They do sell hickory smoke flavor in powdered form, so you can add it directly to dried ground garlic. I think there is also mesquite powder. Liquid smoke is OK too, but it will add more moisture that also needs to be removed during dehydration.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smoke flavors

Fantastic, thanks! I will hope to order some of the powdered version soon and give it a trial or two. I wonder what powder medium holds the smoke flavor on that product, as the site didn't specify?
I'll have to look into that one!
Unfortunately, i see to many tasty things we ought to have in our pantry, heehee.
Thanks, Ken.
Glad

I think that some of the powders are just a crystaline dried mixtures, as well as maybe a bit of silicone dioxide as an anti-caking additive and maybe corn starch as a filler. Many times these companies buy these items elsewhere. A good example is when I asked them what was in the vinegar powder and they couldn't help me with that question. It was hoped that adding vinegar powder to water would make acidic vinegar, but no one would know what the acidity was even if measured ratios were used. I use spinach and red beet powder in colorful pasta, and soon may make some pasta with the powderd tomato and some basil powder. I have also used powdered sherry wine in some pickled ginger, as well as powdered honey in bread making, and even powdered port wine in a beef gravy. Recently, my supposed 'fresh jar' or Golds horseradish was opened for the first time, only to discover that the screwed on lid was loose and even though there was clear plastic shrink wrap covering it, it still lost most of its 'clout'. Very dissapointing if your'e wanting it to be like 'gun powder' mixed into shrimp cocktail sauce. Luckily, I had some powdered horseradish, that seemed to help a little, but had a musty overtone. I would have used some of my fresh thats growing out back, but with 20 inches of frozen snow and ice, it was not going to be easy to dig out any.

Glad,

My hat is tipped to you for being able to dehydrate garlic enough to powder and presumably not lose all the taste. Curious what temps you use? I have a friend in Virginia that grows a lot of different garlics and sends me every year.

I haven't done this, but expect would work. Soak panko bread crumbs with liquid smoke and put into dehydrator at 130° or maybe even higher. I prefer Colgin brand liquid smoke, but Wright's scored higher on a Cook's Illustrated poll. Wright's does not agree with me at all for some reason. Too much of a chemical taste. (Or you could do like Alton Brown and make your own) Back to the panko... this is the best I've come up with for absorbing oils w/o changing flavor. It powders beautifully and can be used similar to a flow agent such as silicon dioxide.

jt (abt to go smoke a butt)

Hope that 'butt' isn't the kind with killer tobacco in it! New Years resolution, save money, save life, give up killer smoking....

Panko is great as a help to add some solid material to a powder, and acts as a filler. Silicone dioxide will absorb moisure that would otherwise cause clumping of the dried mixture. I made a meat rub a couple of times, using hydrolized soy protien, dried sweet peppers, coriander, mustard seed, pepper, dried onion, dried garlic, dried tamarind powder, bay leaf, juniper berries, and several other seasonings. It started to clump and was nearly like cement in the titghly capped jars. After adding a little silicone dioxide it was as dry and as loose as you could get. The rub was put onto a tenderloin roast, and was absolutely the best textured and tasting I have had for a very long time. You could cut the roast with a butter knife.

When drying/dehydrating, the faster its done, the more flavor remains. Doing the drying in an oven or with just a fan blowing on it, will not give the highest flavor quality. Also, to help keep in from degrading too much, if its stored under vacuum it will keep flavor much longer too. I do this with herbs like dill weed and after a year of storage, the weed would turn brown and bland. If put in jars and capped with a vacuum (such as from a Food Saver machine and attachment), it will keep much longer. I have some 2 year old dill weed right now that is as bright a green color as stuff that was just picked this past summer. I have tried both Colgin and Writes, and much prefer the smoke from the following source, as it has much more flavor

Here is a link that might be useful: Liquid smoke flavor

> Hope that 'butt' isn't the kind with killer tobacco in it! New Years resolution, save money, save life, give up killer smoking....

I quit just a couple months shy of 33 years ago after smoking for 16 years. It's unbelievable how much better I felt a couple years later & how much better food tasted.

Ken,

What are the ingredients in that liquid smoke you linked to? I tried liquid smoke in a batch of salsa that I BWBd and the smoke flavor disappeared entirely. I need to try again.

I would really, really like to come up with a good rub.

> When drying/dehydrating, the faster its done, the more flavor remains.

This is true I think... after an optimal temperature is agreed on. Hot peppers dry quickly at 160°, but the flavor, color and 'heat' suffer. A slower dehydration at 130° gives much better results.

I can't wait for my entry level Food Saver to go south so I can buy the $125 one with all the attachments. You need a special jar cap for each jar of rub that you pull a vacuum on right?

jt

The attachment I use from FS is the one that fits a Ball canning jar. They have two sizes, regular and wide mouth. These have a rubber ring that seals down at the glass bead just below the threads. The lid is captured under the attachment, and when the vacuum is released, the blast of air entering will push the lid onto the jar and leave its convex bump, concave, indicating a vacuum. Because I use my vacuum attachments when also canning the very delicate pepperoncini peppers, I bought a higher powered vacuum pump and equipt it with a moisture trap. If the item being pumped on gets liquid suck into the line, it is trapped in the catch bowl of the moisture trap. If I were to use the FS machine, it would have been history by now. That canning is the ONLY hing tha never gets any heat or processing, as its full strength white vinegar and salt as the brine. The peppers are placed in a larger plastic container with a fitting on top for the same vacuum line. They get pierced and then sit/soak under vacuum in the same pickling brine, prior to transferring to the canning jars.

Right now, FS is having a web sale at the following link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Food Saver specials