Make Dehydrating Even Easier! Tips & Tricks to save your projects

If you're new to dehydrating food, then this video is for you! I'm sharing some of my favorite tips on how to make dehydrating food easier, so you can get the most out of your dehydrated food storage.
Dehydrating is so easy, yet, can be so hard, especially as a beginner. You read books or my blog, follow the directions, and things still don't work out the way you think they should.
So today, I wanted to share a few tips to make dehydrating easier, that the books don't always tell you (even mine!)
📍 LINKS MENTIONED
Fullstar Vegetalbe Chopper: amzn.to/3JYVhfN
Pants Hangar for canning rings: amzn.to/3Xot5Wo
Dehydrating Basics & Journal: shop.thepurposefulpantry.com/
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*NEW* DEHYDRATING BASICS & JOURNAL
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BEGINNER'S DEHYDRATING TOOLBOX: shop.thepurposefulpantry.com/...
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Excalibur Dehydrator: amzn.to/2X4q8N5
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Sharing favorite dehydrating tips
0:26 Secret to making any jar airtight
1:52 The most frustrating thing about Excalibur dehydrators
3:15 Tip for making it go faster
5:12 What to do if you don't like dehydrated food
7:45 Clean up
8:50 DIY Dehydrating lipped tray
11:05 You'll thank yourself later for this one
13:14 Storing Canning Jar Ring Hack

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

For the Pants hanger and other tools: 📍 LINKS MENTIONED Fullstar Vegetalbe Chopper: amzn.to/3JYVhfN Pants Hangar for canning rings: amzn.to/3Xot5Wo Dehydrating Basics & Journal: shop.thepurposefulpantry.com/

[@tamieschimpf9214]

These are great newbie tips that I recognized from watching your videos. I don’t have Dehydrating tip but I will give you a tip for how to use dehydrated spinach. You dehydrated the huge tub of spinach before it went bad and now what do you do. Add it to your lasagna or spaghetti sauce. I add it to the cheese mixture in lasagne and you don’t need much but unlike fresh or frozen, there is no liquid to water down your lasagne. And if has a great taste.

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

And queso.

[@tamieschimpf9214]

@@girlnextdoorgrooming that sounds good too

[@sylviahufer7019]

I just make spinach lasagna

[@kellyball4051]

It's also excellent to use to make spinach pasta. I will be making spinach lasagna noodles with some of mine later this month!

[@jchai1343]

I also like to dehydrate stinging nettles and add it to anything I was going to add spinach no# 1 it’s free and it is also so good for you!

[@carole6779]

Another awesome video! My tips: 1. An egg slicer works great for mushrooms if you want them to keep a flat, shroomy shape. Can be a little fiddly, but quick once you get the hang of it. 2. USE what you dehydrate, especially when you are first trying a particular fruit or veggie, to see what works for you. I've discovered that I prefer to roast carrots (no oil), then shred and dehydrate. They keep a beautiful color, rehydrate quickly and have a texture that works for me. 3. Be patient when rehydrating or find another approach to get the results you prefer. I love having dehydrated peas in my pantry, but am still struggling to remember that they need a little time to rehydrate well. So, they can still be a little crunchy at the center when I add them to soups at work because I'm too hungry to wait, lol. 4. Go back and WATCH DARCY'S VIDEOS on any item you want to dehydrate and experiment with. She's been doing this a long time, always shares her experiences from the heart and her tips are absolutely terrific. 😊👍💖

[@hersheyqueenlisa]

I bought one of those flexible chopping mats from the dollar store and I cut it to fit the tops of my recycled glass jars. I just trace around the top of the jar and cut it with my kitchen shears. Then you place it on top your jar, and screw the original lid back on. Occasionally you’ll get a jar with a lid that is too shallow to allow the thickness of the “chopping mat disc” but it’s not an issue with most of them that I recycle.

[@languagelynnie]

You're the only one on KZbin with so many original and useful tips for dehydrating, great job! I especially love the tip on creating a lipped tray! You deserve many more subscribers.

[@lindagammon2322]

This is a tip for gardeners. I save my banana peels which I dry behind my woodstove. I also save all my eggs shells, just put in an old cake pan, let sit for quite a while, then powder them. The egg shells add calcium to garden soil to prevent dry end rot on tomatoes and zucchini. The banana peels get powdered in my blender for fertilizer, especially my rose bush. This phosphorous, wait until you see your roses grow!! I am in Maine.

