- 8 - 04/2019Copyright © 2019, F ast ČR, a.s.
T omatoes
Rinse and remove stems. Soak in
boiling water until peels soften.
Cut in half or cut into slices.
Hard 8-24 hours
Rhubarb Peel, dip in lemon solution Hard 8-38 hours
Beetroot
Cut away the roots and ev erything
that is 2.5 cm from the top and
bottom part, wash, precook, cool
and remove the peel. C ut into
cubes or slices.
Crunchy 8-26 hours
Celery
Separate stem from leaf . W ash both
parts carefully. Cut the stem in to
slices approx. 0.6cm thick. First
dehydrate the leav es.
Crunchy 6-14 hours
Spring
onions Cut into halves or into small piec es. Brittle 6-10 hours
Asparagus
Rinse and cut into 2.5 cm pieces.
The tips provide better quality
product. T he rear part when
crushed before dehydr ation makes
an outstanding flavouring for
various meals.
Crunchy 6-14 hours
Garlic
Separate into individual cloves ,
remove outer peel, cut in to slices
and dehydrate on tra ys.
Very brittle 6-16 hours
Spinach and
other leafy
vegetables
Wash thoroughly , remove tough
stems.
Steam until the vegetables are
limp, though not saturated .
Very brittle 6-16 hours
Herbs,
spices and
flowers
Cut into pieces or chop into small
pieces. F or decorative purposes,
leave whole.
Brittle 8-10 hours
TURNING OFF THE FOOD DEH YDRA TOR
■ When you have finished dehy drating, open the door .
■ Set the main switch A1 to the OFF position. Unplug the power cord of the f ood
dehydrator fr om the power socket. If you wish to move the food deh ydrator to
another location, first allow it to cool down completely .
STORING DEH YDRA TED FOOD
■ Before wrapping or storing dehy drated food, allow it to cool do wn first. Only use
suitable packaging for storage, for example glass canning jars , air-tight containers,
food-grade plastic bags or packaging, that are resistant against ing ression of
moisture. Do not use plastic or aluminium containers. Metal cans with flip open lids
may be used only if the dehydrated f ood is placed in plastic bags.
■ Store dehydr ated meat at room temperature in a closed container in a dry, dark
location. Stored in this way it will remain tasty and edible f or several weeks or even
months.
■ Package dehydrat ed food in smaller amounts as tightly together as possible, but do
not push it against itself.
■ Do not store herbs and spices in paper bags because the oils contained in them will
be absorbed by the paper , which will ruin them. The best type of storage container
is again a glass jar with afir m locking mechanism, and in the case of flowers glass
jars with awide neck for easy handling.
■ Place dried flowers, leav es and blossom petals into glass jars with awide neck. W hen
necessary, add 3-4 drops of an aromatic oil t o rejuvenate the fragrance and close
the container . Shake the contents and store them in a cool place. In this way , the
aromatic contents will alway s be available.
■ Ideally, stor e the containers in a dr y , dark place at room temperature or lower . At
temperatures below 10 °C, their shelf life is e xtended by 2–3 times. Dried fruits have
ashelf life of at least 1-2 years.
■ Consume the entire contents after opening , ideally all at once. Inspect the stored
dehydrated f ood at least once per month.
■ Inspect dehydrated food regularly once per month. If you find mould on the
surface of the food, separate it from the remainder and dispose of it. P asteurise
the remaining pieces that were not attacked b y mould. T o pasteurise the contents,
arrange the food on a cake baking tray and bake in an oven for appr oximately 15
minutes at a temperature of 80 °C. Then allow the food to cool down and repack
into aclean airtight package.
REHY DRA TION
■ Rehydration serves to reconstitute f ood to its initial state. However , not all
dehydrated f ood must be reconstituted. Especially fruit is better in the dehydr ated
state. On the other hand, most types of vegetables are tastier when r econstituted
to their initial state.
■ Through rehy dration, food is returned practically to its initial size, shape and
appearance. If handled correctly , it retains most of its aroma and taste, as well as
minerals and asignificant amount of vitamins.
