Ask TennZen: Dehydrated Scalloped Potatoes

It's time for another edition of "Ask TennZen," in which I do my best to answer your questions. As always, any advice offered here is taken at your own risk. Your mileage may vary.

I've been asked by Mom of Mother's Kitchen (a wonderful blog, by the way - you should go visit her) about dehydrating potatoes and making your own scalloped potatoes.

Yes, it can be done. And the homemade version is much better than storebought (healthier, too).

When I dehydrate potatoes, I don't pre-treat the potatoes with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice. I tried it in the past and they turned black. I tried steam blanching them, but that didn't work, either.

The only way I've found to successfully dehydrate potatoes is to blanch them first in boiling water. That's the only method that has never failed me.

DEHYDRATING SLICED POTATOES
Use white or Irish potatoes. Russet and red potatoes will work just fine. You can try it with Yukon Gold potatoes, but everyone I've talked to said that they don't preserve very well. I've never personally tried dehydrating Yukon Gold potatoes.

Wash and peel potatoes. Slice thin, about 1/8 inch. (It helps me to use a mandolin slicer to get the slices even.)

Put sliced potatoes into a large pot of boiling water. Boil 5-6 minutes.

After boiling, immediately drain the potatoes and dump them into a large bucket of ice water. Let potatoes soak and cool for 15 minutes.

Drain potatoes and pat dry. (You could also use a salad spinner.)

Place in single layers in your food dehydrator and dry for 8-12 hours, or until crisp/brittle.

TO REHYDRATE POTATO SLICES:
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add potato slices and simmer 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain well. Use as you would fresh sliced potatoes.

Click here for a free .pdf format guide from the University of Georgia about dehydrating fruits and veggies.

With dehydrated potatoes, you can make a plethora of dishes, but here are the two most common ones: scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin. These are much better than the mixes you can buy at the grocery store and much healthier, too. You won't find any Disodium Phosphate, Monosodium Glutamate, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, or Sodium Bisulfite in these recipes (but they're in the storebought box mixes)!

SCALLOPED DEHYDRATED POTATOES
3 cups dehydrated potato slices
*1/2 cup nonfat powdered milk
*2 Tbsp. flour
*2 Tbsp. cornstarch
*1 tsp. onion powder
*pinch of salt and black pepper
*1 Tbsp. dried parsley or chives (optional)
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
2 3/4 cups boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place potato slices into a medium casserole dish. Combine remaining dry ingredients and sprinkle on top of the potato slices. Dot with butter. Pour boiling water over all and stir gently to combine.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. You can broil it for the last 1-2 minutes if you prefer the top to be a little more browned.

If you have a lot of dehydrated potatoes, you can pre-mix the starred (*) ingredients into ziploc bags along with the potatoes and have your own scalloped potato mixes all ready to go.

POTATOES AU GRATIN
3 cups sliced (or diced) dehydrated potatoes
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine
3 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes in a medium casserole dish.

In a small saucepan over a low heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and mix well. Gradually add milk and stir constantly until thickened. Add cheese and stir until the cheese has melted.

Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and gently stir to combine. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

And, finally, since I'm in the 'tater, mood...

How about some "Mashed Taters," eh?

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