Chips! From all sorts of veggies

Brenda Groth wrote:was wondering if anyone has tried things like jerusalem artichoke and beets, salsify, carrots, etc. Haven't tried the kale yet but have some in the garden I must remember to pick and try this soon.

Thelma brought in samples to a class of her dehydrated veggies - for soup mix - and we were all munching on them like they were potato chips because they were that good. Carrots, onions, etc. diced in little chunks and dried. They really were yummy.

Inspired by that, I attempted to dry sweet potato slices in my dehydrator. Blech. They did not work at all. I think they were sliced too thick. Would love to hear if others have had success drying veggies that are so good they are snack worthy.

Yes, they have great step by step photos.

I already had a big bag of chopped up Collard Greens in the fridge, when I read that. So, in the dehydrator they went, without blanching or flavoring.

And they dehydrated very well into crunchiness.

In that blog, she talks about starting the dehydrating cycle with higher heat for the first bit, to save energy, dry out faster and keep the bacteria from forming.

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TO answer your question, Jocelyn, try BEET CHIPS! Sliced real thin.

I also just made beet chips, made with red and golden beets. They are yummy.

The recipe for marinate was something like 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1 Tablespoon Olive oil (i might try these with coconut oil sometime). and salt and pepper to taste.

They did not dry out all the way, is that because of the oil?

Also, acorn squash chips. They dried crispy without any marinade.

i see kale and collards in the greens dehydrating in the oven with a sauce or seasoning as a "best" ..any recommendations on other greens?

Max Hubbard wrote:
TO answer your question, Jocelyn, try BEET CHIPS! Sliced real thin.

I also just made beet chips, made with red and golden beets. They are yummy.

The recipe for marinate was something like 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1 Tablespoon Olive oil (i might try these with coconut oil sometime). and salt and pepper to taste.

They did not dry out all the way, is that because of the oil?

Also, acorn squash chips. They dried crispy without any marinade.

Okay Max, you've convinced me! I'll have to try beet chips! Did you make yours in the food dehydrator or the oven?

You reminded me that I have made oven-roasted squash chips and they were particularly yummy. Haven't tried them in the food dehydrator.

So wishing I had a solar dehydrator...(which would work here in the Pacific NW maybe for a week or two in August)

Brenda Groth wrote:i see kale and collards in the greens dehydrating in the oven with a sauce or seasoning as a "best" ..any recommendations on other greens?

I tried the baby kale with a hazelnut butter/onion/garlic/tamari sauce in the oven and they were a disaster. They wouldn't crisp up. They were somewhat better in the food dehydrator though so thin they crumbled too easily. A light(er) amount of oil (with or without vinegar?) and salt and pepper before oven roasting would have been better for the finer texture of the baby kale in my experience.

It was so disastrous that I wonder if even the full-size kale or collard greens would dry out well enough oven roasted with a nut butter type sauce on them. I haven't tried that in the oven, only in the dehydrator. Anyone else have success with a heavier dressing like this in the oven?

I think most chard greens would be thick enough for either oven or dehydrator, and some spinach, too. Hm, lamb's quarters or nettles might hold up well because they are sturdier leaves, though I've been simply air-drying my nettles and haven't harvested much lamb's quarters.

It sounds like this might be controversial but I had great luck with kale chips, covered in oil, seasoned, then popped in a dehydrator.
I received feedback that others also enjoyed them:

Matt Goto wrote:I am chatting with Paul [Wheaton] and he has raved about some dried kale chips that you had made[...]

A delight to be sure!

To be fair, the dehydrator I used wasn't simply "any old dehydrator" but the magical Solar Food Dehydrator with Rocket Boost currently at Wheaton Labs. And to be ultra fair, I accidentally left the chips in there for about 5 days, in September, after running the rocket multiple times on Days 1-3.
So, suffice it to say, the below recipe requires an extended drying period and might not even work in a standard electric dehydrator.

Rough Recipe:

Destem, Tear into smallish pieces, Wash, then Dry the kale (I used both standard green and red), making sure to take a picture for the badge bit:


Put them in large containers/bowls, coat them fairly heavily with oil of your choice (I used pure, organic avocado oil), season to taste (I used garlic powder, onion powder, Himalayan pink salt, and perhaps some black pepper), then tote them all down to your rocket dehydrator:


Evenly space them out on the racks with decent air gaps between them all:


Fire up the rocket a few times and let them get ultra crispy over multiple days (or maybe it wouldn't take that long in the height of summer?):


Step back and admire the dehydrator for the magnificent appliance it is:



Et voilà! Chips others might even rave about

A very similar method worked well for sweet potatoes as well (the white and purply things in the bowl in the bottom left corner of image one) - though I did use a mandoline slicer to get them really thin.

