Beef Teriyaki strips.+YES+

[MissGambler's+Mojo'sMommy]

Try dehydrating regular raw cranberries, craisins are already dehydrated and that may have been your problem. I love craisins!

[CorgiMum]

Sorry, I didn't explain exactly what they were. They were fresh frozen raw Ocean Spray Cranberries. Frozen because I bough bags of them at Christmas on sale and put them into my freezer.

[Jespah]

Maybe you overdehydrated them. Grapes are dried until they are soft and chewy not dried right out.

[CorgiMum]

Yes, that could have been it. At least the dogs like them, and Gary does too, he said that they are not bitter.

[MissGambler's+Mojo'sMommy]

My mistake, I read it that you dried craisins. I'm a speed-reader, it's a blessing at times, other times it makes me miss a detail, sorry. And I like dried cranberries also. What's crazy is that the older I get, the more I LOVE dried fruit, and the trail mixes.

[MVons]

I think the problem was they were frozen. It might be better if you thawed them and then the drying would be more even and you wouldn't run the risk of over dehydrating.

[CorgiMum]

That occurred to me too Merrie, I have one last bag left in the freezer and when I dry that one, I will defrost the berries first and see how it goes.

[dcole]

Bummer about the berries, Barbara. But those Teriyaki strips sure do sound good!:BIGGRIN"

I've been meaning to try dehydrating some yams at home (I've got a dehydrate setting on my oven) because the Sam's can get a bit pricey. Do you use your oven or a counter-top dehydrator? I'm just wondering about how long it would take...

[Jespah]

Just a sugggestion on the yams Debi. I would salt the each side of the yams for at least half an hour to get some of the moisture out of them before dehydrating, or they could take forever!!

[CorgiMum]

Yes, Deb is right I've done them and they did take forever in my dehydrator. And you have a dehydrating setting on your oven? May I ask the brand?

[MVons]

I've been meaning to try dehydrating some yams at home (I've got a dehydrate setting on my oven) because the Sam's can get a bit pricey. Do you use your oven or a counter-top dehydrator? I'm just wondering about how long it would take...The first batch I did I cut like potato chips and took 12 hours. I figure 1/4 inch will take 24 hours. Keep in mind our humidity is low here too. The dehydrator is up above my cabinets and I do need to get it down. It is the round one with plastic trays with a plastic dome that goes over the trays. The square ones you can get a lot more food in them. No salt as I figure the dogs are like me, don't need more of it.

[mtoy]

I heard that parboiling yams before drying them makes the process quicker and gives nicer results.

[Jespah]

Merrie, you wipe the salt and accumulated water off before you dehydrate them - so there is no added salt.

[CorgiMum]

I haven't done yams since you told us about the salt Deb, I'm going to get some today and see how it works for us.

[dcole]

Yes, Deb is right I've done them and they did take forever in my dehydrator. And you have a dehydrating setting on your oven? May I ask the brand?

It's a Bosch. I can't recall the exact model right now (I'm at work) but it's last year's top-end model. When the dishwasher finally gave out last year (and the microwave, too) I decided to replace ALL of the kitchen appliances. Went a little crazy, but hey, I really enjoy cooking and baking so what the heck! :WINK:

Thanks for the tip about salting the yams, Deb and Barbara. I'm going to give it a try!

[CorgiMum]

Thanks for the stove info Debi.:SMILE:

[MrsGrace]

Learn something every day here.

Going to try the salt tip AND I need a new stove/oven combo, so I will be looking for a Bosch! Thank you thank you! :SMILE:

[CorgiMum]

I would salt the each side of the yams for at least half an hour to get some of the moisture out of them before dehydrating, or they could take forever!!


I have 2 nice yams cut up, sitting in single layers on cookie sheets, well salted. I'll let them sit for an hours, and then rinse them off well.

One of the yams was thin, and one was big so I'm testing how the different sizes dry. I'm usually up until midnight so they should be done drying by then, I hope.+CHEF+

[MissGambler's+Mojo'sMommy]

I bet the yams will smell great! I LOVE sweet potatoes/yams, in any way, from fries to mashed. Now you have me thinking of a good dish with yams.

[CorgiMum]

I don't eat them myself, so Gary will have to taste test them for me.:SMILE:

[MrsGrace]

I bet the yams will smell great! I LOVE sweet potatoes/yams, in any way, from fries to mashed. Now you have me thinking of a good dish with yams.

When you think of one, post the recipe!!

A dehydrator is on my "wish list". :SMILE: Barbara, you are an inspiration!

[CorgiMum]

Thanks Anna, I'm a bit of a small-appliance-junkie, but my dehydrator I really am getting my money out of.

Deb, when I washed the yams there was a lot of water that came off of them, thanks for that great tip. They were rinsed well, and then I let them sit on tea towels for a few minutes, patted them dry and they are now in the dehydrator. I also noticed that after they had been salted they became very limp.

Tonight (late) the puppers will have another glass container of goodies on the kitchen counter for their snacking pleasure. One with the cranberries, and they are loving them crispy, banana slices, and their usual supply of dried apple slices.

[Jespah]

I guess we'll see what happens - thanks for doing this science experiment for us Barbara!! "GEEK:

[CorgiMum]

You are welcome, and I think that I can even drum up 2 or 3 taste testers for us too.:WINK:

[CorgiMum]

Well the yams are dehydrated. Very.

I had them in for less than 6 hours and they are crispy now that they have cooled off. Maybe next time I'll take them our a bit sooner and see if they are softer, or cut them thicker.

But the 3 taste testers are very happy with them.:BIGGRIN"