Hints On Reconstitution - Klarstein Florida Jerky Handbuch

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HINTS ON RECONSTITUTION

Dehydration is the process of removing moisture from food. Reconstitution is the
replacement of that moisture to bring the food back to its natural state. Although some
dried foods such as fruit are excellent in their dehydrated state, you will often want to
reconstitute other dried foods before eating them. Here are some tips on reconstitution:
Just Add Water
• For chopped or shredded vegetables, and for fruits to be used in cookies, no
reconstitution is usually needed. lf the pieces are quite crisp and dry you can try
sprinkling with 1 Tbs. water per cup (200 ml) of dried food.
• For vegetables and fruits to be used in souffles, pies, quick breads, doughs or
batter, use 2 parts water to 3 parts (by volume) dried food.
• For vegetables and fruits which will be cooked in the liquid such as vegetable side
dishes, fruit toppings, and compotes, use 1 to 1 ½ parts water to 1 part dried food.
Extra liquid may be required for proper cooking.
Other Reconstitution Hints
• If you drain reconstituted foods, save the liquid. This liquid has great nutritional
value. Freeze this liquid for later use in soups, leathers, pies or compotes.
• There is no need to reconstitute ahead of time when making soups. Dried vegetables
can be added directly to the soup about one hour before serving.
• Do not add spices, salt, bouillon cubes or tomato products until vegetables are
reconstituted and cooked. These items considerably hinder rehydration.
• Some foods take longer to reconstitute than others. carrots and beans require more
time than green peas or potatoes. A rule of thumb: those that take the longest to
dehydrate will take the longest to reconstitute.
• Try not to use more liquid than necessary for reconstitution because nutrients will be
drained away with the excess water. Place dehydrated food in a container and use
just enough water to cover the food. Add more water later as needed to replace
what the food absorbs.