Clay McGowen wrote:It sounds like this might be controversial but I had great luck with kale chips, covered in oil, seasoned, then popped in a dehydrator.
I received feedback that others also enjoyed them:

Matt Goto wrote:I am chatting with Paul [Wheaton] and he has raved about some dried kale chips that you had made[...]

A delight to be sure!

To be fair, the dehydrator I used wasn't simply "any old dehydrator" but the magical Solar Food Dehydrator with Rocket Boost currently at Wheaton Labs. And to be ultra fair, I accidentally left the chips in there for about 5 days, in September, after running the rocket multiple times on Days 1-3.
So, suffice it to say, the below recipe requires an extended drying period and might not even work in a standard electric dehydrator.

Rough Recipe:

Destem, Tear into smallish pieces, Wash, then Dry the kale (I used both standard green and red), making sure to take a picture for the badge bit:

Put them in large containers/bowls, coat them fairly heavily with oil of your choice (I used pure, organic avocado oil), season to taste (I used garlic powder, onion powder, Himalayan pink salt, and perhaps some black pepper), then tote them all down to your rocket dehydrator:

Evenly space them out on the racks with decent air gaps between them all:

Fire up the rocket a few times and let them get ultra crispy over multiple days (or maybe it wouldn't take that long in the height of summer?):

Step back and admire the dehydrator for the magnificent appliance it is:

Et voilà! Chips others might even rave about

A very similar method worked well for sweet potatoes as well (the white and purply things in the bowl in the bottom left corner of image one) - though I did use a mandoline slicer to get them really thin.

Oh my giddy aunt!  I have dehydrator envy now.  This is another outbuilding that's going on the list for my property!  

I seriously need to learn how to make "chips" of all sorts because, while I'm a pretty good cook, I'm total rubbish when it comes to making any kind of chips to save my life.  And I love my chips.    I've even tried making those dried chickpea snack thingies.  Disaster.  I can make fantastic flavored popcorns from apple and pumpkin pie to curried popcorn.  No problem!  But, when it comes to my favorite snack - chips - you'd think I'd never seen a kitchen in my life.  

Was on a dehydrated veggie kick a while back. One of the surprise family favorites was okra!!

Rachel Royce wrote:Was on a dehydrated veggie kick a while back. One of the surprise family favorites was okra!!

Interesting! I can buy dehydrated okra at the Asian or African import stores nearby.  They rehydrate nicely, but I haven’t tried nibbling on them.

Morfydd St. Clair wrote:

Rachel Royce wrote:Was on a dehydrated veggie kick a while back. One of the surprise family favorites was okra!!

Interesting! I can buy dehydrated okra at the Asian or African import stores nearby.  They rehydrate nicely, but I haven’t tried nibbling on them.

I forgot to say that I lightly coated them with a spice mix in oil before drying.

I dried sweet potatoes in the oven at low temperature as treats for my dog. No salt, no seasoning, just thinly sliced. She loves them!

I've dried a lot of vegetables on the roof in the high desert, including spiced zucchini chips, seen toward the back in this photo. I think some were garlic salt and some were spicy paprika and chilli powder. I didn't use oil. Being desert, they didn't get soggy in storage, but in a humid climate they might.

Not chips, but other vegetables in this photo are: zucchini chunks for soups and lasagna; broccoli that I had blanched and it turned black and awful (drying things raw not blanched works better for me); green beans; tomatoes; vegetables from the previous batch finishing in jars with cloth over the the top.

Also good: dahlia tubers (sliced, 1/4"), burdock in short lengths. Rolled in sunflower or rapeseeed oil with chopped rosemary, baked in oven

Let's see if I can clarify the answer to how to slice and how thick to slice.  I am attaching a picture of Moline slicer I use. It will slice three different thicknesses and thick or thin strips for shoe string chips.  As a general rule some items shrink more than others so thicker slices for those that shrink a lot and thinner slices for dense items that dry slowly.  I found that the string cutter was most effective for drying squash and pumpkins to be made into flower.  Some surprising things happen when items are dried.  Bitter or meddler pears for example loose the astringent reaction once dried.  My winter hardy kale became too biter after drying.  P>S> that is a yacon that I will try drying for the first time. I wil make three thicknesses to see which is preferred.