What is the most cost effective way at home to dehydrate nuts?
I have recently been looking to make some nut butters and one of the main things everyone talks about is soaking the nuts then dehydrating them.
After googling all I can find out about is using the oven at about 150 degrees for 12 hours (maybe longer), or using a dehydrator.
I was wondering if there was a way to just leave them out for a period but that apparently causes internal mould to build up which is not good, and another alternative was possibly putting them in tin foil and putting them in a slow cooker. I would like to try the slow cooker approach as it seems a lot less cost but I have only found one instance of someone doing that and didnt really list their results.
So what is the most cost effective way to achieve the dehydration at home?
(p.s I am not mass producing I just thing its a waste of money leaving the oven on for 12 hours for a pot or two of nut butter)
Best Answer
Most dehydrating is about using as little heat as possible to dry the air out without cooking the food. On dry, sunny days, you can use the sun on a dark surface as a heat source.
Dark surfaces will absorb heat from the sun, heating the air which will lower the relative humidity and and warm the nuts which will 'mobilize' the water in the nuts so the air can carry it away.
If you have a dark enamel pan, put a single layer of nuts in the pan and leave it in the sun for a few hours. Keep an eye out for hungry birds!
If you have a black outdoor grill that sits in the sun, place a single layer or nuts on a pan or sheet of foil, and close the lid. Check every two hours.
Total time to dehydrate will vary on many factors including the season of the year (angle of the sun), outside temperature, relative humidity, type of nut, etc.
Because of the additional exposure to spores in the air, the nuts should be used before they can mold, usually within a day or two. To discourage mold growth, don't store the dehydrated nuts in the dark.
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How do I dehydrate nuts without a dehydrator?
*If you don't have a dehydrator, you can use the sun during sunny months. Set out a tray full of soaked nuts/seeds in sunlight. Keep it covered with a light cloth to keep out dust and bugs. Or, you can also use an oven between 115 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit to dehydrate nuts and seeds after soaking.How do you dehydrate nuts naturally?
Soak 4 cups of raw nuts in warm water with 1 tablespoon sea salt for at least 7 hours, or overnight. Rinse, and then place in your dehydrator and dehydrate at 105-150F for 12-24 hours, until dry and crisp.How long do soaked and dehydrated nuts last?
You can store soaked nuts in your refrigerator for 5-7 days until you eat them or use them in a recipe. To stock your pantry with soaked ingredients, however, you will need to dehydrate them.Can an oven be used as a dehydrator?
You can use an oven to dehydrate! Even if you don't own a dehydrator, oven drying is a way to preserve food for your pantry and extend your food storage.7 BEGINNER TIPS FOR FOOD DEHYDRATING | What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Dehydrating
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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