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When it comes to storing vegetables, not all need to be dehydrated. For example, potato's and carrots store really well in a cool dark place all winter long. While they can be dehydrated like any other vegetable, since they store so well on their own there really isn't a need to dehydrate them. Peas, broccoli, green beans, corn, etc. on the other hand are really easy to dehydrate and make it possible to store them for a lot longer than by storing them fresh.

First what you need to do is start by cleaning the vegetables and wash all the dirt off of them. Make sure any bad spots are cut off and thrown out. Go ahead and either shell them, or cut them down to a more suitable size. The smaller they are, the quicker they'll dry. Try to keep their size uniform with each other, as this helps them all dry in about the same amount of time.

The next step is blanching. Almost any type of vegetable needs to be blanched before it is stored. It doesn't seem to matter if you're preparing them to be frozen or dehydrated, either way they still need to be blanched. What blanching does is it stops the enzymes which ruin the taste and the color of the food. By blanching, you ensure that the vegetables stay vibrant and fresh tasting until you're ready to use them.

Blanching is fairly simple, but it is time consuming. You simply get a pot of water boiling and then take the metal colander filled with vegetables and place it into the hot water. It usually only takes just a few minutes, but follow the same time guidelines that are used for when you're preparing food to be frozen. The time does vary somewhat according to type of vegetable, so make sure to double check before switching to other vegetables.

Once they've been blanched, immediately remove the vegetables and place them in ice cold water. This will stop the cooking process. Drain them well, and make sure they're dry before moving on to the next step.

The next step is dehydrating the vegetables. Once they are completely dry, place them on the dryer racks. It helps later if you first spray the racks with a non-stick cooking spray. Make sure not to place too many vegetables on the rack, you want plenty of room for the air to circulate and evenly dry them.

Follow the food dehydrators guidelines for how long the vegetables need to be dried. It usually takes anywhere from 4-12 hours to dry. The length of time will vary depending on what type of vegetable is being dried, and the size that it is. You can test for whether it's done by how dry the vegetables are. As silly as it sounds, they should be dry enough to turn to crumble if you hit it with a hammer.

Dried vegetables are great when added to soups or casseroles. You can use them in any manner that you would use frozen vegetables, just make sure they have enough liquid to re-constitute.

Learn more by visiting our home food storage articles page or go directly to the following related articles: Dehydrating Fruits or Dehydrating Meats.