This post is sponsored by Brod & Taylor® 

When I first saw the word’s first folding dehydrator, The SAHARA by Brod & Taylor, I was blown away. I had never considered owning a dehydrator, leaving a fantastic tool out of my toolbox, because dehydrators typically take up so much space, and I have a small home kitchen. The SAHARA gives you the best of all worlds, a fully functional large capacity dehydrator that also collapses down into a size that easily stows away when not in use. When I reached out to Brod & Taylor, they were excited to see what I could create with their SAHARA folding dehydrator, and I was more than excited to taste the results.

The beautiful thing about a dehydrator is the level of control at your hands, with the SAHARA dehydrator making it so straightforward with its controls. A simple spin of a wheel and a button push or two, and your cook is dialed to your spec. A thing you have to keep in mind is that dehydrating is not a quick process, but all that time goes into developing the natural flavor & texture of what you’re dehydrating. I knew I wanted to create a dehydrated grape (i.e., raisins) chutney, and the SAHARA was perfect for letting me use a variety of grapes, getting them to the texture I wanted before creating my fall inspired chutney.

A chutney is a wonderful idea to keep in mind for any dish. Sweet, spicy, savory, acidic, a chutney can really highlight or balance out your main component on the plate. I always adore combining fruit with pork, and grapes felt like the perfect autumn addition for this dish.

Speaking of the pork, I went about it incredibly simple; salt, pepper, an oil rub down, along with a hot oven was all I think it needed. I knew the dehydrated grape chutney was bringing a lot of flavor to the party, so simply roasting it let the pork flavor really stand up to the chutney without getting lost. And not to let good flavor go to waste, I tossed the frisee into the hot roasting pan once it came out of the oven, to let the frisee wilt in all those delicious pork drippings.

So with the chutney, I had to dehydrate the grapes before they got cooked into a sauce, but with the quince I took the opposite approach. I really like the flavor of cooked quince, but I knew I wanted it as more of a garnish with some texture, this led me to lightly poach the quince in a simple syrup before placing the slices into the dehydrator to dry them out. I was left with a wonderfully firm bite and leathery (in a good way) texture, along with that cooked quince flavor I was after.

All my patience was rewarded with a delicious autumn dinner, filled with intense flavors and wonderful textures. I guess mom was right with that whole, “good things come to those who wait” adage. A lesson well tasted.

Can you live without a dehydrator? Probably, but Brod & Taylor really solved the biggest pain point with dehydrators when it created the world’s first folding dehydrator. Whether I want to add some texture to a dish, or I’m trying to cut down on food waste by dehydrating it for later use, the SAHARA dehydrator sits comfortably in the cabinet, ready to spring into action. Check out Brod & Taylor’s website for recipes, guides and more information about their products.

Recipe

Dehydrated Grapes Medley

Quantity	Measurements	Ingredients	Prep
1	Lbs	Black Grapes
1	Lbs	Red Grapes
1	Lbs	Green Grapes
1	Lbs	Carnival Yellow Grapes

Set the dehydrator to 135F while you’re washing and destemming the grapes. Spread the grapes directly onto the drying racks, and dehydrate the grapes for 48-72hrs.

Quince Chips

Quantity	Measurements	ingredients	Prep
1	Cup	Water
1	Cup	White Sugar
1	Each	Lemon
1	Each	Quince	Rinsed

Combine water and sugar in a pot, bring up to a boil to the dissolve sugar. With a vegetable peeler, peel away a few strips of lemon zest and add to the syrup. Reduce the heat to keep mixture at a low simmer.

Core the quince and slice into 1/2″ thick slices. Poach the quince slices in syrup mixture for 3-5min (you want to cook them but have them remain intact). Pull out and drain slices of any excess syrup.

Lay slices out onto drying racks. Dehydrate at 135F for 8-10hrs.

Grape Chutney

Quantity	Measurements	Ingredients	Prep
1	Each	Yellow Onion	Diced
1/2	Ounce	Fresh Ginger	Crushed
1/2	Teaspoon	Chili Flakes
1	Teaspoon	Yellow Mustard Seeds
1	Cup	White Sugar
3/4	Cup	Rice Wine Vinegar
1	Cup	Mixture Of Dried Grapes
2	Sprigs	Fresh Thyme	Bundled In String

Heat a sauce pot over medium heat, and add a little oil. Add onions and sweat down, cooking to translucent (5-7min).

Add crushed ginger, chili flakes, mustard seeds and cook for 1-2mins, or until fragrant. Add sugar, rice vinegar, dried grape mixture, bundled thyme and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Allow mixture to come up to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook mixture down (stirring occasionally) for about an hour, or until the mixture is thick and syrupy.

Fish out the thyme bundle and discard. Add the hot mixture into a clean storage container. Allow mixture to cool completely. Letting the mixture refrigerate over night will allow the flavors to meld together.

Pork Loin

Quantity	Measurements	Ingredients	Prep
2-3	Lbs	Pork Loin	Butcher Tied Into A Cylinder

Preheat oven to 400F.

Season the pork loin and coat with oil. Roast loin fat side up for 15min at 400F, then drop the temperature down to 350F. Cook for about 30-40min (depends on size of roast), or until the internal temp reaches 140F.

Let the loin rest for at least 5min. Recheck the internal temp again, it should have carried over to or above 145F.

Frisee

Quantity	Measurements	Ingredients	Prep
1	Head	Frisee	Washed

Chop frisee into 1″ pieces.

Once the pork is pulled out of the roasting pan to rest, add frisee and toss to wilt in the hot pork drippings.

Plating

Cut loin into thick slices. Place wilted frisee onto plate, add a couple of slices of roasted pork loin, top with dehydrated grape chutney and quince chips. Spoon a little roasting drippings over the plate.

Eat and enjoy.

This post contains affiliate links