Dehydrated cheese is a nutritious pantry item that stores long-term. As long as the dehydrated cheese is kept dry, it will stay good. Cheese loses very little nutritional value during the low heat dehydration process. The nutritious dehydrated cheese is a healthy addition to dehydrated camp meals. It can also be ground into a fine powder to make your own chemical free cheese seasoning.
Instructions
Hard Cheese
1. Cut cheese into small pieces. The exact size of the pieces does not matter. They can be as wide or long as you choose. The smaller the pieces, the faster and evener they will dry. The thickness of the slices are important. The cheese slices should be no more than 1/4 inch thick. Thicker slices take too long to dry.
2. Lay the cheese pieces directly on the rack in the food dehydrator. Leave space around each piece of cheese, so that they are not touching each other.
3. Turn the dehydrator on. If the dehydrator has a temperature setting control, choose the lowest setting.
4. Flip the cheese pieces over every three hours. If the food dehydrator does not have a fan, rearrange the trays every few hours. This provides more air flow for more even drying of the cheese pieces. To rearrange the trays, move the top tray to the bottom tray spot and move the other trays one spot up from where they previously were.
5. Remove the cheese pieces from the dehydrator when the cheese is fully dry. Dry cheese appears even-toned in color and is a shade or two darker than fresh cheese. Store the dry cheese in an airtight package.
Soft Cheese
6. Cover the food dehydrator trays with plastic wrap. You will have to cut a hole in the center of the plastic wrap to allow air flow through the center of the food dehydrator.
7. Spread a thin layer of soft cheese over the plastic wrap covered tray. The layer should be no thicker than a 1/4 inch.
8. Turn the dehydrator on. If the dehydrator has a temperature setting control, choose the lowest setting.
9. Rearrange the trays every three hours if the food dehydrator does not have a fan. To rearrange the trays, move the top tray to the bottom tray spot and move the other trays one spot up from where they previously were. If the food dehydrator is equipped with a fan, it is not necessary to rearrange the trays.
10. Check the cheese every three hours. The cheese is done dehydrating when it is dry to the touch. Remove the cheese from the dehydrator and store in an airtight package.
Tags: food dehydrator, cheese pieces, , every three hours, plastic wrap, rearrange trays, three hours