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

My big dehydrating tip is after simmering a liquid to make it thicker. A 13" x 9" metal or Pyrex baking pan fits in a Cosori or Excalibur. You have to sacrifice a shelf that load and as soon as the mixture is firm enough you need to scrape it up and flip it over so it won't be moisture locked. It takes about 24 hours, but sometimes more depending on what you are drying. This tip was life changing for me. When I cook fast beans I save the broth and dehydrate it. then powder it. When I rehydrate I add the bean broth powder back in. It already has the spices, dried onions, garlic, etc. Same with Tomatoes or cabbage and potatoes 🥔 soup. I hope this helps.

[@deborahnarendorf7106]

What a great idea! I make bone broth and would love to have it in powdered form. I will have to try it. Thanks for sharing!

[@2200chuck]

Re: Storing Rings I have cut down massively on the number of rings that I have to store. When I open a jar and use it, after washing and drying the jar, I put a ring on it and store the jar (with its ring) in the box that the jars came in in the first place. I store the jars upside down in the box to help keep dust and stuff out of the jar. I still have rings from the unopened jars on the shelves to store, but WAY fewer "orphan rings" than I used to have.

[@diann546]

I place a new lid on with a ring, lightly screwed on, to newly clean and dry jars. When I am ready to can, they are clean and ready to go.

[@UpthePottingShed]

My tip is, give things a chance. I'm fairly new to dehydrating and things I didn't anticipate being particularly useful for me personally are now my favourite things in the kitchen. I use fresh garlic all the time and thought dehydrated would be taking a step back in quality/taste. Absolutely wasn't, it's fantastic and so, so convenient. I don't tend to eat frozen mixed vegetables, I use fresh. I thought I'd just dehydrate some bags of frozen veg to have for an emergency. Wrong again, I'm always reaching for the stuff to add to soup or casserole. I'll probably be using some fresh vegetables too but the frozen veg mix adds a bit more interest because it's a good mixture of stuff. Give stuff a go in small batches to see if you will enjoy using it.

[@kellyball4051]

What I found out accidentally was that a ball lid will fit right in the white ball canning lids and it will still close just fine. I learned this one night when I was REALLY exhausted from baking and cooking all day and apparently I had put the lid on and the screw cap lid as well. When I used that same jar the next day, I realized that the lid felt much more "secure" and was sealed better. When I realized what I'd done, I tested it and it really works. I don't know that it works with the grey lids, but it does with the white ones. So, I use the old lids that I've already used for pressure canning, but that still have nice clean seal rings! Works like a charm for me.

[@carenmcfarland7034]

I’m a fairly new dehydrator but one of the first things I learned was that fruit that didn’t have the best taste or texture when eaten fresh was absolutely delicious when dehydrated. Saved me alot of waste when I realized that!! Love your videos!

[@59kuphoff]

Great tips! My tip: Use a coffee grinder to finely chop mixed veggies and add to 1/2 C sour cream and 1 block of cream cheese with a dash of garlic salt for a great bagel spread.

[@susanwilliams397]

Thank you Darcy! These tips are great for a novice like me! I especially loved the “chopping” tips and the plastic wrap tip for when you can’t vacuum seal!

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

You are so welcome!

[@annettepewitt9769]

I learned the paint brush trick from you. I am so happy! It keeps from wasting. I think I've learned ALL my tricks from you. You make me so happy. Thank you.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

I'm so glad!

[@katharvey7324]

I had an old wooden paper towel holder that sat on my counter. I bought a new one that is installed under the cupboard, so I’m using my old paper towel holder for my canning lids. Another thing I do is put my used lids upside down and screw them on to my canning jars. I know that when the lid is upside down, I can’t use it for pressure canning again, but ai have a jar with a lid and a ring that can be used to store dry goods.

[@a.v.scales4094]

When it's time to flip items, place an extra mesh sheet and tray over the items and flip. If you don't have an extra mesh and tray, take one tray and empty into a bowl. Flip other trays using that and then subsequent meshes and trays. Then reload the last tray from the bowl.

[@kimmcvitty3580]

I like the cling film trick. So many channels are , buy this!, buy this!!

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

I bought the Full Star chopper because you had one. Oh, my GOSH, what a game changer. Chopping is so FAST.

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

Darcy, we missed you. Thanks for the video.

