Food What is the shelf life of home dehydrated foods

[nomifyle]

I just watched a video about how long a shelf life is for home dehydrated foods, I didn't like what she said.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whrHhO3Jq44&t=70s


Run time is 2.47 min

If it only lasts a year or so then in a way why bother. I disagree with her. Heidi on Rain Country gives a much long shelf life, like several years.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[packyderms_wife]

dehydrated foods here in our house, when I make them, don't last long because we eat them up right away. For me it's a matter of storage space. Dehydrated apples, peaches, bananas, yeah those are gone in days.

 

[20Gauge]

My understanding if you use o2 absorbers and keep them dry in something like mylar bags, they can last decades. The process is the same as the big guys, just using smaller equipment.

If you place it in a jar that you keep opening, yeah it doesn't last long as it absorbs water from the air.

 

[Raggedyman]

we used to make trips to the LDS cannery in Knoxville. dehy carrots apples potatoes - that stuff lasts for 30YRS

we dehydrate LOTS of stuff. I have our dehy rhubarb and jalepenos and green bell peppers from 11 and 12 - they are in use as I sit here and they are PURRRRR fect. vac sealed in mason jars with an O2 absorber tossed in for good measure. the jars are kept in a cool, dark, dry fruit cellar we also dehydrate basil, thyme, parsley, oregano, rosemary and sage. we keep themas whole products and crumble/grind as needed. I opened and used a new jar of oregano from 17 to make tomato sauce last week . . . no problems - same great scent same great taste same great tomato sauce.

 

[summerthyme]

For sure, dehydrated food needs to be stored properly... and that means absolutely airtight. If you don't observe that one precaution, unless you live somewhere the relative humidity is under 10%, the food *will* absorb moisture, and will lose quality and eventually mold.

O2 absorbers aren't strictly necessary, unless you are packing for *long term... say 5-10 years.

I have several gallon jars of 10+ year old dried tomatoes. They've darkened a bit (clear glass stored in the root cellar, which isn't always pitch dark) but the flavor is fine.

Summerthyme and

 

[kyrsyan]

A number of years ago someone who really didn't understand dehydrating and/or food storage convinced a whole bunch of people that storing dehydrated foods for longer than a year, in vacsealed bags with oxygen absorbers, meant that botulism would result. Because she opened her long term bags and found moldy store bought dehydrated fruit.
Her science was so bad I had to shake my head. And has been disproven many times. But it seems to be hanging around in different corners of the internet.
As long as the dried food is actually dry and is kept safe from moisture, it's good. If it's vacsealed, it will hold flavor for longer. But it is also likely to darken over time. Even citric acid can only do so much for so long.

 

[hiwall]

we used to make trips to the LDS cannery in Knoxville. dehy carrots apples potatoes - that stuff lasts for 30YRS

Neighbors recently opened some LDS apples that were 21 years old. They tasted great. They were in metal cans with an O2 absorber thrown in with the apples.

 

[Raggedyman]

Neighbors recently opened some LDS apples that were 21 years old. They tasted great. They were in metal cans with an O2 absorber thrown in with the apples.

roger - that's how we canned them in Knoxville - #10 cans and O2 absorbers

 

[Raggedyman]

A number of years ago someone who really didn't understand dehydrating and/or food storage convinced a whole bunch of people that storing dehydrated foods for longer than a year, in vacsealed bags with oxygen absorbers, meant that botulism would result. Because she opened her long term bags and found moldy store bought dehydrated fruit.
Her science was so bad I had to shake my head. And has been disproven many times. But it seems to be hanging around in different corners of the internet.
As long as the dried food is actually dry and is kept safe from moisture, it's good. If it's vacsealed, it will hold flavor for longer. But it is also likely to darken over time. Even citric acid can only do so much for so long.

typically every year we grow san marrzano tomatoes dehydrate them to about 85% and then freeze them to use in soups, in certain pasta dishes and on pizza. one year we had a huge crop and I decided to experiment a bit. I dehydrated a few trays to well beyond the typical and vac sealed them - some in plastic food saver type bags and some in pint mason jars with O2 absorbers.

not surprisingly, those in the jars did very much better than those in the plastic. after approximately 2 years they had ALL darkened - to the point they were unattractive and therefore - IMO - unpalatable. the taste was "OK" - but substantially less flavorful than those that were taken to about the 85% range and frozen.

 

[kyrsyan]

typically every year we grow san marrzano tomatoes dehydrate them to about 85% and then freeze them to use in soups, in certain pasta dishes and on pizza. one year we

Honestly, tomatoes tear up our stomachs so are a limited item in our diet. So I can just enough ketchup and salsa. The rest becomes powder that I can toss in meals. My brother and his boys do hiking trips so they enjoy using my excess for their packs.
But I love drying onions and peppers. Although I do large freezer bags of those for fresh cooking. And yeah, family loves the extras on those as well.

 

[nomifyle]

I've stored dehydrated tomatoes in vacuum sealed jars and they have been fine and I've stored some with just a screw on lid and they were terrible.

I've been dehydrating many things lately and have them stored in vacuum sealed jars and a few things in mylar with 02. I will keep dehydrating and store the foods properly.

I've vacuumed sealed two cases of a variety of hard candies. Just in case we get desperate.

God is good all the time

Judy