dehydrating sweet potatoes

[Pemberleyan]

I am planning to dehydrate sweet potatoes for the first time, but am not quite sure how to go about it. I have read that after peeling and slicing, they should be placed in gently boiling water, but for how long?

[bumplett]

let me know how you do - this is one I've never tried - but hubby would like to have some sweet pot chips to snack on....

[jas]

just about a minute or two. for the chips you have to cut really thin. if they are thick you won't be able to eat them.

[vigilant20]

Following the instructions from the book I had at the time I baked them for 45 minutes until tender, peeled, cubed, and dehydrated at 130 degrees for 12 hours.

It seems perfectly reasonable to boil them as an alternate method. It would certainly be easier to cut them raw than when cooked the way they had me do it.

[Grainlady]

I make sweet potato powder using this dehydrating method. I like using sweet potato powder, rather than slices, because they rehydrate quickly using boiling water for "instant" mashed sweet potatoes. Great if you are making baby food.

2-pounds = 4 servings

-Peel, cook, drain and mash 2-pounds of sweet potatoes (don't add anything to the cooked sweet potatoes). You can also bake them and then mash, if you like.

-Spread on a plastic-wrap lined tray or on fruit roll-up sheets in 1/2-cup amounts. Spread VERY thin. (Note: I can get 1-cup total on one fruit roll-up sheet).

-Dry at 135°F. When the top is dry, turn the sheets of sweet potatoes over, remove the plastic wrap or fruit roll-up sheets, and dry the underside.

-When CRISPY dry, remove from the dehydrator. For individual servings: place 1/2-cup amout of the dehydrated sweet potato in a food blender or food processor and blend into a powder. You can blend it in larger batches if you like.

-To rehydrate: slowly add hot water until you reach a thick mashed potato.

-To store: I place a silicon "pillow" (oxygen absorber) in the jar of sweet potato powder, to keep if from clumping, and store it in the refrigerator (which is a dry environment). For long storage, I vacuum-seal the jar with the jar attachment on a FoodSaver.

I love this method when I need a small amount of mashed sweet potato for making sweet potato biscuits.
--------------------------------------------------------

For slices (information from Making & Using Dried Foods - by Phyllis Hobson)

Cook unpeeled sweet potatoes until tender, about 30-45 minutes, in 350°F oven, 30-45 minutes in a steamer, or 8 minutes in a pressure cooker. Peel and cut into 1/8-inch slices (use a cutting mandoline for even thickness). Leave in slices or cut into sticks or small cubes.

Spread slices, sticks, or cubes of sweet potatoes in a single layer over trays. Dry at 120°F until hard and brittle, about 12-18 hours, stirring occasionally and rotating trays once or twice.

To use: Cook in equal amounts of boiling water for 35-40 minutes. One cup yields about 1-1/2 c. cooked sweet potatoes.

Orange-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

3 c. boiling water
3 c. dried sweet potato slices
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. grated dried orange peel
1 c. orange juice
2 T. butter or margarine

Pour boiling water over sweet potato slices in a saucepan. Cover and cook for 35-40 minutes over low heat. Meanwhile, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and orange peel. Gradually add orange juice, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat until thickened. Add butter or margarine and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour over cooked sweet potatoes in a casserole. Cover and bake for 1 hour in a 350°F oven, basting occasionally. Serves 4-6.
----------------------------------------------

You may find this link helpful:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/dry.html

[sunshine]

I blanch them -- put in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, then immediately plunge them into ice water, until cool - then drain, then dehydrate.

[Pemberleyan]

let me know how you do - this is one I've never tried - but hubby would like to have some sweet pot chips to snack on....

I will be glad to, but my goal is sweet potato powder, so my experience may not be useful to you. I probably won't get to it this week.

Grainlady, thanks so much for posting that. My DH loves sweet potatoes and I want to do a lot of them for long-term storage.

[LastDragonfly]

http://www.dehydrate2store.com/videos/?id=11

This is a video of dehydrate2stores mashed dehydrated sweet potatoes.