How much water to use in rehydrating meals

Posted by: crazyone

How much water to use in rehydrating meals - 05/23/08 03:39 PM

I have a dehydrator and done some fruits (apples,bannanas, peaches,pears and such),But I want to try dehydrate veggies and meals and was wondering how does one knows how much water to use in rehydrating them. I did dried some Ragu Spag Sauce some months back and when I tried to rehydrate,I think I used too much water and was ruined, Good thing I was home before trying or I might of been pretty hungry. Thanks for any input.
Posted by: phat

Re: How much water to use in rehydrating meals - 05/23/08 04:50 PM

depends how much food you're rehydrating.

If you don't have directions, weigh it before and after you dehydrate. The difference
is how much water you should add - if you're doing it in metric it's easy - 1 gram == 1ml of water. If you're in that flems per cubic furlongh system used in the states, well, it's
more complicated but still doable <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: NiytOwl

Re: How much water to use in rehydrating meals - 05/24/08 11:54 PM

I'd say you're on the right track by trying it at home. My experience has been that if you do what phat says by weighing the before and after products, you should add a little less water than what was removed. This is definitely a trial-and-error process because some foods rehydrate more thoroughly than others. Start with 3/4 of the water then add a bit more until the texture and consistency are what you're willing to eat.
Posted by: crazyone

Re: How much water to use in rehydrating meals - 05/25/08 05:47 AM

Thanks for the input, I was thinking of that line,but when I put the water in it so like i need to add water and I do. Maybe I should just trust my instinct and start small amount of water and work up. instead of it should have more water. Also now,you all given me a baseline of where to start.Thanks again
Posted by: DTape

Re: How much water to use in rehydrating meals - 05/26/08 01:53 PM

The idea of weight before/after is probably the best but I use a less scientific way.

Into the pot goes my home dehydrated meal, pour in water until about 1/4 inch above food, cover and bring to boil, remove from heat and let it sit until done. Add more water as needed (usually doesn't).
Posted by: Earthling

Re: How much water to use in rehydrating meals - 05/29/08 12:26 PM

Crazy you might find it helpful to checkout Sarbar's Freezer Bag Cooking website and buy a copy of her book. Once you make some of the recipes in there a few times it becomes second nature, like Dtape is saying <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: Litehiker

Re: How much water to use in rehydrating meals - 07/02/08 09:31 AM

I'm new to dehydrating but my limited experience is that if I put my evening meal in a Nalgene 300ml bottle after breakfast and put water in to cover and maybe a fraction more, that is sufficient to rehydrate by the end of the day ready for heating up to eat. A little more can always be added when heating but it's not so easy to take some out. What I've also found is that the meat content needs to be either minced or cut up really small, otherwise it takes too long on the stove and is wasteful of fuel. Chilli Con Carne with minced beef was perfect but a chicken and bean stew was not so good as the chicken pieces hadn't rehydrated enough.