At Sunrise Gardens we dehydrate fruit and vegetables, both to reduce food waste and to offer out-of-season specialty products. A few of our favourite dehydrated products are the vegetable mix, raspberries, saskatoons, beet crunch, and root vegetable crunch. The vegetable mix makes an awesome soup that is really easy to use on camping trips; gourmet soup in the woods! The vegetable crunch blends are delicious in salads. The raspberries are a taste of summer and great as a snack.

Our dehydrated products make great stocking stuffers and gifts for mailing or when traveling. Stock up while we have products available, amounts are limited, and take them on hikes and camping trips in the summer.

Dehydrating food is an ancient method of preservation used around the world to store perishable food. Dehydrated food is light, compact and when stored in airtight packaging will last indefinitely. It is an excellent way to reduce waste and save money. Dehydration removes moisture and preserves food while also retaining nutrients. By removing most of the moisture dehydration prevents the conditions that allow bacteria to cause decay. We dehydrate at a low temperature for a longer period to retain as many nutrients as possible. Low temperature and low humidity drying methods improve the nutrient retention, colour and overall quality of dehydrated vegetables and fruit. Dehydrating enhances the taste of some fruits and vegetables by concentrating the flavour, such as raspberries, celery leaves and most herbs.

There are different methods that can be used for dehydrating; the sun or smoke, heat from an electric dehydrator or an oven. Herbs can be air-dried by hanging them upside-down. Using the sun to dehydrate takes no electricity, which isn’t an option in an Alberta winter but can work well in the summer. There are many resources available on how to dehydrate various foods if you want to try it at home.

Sunrise Gardens dehydrated products include:

• Vegetable mix (onion, carrots, potatoes, celery, celery leaves, leek, garlic, squash, Swiss chard)
• Beet crunch
• Crunchy mix (carrots, beets, squash)
• Rhubarb
• Raspberries
• Saskatoons
• Garlic – chopped
• Celery leaves
• Sprouted bean mix (chickpeas, green peas, red lentils)