Substituting Dehydrated Vegetables for Fresh
One of the most common items on every order we make from Bulk Foods is their dehydrated vegetable mixture. Much like the old Korr soup mix, this blend of potatoes, carrots, peas and spices come in very handy when cooking soups, stews and casseroles and I don't have the fresh version around and the store is just too far away.
Substituting dehydrated vegetables for fresh, or even canned, is very simple to do. If you doing a soup or stew just toss the desired amount into the simmering liquid and let it cook for another hour or so. For every cup of fresh vegetables called for in your recipe, you will need approximately 1/2 cup of dried, since they will swell to at least twice their 'dehydrated' size.
You can reconstitute dried vegetables one of two ways for other uses, such as side dishes or casserole ingredients. The easiest is to place the desired amount into a small saucepan, cover with water and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
The second method takes a bit longer but works well also. Pour the desired amount of veggies into a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit on the counter for 45 minutes to an hour or until the veggies are fork tender.
Drain the veggies and use them as called for in your recipe. Easy, peasy and always good.
Words of Wisdom
While we do order the majority of our 'dried' foods from Bulk Foods, there are a number of online retailers who sell dehydrated vegetables, both in mixtures and individually. Run a search in any search engine to find others. Often, you can purchase dried veggies from your local health food store.