[@RealFoodComesDirty]

The DIY lipped parchment was brilliant! Darcy, you have some incredibly good ideas. Thanks so much, Audrey

[@LucindaBoykin]

This was great, and the pants hanger idea is a neat one! I store my canning rings on paracord. I cut a length, tied a canning ring at one end to serve as a stop to prevent the other rings from sliding off, and tied a loop at the other end. I then loaded my rings-on-a-string contraption and put it on a hook on the back of a closet door. When I need rings, I remove the loop from the door hook, take off however many I need, and then hang the rest back up. I have one for regular rings and one for wide-mouth rings. It's not decorative, but it's functional and cost me nothing, since I already had some paracord and over-the-door hooks.

[@debbiee6535]

You can also go to the Dollar Tree and get their cheap paper towel holders and put them up and put your rings on those as well

[@sandytmobile4467]

Two heads of cabbage free so getting them onto the dehydrators. I already have Choi in the refrigerator to keep up in our stir fry were going threw right now with rice rice rice. But one thing I did do even being I've been doing dehydrated vegetables for ten years I bought a dehydrated cook book . It's nice on how exact cups and doing a dehydrated vegetables soup. So on it helps coming up with different things to eat. I will never ever do hot pepper, green red yellow bell peppers or onions in the house to dehydrated it that goes to the grauge it's over welling smell getting done.

[@michelledenise5096]

I use a regular wire hanger for my rings…just unwind the twist, add the rings, and hook the twist back on (no need to retwist, it will stay). You can mix regular and large rings because the regular ones slide right through the large ones.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

I used that before this, and prefer this.it is more stable and I get more on

[@debwoods6011]

That pant hanger is a great idea. I will be trying that

[@magenta4443]

Thanks, Darcy! I got pretty much all my dehydrating knowledge from you. I really enjoy dehydrating and powdering mushrooms, celery and ginger, due to texture challenges. Powder always goes into recipes better. The challenge to powder is controlling the poofy spread. Consider new make-up brushes in fan shapes that would be wider than art brushes. Really like the pants hanger for cover rings.

[@nothankyou5279]

You are brilliant! I’ve been dehydrating for years but learn so much from you.

[@tinawagener7942]

My tip is to be sure and label your dehydrated foods with contents and date. Some foods look similar when dehydrated. And it’s good to know when you dried that food so you can rotate items and use older jars first. Thank you, Darcy, for all your tips and info! I got your journal for Christmas and it is so helpful! 🌻

[@elizabethkelly9039]

Thanks Darcy. I think I have used most of these tips. It's good to have them all in one video. My one tip is also take notes as to how you use the dehydrated food. I dehydrated thinly sliced potatoes and used them in scalloped potatoes. I have a "Dehydrated" recipe book where I wrote the recipe. After, I made notes of what worked and what didn't so that I could improve the recipe. I have 5 or 6 recipes now that I make on a regular basis.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Yep - that's why I mentioned it in the notes section - always gotta remember those things!

[@KoniB.]

good tip on mushrooms!

[@chocolate7810]

Thank you, Darcy! I am now enjoying the art of dehydrating thanks to you! I had a very old American Harvest that I used to make fruit roll ups for my kids when they were young and deer or beef jerky. I know have an Excalibur that I got on sale and you have inspired me to dosomuch more! And thank you for videos that keep it simple and realistic!!🙂😅

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Thanks so much!!

[@karensheart]

Wahooooo! What a gem you are! A video for a novice and scared person like me! Appreciate you and this channel!! If you were with me I would give you a big hug! Thank you for caring!❤❤❤

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Glad it was helpful!

[@karensheart]

@@ThePurposefulPantry you know as well as I do when you are armed with the right tools and knowledge it helps gain confidence! Thank you! Have a wonderful weekend. God bless you and your family!!❤️

[@katielin2379]

I dehydrate a lot of sweet peppers. They are awesome rehydrate. I like them better than fresh. I think I'll take some canned pears I bought that are so hard, puree them and make fruit leather. Perfect for motorcycle ride picnics.

[@sheilawixon3858]

Thank You, Always good tips and information. My one tip is don't get discouraged. I would have never done more than Jerky a year ago, then I found you on youtube and I bought your book and a corsori dehydrator. Now I am having a blast.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

That's awesome, Sheila!!

[@donnad57]

You are wonderful! Thank you for these very helpful tips!

