Dehydrating in winter? Of course, says Ute Ludwig.

Image and text: Ute Ludwig | www.nordischroh.com

How I discovered dehydrating for myself

I am now 38 years old and in my early 20s I switched to a pure raw food diet for the first time. At the time, I read books that recommended a very reduced form of raw food, i.e. hardly any processed foods. Pure fruit and vegetables, also pure wild herbs and sprouts. On the one hand, this diet was very good for me, but on the other hand, I never kept it up over a longer period of time and didn't understand why. My wish was always to find a good and beneficial permanent diet.

Much later, when raw food became more popular and gourmet raw food gained a foothold in Germany, I also discovered the many culinary possibilities and preparation techniques. One after the other, I bought the usual appliances for raw food cooking, such as a blender, juicer and food processor. The dehydrator was my last purchase and my biggest surprise at the same time. Because after I dried my first crackers and they became part of my dinner - and that of my family - I realised what I had been missing. It was cultural needs, especially the "bread-making" that I was missing. The dehydrator was the final, but crucial, piece of the puzzle on my raw food journey and it's not for nothing that I wrote a whole book of raw food quality dehydrator recipes!

The drying oven opens up countless possibilities

Quite a few of my customers nowadays buy a dehydrator as their first appliance. After all, crackers are not the only way to use the dehydrator as a substitute for conventional bread. Even long-time dehydrator owners and die-hard raw foodists are not always aware of the possibilities! In addition to preparing foods such as bread, muesli, fruit leather, vegetable crisps, pizza, fruit leather or other things, the dehydrator is also indispensable for gently drying sprouted seeds, drying herbs, vegetable scraps for a vegetable stock or for heating food.

The drying oven in winter

During the darker months, it is particularly important that we look after our inner light and take good care of ourselves. It's all too easy to fall into the sugar trap or eat to avoid feeling the winter blues. Mindful self-care is crucial. The dehydrator is a great way to do this now, because just like in an oven, you can make wonderful baked goods such as gingerbread, stollen or cinnamon stars. But Christmas crunchy muesli or savoury dishes such as mushroom ragouts or substitutes for meatballs (vegetable balls) are also no problem with the dehydrator.