- 6 - 01/2021Copyright © 2021, F ast ČR, a.s.
HERBS, SPICES AND FLOWERS
■ Dehydrate herbs very gently . Only remove the stems, and do not cut them up any
further. Leafy herbs need to be turned o ver during the dehydration process to
prevent them from sticking.
■ Leaves appropriat e for dehydration are young and brittle , harvest pea pods before
they open up. Pick flo wers that are young and half-opened.
PET FOOD SNACKS
■ T o make snacks for household pets, use healthy and fr esh ingredients free of any
additives or preservatives. It is important to take into consideration the size of
the animal. For example , small dog breeds have small mouths and tiny teeth and
need small snacks that are not too crunchy . On the other hand, large dog breeds
can handle big and crunchy snacks. Y ou can test their hardness by crushing a few
snacks in your hand.
■ Mix all the ingredients in alarge bowl and form a loaf. On afloured cutting board,
roll out the dough to a height of appro x. 6 mm. Then cut out your dog'sfavourite
shapes.
PLACING FOOD ON THE TRA YS
■ Arrange the cut pieces evenly on the trays , do not overlap the pieces, remembering
to leave gaps between the individual pieces. To ensure sufficien t air circulation,
utilize approximately 85% of each tra y.
■ Underneath juicier foods it is better to put the drying insert in order to prevent juices
from dripping down on to the trays and to make subsequen t maintenance easier .
OPERA TION
TURNING ON THE FOOD DEH YDRA TOR
■ Place the food dehy drator in a location according to the instructions in chapter
LOCA TION OF THE FOOD DEHY DRA TOR.
■ Insert the trays with the prepared food into the food deh ydrator and properly close
the door .
■ Insert the power cord of the food dehydrat or into apower socket and press button
B4 (ST AR T/STOP). The button will be backlit blue and the display will show a time
of 00:00.
DEHYDRA TING USING PRESET MODES
■ If you wish to take advantage of one of the preset modes, press butt on B5 (P). An
indicator will be lit at the first mode and the display will show the preset deh ydration
time. Repeatedly press button B5 (P) to cycle through the modes .
MODE PRESET TIME PRESET
TEMPERA TURE SUITABLE FOR
Jerky 05:00 70 °C Dehydration of beef, game,
poultry or fish meat
Apples 08:00 65 °C All types of fruit and
vegetables
Mushrooms 07:00 52 °C Mushrooms
Herbs/Spices 02:00 46 °C Herbs, spices and flowers
Pasta 03:00 57 °C Pasta, yoghurts and porridge
■ Start dehydration by pressing button B4 (ST ART/STOP). The button will be backlit
red and the display will start gradually counting down the time.
■ During the dehydration process , time can be adjusted using buttons B6 (-) andB7
(+) in 30-minute increments.
Note:
On preset modes, it is not possible to change the dehy dration process
temperature. Holding down butt on B5 (P) for a few seconds during the
dehydration proc ess will only show the preset temperature.
DEHYDRA TING WITH MANU AL TIME AND TEMPERA TURE SETTINGS
■ If you want to use your own dehy dration time, set it using buttons B6 (-) and B7 (+)
in 30-minute increments.
■ Using the temperature contr ol knob B1 , selec t the desired dehy dration temperature.
■ Start dehydration by pressing button B4 (ST ART/STOP). The button will be backlit
red and the display will start gradually counting down the time.
■ Y ou can adjust the time and temperature values at any time during the dehydration
process. You can check the temperatur e value by pressing button B5 (P). The set
temperature will appear on the display for af ew seconds.
CHECKING FOOD DURING THE DEH YDRA TION PROCESS
■ If you wish to slide out any of the trays during the deh ydration process to check the
condition of the food on it, simply open the door A4 and slide the tray out.
■ Due to the temperature inside, use kitchen gloves t o slide out the tray with the
food. T ake out a food sample, allow it to c ool down for a while and check it. In the
meantime, close the door .
Note:
If you press button B4 (ST ART/STOP) during the dehydration process , this
will end the dehydration proc ess and the food dehydrator will turn of .
When the appliance is turned back on, it is not possible to continue on with
the dehydration proc ess, it must be restarted or the respective time and
temperature must be set.
TURNING OFF THE FOOD DEH YDRA TOR
■ T o turn off the dehydrator , press button B4 (ST ART/STOP). A 9-second countdown
will start on the display and at its end the dehydrator will turn off completely .
■ Disconnect the power cord of the food deh ydrator from the power socket. If you
wish to move the food deh ydrator to another location, first allow it to cool down
completely .
FOOD DEHYDRA TION TIPS
■ Experiment with the dehydration time to y our own taste. Somebody prefers drier
and crunchier results, while somebody else gives pr eference to less dry product
with a tougher consistency. We recommend that you recor d the dehydration time
for individual types of foods.
■ When you wish to check the degree of deh ydration, take out ahandful of food and
allow it to cool down for afew minutes. Hot food appears to be softer , more moist
and more flexible than in its cooled state.
■ Before removing f ood from the trays, check that each and every piece is completely
dehydrated . When unsure, slic e apiece in half and check the degree of dehydration.
■ Leave the dehy drated fruit, vegetables or mushrooms to cool f or about 1 hour, if you
prefer inside the turned off food deh ydrator . However , to not extend this cooling
time as dehydrated f ood may absorb moisture from the ambient air and thus require
further dehydration.
■ The food must be sufficiently dehy drated to prevent micro-organism from
multiplying and spoilage. Dehydrat ed vegetables must be hard and brittle, dried
fruit should be soft and flexible. For long term stor age, home- grown fruit should be
drier than commercially bought dehydra ted fruit.
■ We rec ommend inspecting the food every hour and in the event of uneven
dehydration, to r earrange the position of the food on the trays.
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 dr y, 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 lif e is extended 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 f ood 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 c ooking, 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 rec onstitute 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 .
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