[@maryippolito3627]

Love all the advice you give us. I’m a new dehydrator person but with your help I’m happy with how things are turning out. I have to say I get such a kick out of how small the veggies get after dehydrated.

[@loucilehall9281]

Thanks for the plastic wrap tip. I have tons of peanut butter lids

[@JSTidbitqueen]

My tip is to try a smaller amount of something new, before getting 10 lbs of something and finding out you don’t like it. Thank you for all the very useful information.

[@1TsuNami]

This is a great video! Thank you for all those great ideas. I have learned to have my notebook handy while watching videos like this, because trying to find that 1 tip in that 1 video is impossible.

[@janetd6445]

Love the hanger tip!!!

[@pennylaur7687]

I love the ring holder idea.

[@debbiee6535]

I especially like about the plastic over the top of the jars that's a great idea

[@marygallagher3428]

Great tips, thanks Darcy!

[@yvonnenickel2743]

you are so down to earth ... thank you ... lots of encouragment for those of us starting

[@lindamckeny876]

Love the tip for storing rings on the pant hanger, such an incredible idea!!!!!!!!!!!

[@heatherkennedy9973]

Darcy you are the "QUEEN" of dehydrating!!!!--love you --i have learned soooo much from you!!!!

[@joannekeith9430]

Thank you, I always learn so much from you!

[@grannyprepper1181]

Thanks for all the great tips.

[@margarethammond7881]

You give the best information and tips on here . Thanks

[@thinkathena2]

Loved the brush and hanger tips :)

[@darleneneumann5182]

Thank you for the tip about using the frozen vegetables. It sure saved a lot of time for me. I am very pleased thank you thank you thank you

[@NicoleHoltActress]

Good tips! Thank you!

[@hollish196]

Great advice! Thanks!! Absolutely love then pants hanger/lid trick.

[@carole6779]

Again, awesome video. I'm so glad you shared the info about the hanger with the rings! That was distracting me, lol. Genius! Love the paper clip tip also. My future self is constantly rolling her eyes at my past self for inconsistent note-taking. Binders are my favorite way to keep it all kinda sorta organized. Love your "Dehydrating Basics" book. Thanks so much for all you share!!! 💞😊

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

You are so welcome!

[@geniemermal376]

Thanks Darcy. I love your channel, I’ve learned so much.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

I'm so glad!

[@toyaspantryfarm72]

Great tips!

[@PrepperPotpourri]

Great hints! Thanks!

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Glad you like them!

[@krazy4fox]

Thanks for the wonderful tips!

[@dianevanpeperstraete7903]

Always good information, thank you😌

[@margaretl892]

Thanks Darcy, awesome information. 🇨🇦

[@judyfrancis4701]

What great tips. Love the tip for storing rings.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Glad you like them!

[@carolynsinyard1306]

I just started dehydrating last Thursday and I want to thank all of you in advance for the wonderful tips that are posted. This journey is going to be so much fun. Thank you for sharing.

[@omanita7289]

This is a great channel too learn and enjoy 😊 it's a great way saving everything. Started a year ago and for me the best investment ever. Darcy s channel is great

[@amandachamberlain3169]

Love the canning rims idea! I have been trying to figure out how to manage these for some time and this is brilliant! Thank you!

[@bearzhere]

I like both pieces and mushroom slices. I used an egg slicer to make the slices and altho it wasnt as fast as chopping it did give nice slices. You just have to make sure to put the top of the cap down to keep nice slices. I took all the stems and chopped them up so as not to waste! Thanks for all your tips!

[@karenmyers7122]

Great newbie tips! Taking notes is a huge I mean GIGANTIC way to help as you go down your Dehydrating journey! I made some mistakes - now I take notes. Love the parchment paper trick!!

[@carolinehatley3783]

Excellent hints. Thanks for sharing.

[@deborahnarendorf7106]

Wow some really great tips! Thanks to all!💐

[@Barosunflower]

When I blanch celery, I put a tablespoon of baking soda in water, makes them keep their green color. (Read that somewhere)

[@debraczahor6279]

Great ideas to help with dehydration! Thank You!

[@scruffyscrubs5468]

Fantastic tips Darcy! Thank you!

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

You're so welcome!

[@RoseFelton]

While you were talking I noticed the pants hanger with the rings on them. I kept thinking that looks like a good idea, so I'm glad you brought it forward and talked about it. Although I've been dehydrating for a few years I loved the tips you shared with us. You always have interesting videos!!

