Dehydrating Cheese

I discovered a way to dehydrate cheese. It's actually quite simple and much cheaper than buying the commercially-prepared long-

term storage cheese powder. Of course there's some time involved, so all things may indeed be relative.

Take a paper towel and lay it on a drying tray. Because I have round drying trays with the hole in the middle, I first folded the paper

towel in half and then in half again, and round cut the inside corner. That way when I opened the paper towel I have a perfect circle

in the center than fit over the hole in the middle of my dehydrating trays.

Spread shredded cheddar cheese (sharp is best) onto the papertowel. A thin layer is best. Then dehydrate at about 135 degrees.

Very quickly the paper towels will become saturated with grease. When that happens put down new paper towels and transfer the

shredded cheese to the new towels.

I had to replace the paper towels twice. The last time the cheese had hardened enough that I was able to remove them from the

paper towels and spread them on the plastic-canvas (see below) covered trays to finish processing.

Once the cheese is completely hard, remove and allow to cool. Then grind to a fine powder in your food processor. The powder can

then be vacuum-packed in jars or bags for long-term storage.

I'm going to use my powder to add to several dehydrated soup and entree recipes, such as the chicken/rice/broccoli casserole.

The powder can also be used now to sprinkle on popcorn.