■ T o reconstitute vegetables for cooking, simply wash them in clean water and then
place them in cold, unsalted water and c over . If possible, allow them to soak for
approximately 2–8 hours, then c ook them in the water that you used for soaking. If
necessary, add more water . Bring to aboil, then reduce the temperature and gently
cook until ready . At the end of the cooking process, you may also add salt, which
will slow down the reconstitution process . As far as fresh products are concerned,
overcooking them will reduce their aroma. To r econstitute vegetables, e.g. carrot,
use cold water for soaking. Dehy drated food may be reconstituted b y soaking,
cooking or acombinations of both these methods and after reconstitution will look
similar to the fresh state.
Attention:
Dehydration does not rid food of bacteria, yeasts and
moulds. If you extend the soaking process at room
temperature, this will risk spoilage. Therefore, when soaking
fruit or vegetables for longer than 1–2 hours, place the
container into arefrigerator .
■ T o prevent food from losing its nutritional value, use the water from the soaking
solution when preparing various recipes. The volume of one cup of dried vegetables
is equivalent to approx. 2 cups after rec onstitution. T o replace the moisture that was
removed during dehydr ation, pour cold water over the vegetables and soak them
from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Then pour boiling water over the vegetables. When
cooking, bring the vegetables to aboil and then leave them to simmer .
■ The volume of one cup of dried fruit is equivalent to appro x. 1 1/2 cups after
reconstitution. Add just enough water t o cover the fruit – its possible to add more
water later if necessary. 1–8 hours is sufficien t for reconstituting the majority of
fruits. It depends on the type of fruit, size of pieces and water temperature (the
process is shorter in hot water). If the soaking time is too long, the fruit will lose
aroma. T o cook reconstituted fruit, cover the container and simmer it in the w ater
in which you soaked it.
■ Dehydrated or rec onstituted fruit and vegetables may be used in various ways.
■ Dehydrated fruit is suitable f or preparing refreshments both at home and on trips.
Fruit pieces can be added to br ead products or confectionery.
■ Reconstituted fruits can be served as compotes or sauces. They may also be used as
ingredients in recipes for making bread, jelly salads , omelettes, gugelhupf, stuffing ,
milkshakes, ice creams and cooked cer eals.
■ Dehydrated vegetables can be used in soups, stewed meat dishes, made into
vegetables platers, or used as dry refreshments.
■ Reconstituted vegetables can be use in your favourit e recipes like meat cakes and
other main dishes, in jellies or vegetable salads.
■ Crushed dehydrated v egetables are an excellent ingredient f or meat bouillon, soups
and sauces.
■ For optimal ret ention of nutritional values, we recommend:
- adher e to the correct pre- cooking time.
- package dehydrated food c orrectly and store in containers in acool, dry and dark
place.
- r egularly inspect stored foods, checking for absorption of moisture.
- c onsume dehydrated foods as soon as possible.
- when c ooking reconstituted food, use the soaking solution.
TROUBLESHOOTING T ABLE
PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE SOLUTION
The food
dehydra tor
cannot be turned
on
■ Power c ord is not
connected to the electrical
power grid.
■ Set the main switch to
position ON.
■ Connect the food
dehydrator to the po wer
grid.
■ Set the main switch to the
ON position.
The fan turns but
the dehydra tor
does not
generate heat.
■ Malfunction of dehydrator . ■ Turn off the deh ydrator ,
disconnect it from the
mains and contact an
authorised service centre.
The fan is making
an unusual noise.
■ The grille cover of the fan
is hitting the fan blades.
■ Turn off the deh ydrator ,
unplug it from the mains
and gently pull the grille
cover away fr om the fan
blades. If this does not
resolve the noise issue,
contact an authorised
service centre.
The dehydr ator
generates heat
but the fan is not
spinning.
■ Check whether aforeign
object, dirt or pieces of
food are preven ting the
fan blade from turning.
■ Clean the fan.
■ If it does not turn even
being cleaned, contact an
authorised service centre.
Food is not well
dehydra ted
■ T oo much food was placed
on the trays.
■ Food pieces ar e too
close together or are
overlapping each other .
■ Reduce the amount
of food.
■ Rearrange the food on
the trays.
Wa ter drops
or humidity is
forming on the
door .
■ T oo much food was placed
on the trays.
■ The food contains too
much moisture.
■ Reduce the amount
of food.
■ Increase the dehydration
time.
The dehydr ator
is overheating or
alternatively not
producing heat.
■ The temperature contr ol
system is not working
correctly.
■ Turn off the deh ydrator ,
disconnect it from the
mains and contact an
authorised service centre.