[@evelynlouise2399]

Girl... I just love you... Thank You

[@karriemb4184]

That’s an amazing tip !!! Thanks… so going to do this !!!! Thank you

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Not sure which tip you found awesome, but glad it helped!

[@mollyamelia9]

Love all these tips Darcy!!! I'm wanting to know how you are able to store those canning rings! I'd like to have one of those❤️❤️❤️

[@richdawntallman]

Thank you for this video. The thing I love about dehydrating is how it uses what would go to waste. I also use mine regularly to dry my sprouted wheat.

[@jackieburnett6881]

Great tips! Ty for sharing.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

You are so welcome!

[@stylingsa7954]

You are fabulous 👏🏻

[@HEARTOFMUSIC94]

😱😱😱 HOLY COW‼️ Thank You so very much 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 I’ve learned so much

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

I thought of two more tips: Put the tray with REALLY wet food on bottom of your Excalibur or other cabinet style dehydrator. I was drying both beans and tomatoes on different trays and put the tomatoes tray on top. The beans probably would have been dry way faster without the tomatoes dripping on them.

[@melodyvoss4074]

Thank you Darcy! I dehydrated years & years ago with my mother on old round dehydrated. I just bought myself one with drawers. Aroma from on Amazon with decent reviews. I have eggs I want to dehydrate before they go up to $20 a dozen. Worse part is farmers are still getting screwed Again thank you. I’m just unboxing my new dehydrator. Still have Mom’s old round old. Figured I’ll keep it for outside with onions & garlic lol

[@5995char]

Wow so many good tips! Thank you!

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tammyshearouse6095]

Thank you for your useful tips.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

My pleasure!

[@elizaC3024]

More great 💡 ideas, thank you 😊.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

You are so welcome!

[@alexh327]

Thank you Darcy! I'm knew to dehydrating so I don't have any tips thus far. I love your channel!

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Happy to help!

[@sylviaprudhomme5417]

New to this. Learned a lot❤❤❤

[@alicepettit164]

invaluable tips especially first one I wondered how to do cheaply. TU!

[@janetlavoie2441]

Great tips

[@christineayre796]

I love that pant hanger idea!! Genius!! I haven't been good about Journaling. It's a good idea. So many jerkies I've made, most I have love, some more than others. If I had wrote down what I did I would remember why I loved them. You are a good teacher. Thanks for sharing

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

You are so welcome!

[@mollyamelia9]

😂 Darcy!!! I didn't realize that the the canning rings was one of your tips!!! Thanks! My tip would be to purchase the temperature magnet or sticker to put on my dehydrator to remind me of the temperature needed.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Great tip! :D

[@sharonmckee2403]

Thanks!

[@maggiecutler-honnold942]

Wonderful! Thank you.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tomevans4402]

Very smart. Just got a dehydrator yesterday. Learning curve for sure😂. Strawberries yesterday came out good doing apples and bananas today, see how it goes. Thank you I just made notes👍

[@janetstryczek3311]

Thank you.

[@lilbitatatime3763]

Darcy you are truly amazing! Fabulous tips! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Love the hanger idea. Amazon has them. I'm using a bent wire hanger for canning rings. The pant hanger will be less painful on my arthritic hands. Hugs ~Kate

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Yep - I have it linked in the description box for easy access ;)

[@Nancy-zk9dj]

Thanks, from me and future me! Great tips and secrets 👍

[@Niamh07421]

learning so much from you- will be dehydrating herbs for the first time this summer

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Awesome!

[@lauramccament1381]

Love, love, love all these tips!! I haven't even used my new (first) dehydrator yet! I don't think you mentioned it in this video, I know you have in others, but I will be sure to label things. I think I will remember what somethings is in a jar or container and I have no idea what something is (in the freezer).

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

I hope they help when you get started!

[@MyName-yp1nv]

I just purchased your book! I have never dehydrated anything but excited to get started 😮

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

You can do it!

[@patmitchell-wn5wi]

I use nylon window screening on all my trays. Stops food from falling through and works as a funnel.

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

However, just as a note for anyone else reading, it's not rated food-grade safe. But yes, it will definitely work.

[@unpavedexplorer338]

Great tips and tricks

[@ThePurposefulPantry]

Glad you think so!