Dehydrating Lentils?

[mdj05f]

Does anyone have any idea at what temp and for long I should dehydrate lentils? Every backpacking recipe that calls for them says to dehydrate until dry. Obviously. I want to set it while I'm gone so I'm looking for the temp that's just right. Can't seem to find a guideline for them on any websites.

Thanks!

[HeartFire]

My rule of thumb, is that if the food has already been cooked (vs raw veggies and fruit), I turn up the heat as high as my dehydrator will go - it's still a lower temp than when they were cooked. They will dehydrate faster at the higher temp.
I've used lentils in lots of backpacking recipes and dehydrated them.

[mdj05f]

awesome. How long did they take?

[HeartFire]

I dont remember specifically how long they took, I usually put stuff in around dinner time and let them go overnight.

[bigcranky]

It's hard to over-dry things like (cooked) lentils. Once the water is gone, they just sit there and stay warm until you pull them out. I would let them go overnight.

[Another Kevin]

It's hard to over-dry things like (cooked) lentils. Once the water is gone, they just sit there and stay warm until you pull them out. I would let them go overnight.

That's what I've always done. Even without a dehydrator, on parchment paper in an oven on the lowest setting with the door ajar. Lentils are pretty forgiving. And I like dal bhaat tarkari on the trail.

[CynJ]

You're not going to hurt them as they are pre-cooked - I use the same setting as I use for meat which on my dehydrator is 160 degrees F.

One trick I've learned about drying legumes is to not pre-cook them so they are completely soft. Leave them with a bit of crunch (al dente if you will) in the middle. This way when you dry and then rehydrate they keep a bit of their form and don't go to complete mush