TurtleMama Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Okay, a series of questions from the board's local ignorant yokel... 1. How long does dehydrated food last, and is it a good alternative to buying those expensive #10 cans of freeze-dried fruits and veggies? 2. Does the stuff taste good when you eat it? 3. If I'm in the market for a dehydrator, what brands would y'all recommend? and 4. Are there "recipes" for dehydrating, or do you just follow instructions that might come with the machine? I'm trying to decide if I should get a dehydrator in addition to the water bath canner I'm purchasing. Link to comment
Josephine Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 If it's in your budget, I would definitely get a dehydrator. If I could afford it, I would get an Excalibur. But I can't, so I will take whatever comes up on Craig's List. Sometimes Excaliburs come up there, actually. My kids inhale dried apples, and The Husband likes to snack on dried onions. They're like onion rigs w/out the breading. I like dried mushrooms, and I've done bananas too. I'm planning on doing potatoes soon. Link to comment
ScrubbieLady Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks for the idea about drying onion rings for snacks. My husband loves onions and that sound like something he would enjoy. Link to comment
Cat Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Tell him you'll be making jerky, and HE'LL buy a dehydrator for you!!!! I like my Excalibur. It has a fan to move air around inside, although I still turn the shelves once or twice while the foods are drying. The fan helps dry things more evenly and more quickly. I only wish I had a bigger one... mine has 4 shelves. You can buy a "recipe book" for dehydrating foods, but there is so much already out there that I don't think it's necessary. Your dehydrator's manual will tell you a lot. Basically, you're drying individual foods and you can mix them in cooking. It take MUCH less space and isn't affected by temperatures or by electrical outages. That said, you still don't want to purposely expose them to extreme temperatures. You can take advantage of seasonal sales to dehydrate foods. It won't be long until asparagus is cheap again, and you can start early and keep on going throughout the season. I did local strawberries and they are *WONDERFUL*!! The kids eat them like candy, if I let them. LOL Water is needed to re-hydrate them, but you can use the liquids in canned foods to help (that's home-canned OR commercially canned). In my opinion, nothing beats fresh foods (although hubby might disagree because of the jerky ). Frozen won't taste like fresh, canned won't taste like fresh, and dehydrated won't taste like fresh. But how often do we really get "fresh foods" anyway? The convenience and money savings is definitely worth it!! Link to comment
Canned Nerd Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 (1) Dehydrated food can last for years. Some needs to be sealed so it does not reabsorb moisture and become moldy, like fruits. There is a difference between dehydrated and "freeze dried". Commercial freeze dried is superior to home dehydrating, but there is the cost factor. (2) Unless you are making "snacks" to be eaten in the dehydrated state, dried food is supposed to be rehydrated in hot water to bring it back to its natural state and yes it tastes the same. (3) The Excalibir is the top rated, but expensive. Unless you are really in to it, start with a NESCO/American Harvester such as the "GardenMaster" with stacking trays. The ones seen in Wal-Mart are usually a smaller "SnackMaster". The dehydrator should have a heater, fan, and thermostat. (4) Get the book "Mary Bell's Complete DEHYDRATOR Cookbook". It is the bible on the subject and covers everything imaginable. A dehydrator is something totally different from "canning". Vegetables cannot be done in a Boiling Water Canner so you would need a pressure canner. I do it all and it just depends on what food I'm desiring to store. Onions, for example, don't 'can' well so they get dehydrated. Link to comment
LeeAnn Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I recently bought a L'Equip with 6 trays. The reason I chose this brand is because it has a lifetime warranty. It was $149. Emergency Essentials carries this brand. I store what I dry in canning jars I've sealed with a food saver. I've dried lots of carrots and potatoes, but also bananas, parsley, celery, corn, peppers and broccoli. I'm trying to build up large reserves of these foods for the I feel is coming soon. I've used a little of what I dried in soups and stews and cannot tell the difference from fresh. Wondering what I was going to do with all those potatoes I dried, I experimented making potatoes au gratin using powdered milk, powdered cheese and the potatoes. The potatoes were great, the sauce was ok. Not much to my liking because I love good cheese but will be grateful for this dish in the tough times. Hope this helps Link to comment
Violet Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 There is a good, free booklet online. Same one we sell at the extension office. http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Resources/PDFs/PNW0397.pdf Please, do not get a Ronco or that type with no fan or adjustable thermostat. You will not be able to safely dry jerky. Also, foods can mold before they ever dry with one of them. They take days to dry what would take a few hours in a decent dryer. The Excalibur is probably the best there is. If you want a good one for less money, the Nesco 500 watt is a good one to start with. Walmart usually has them for under $50. Link to comment
CoM Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Hi Turtlemama: I recently bought a new dehydrator. I absolutely love it. This is the one I got. This site had the best deal I could find and it comes with 8 of the screens & 8 fruit roll up trays. Most only come with 4. What I love about it is that it can be expanded up to 30 trays! http://shop.simplylivingsmart.com/Dehydrat...1018P_p_31.html Product Description: The FD-1018 Gardenmaster Pro Dehydrator is Nesco / American Harvest's top of the line dehydrator. In fact, the Gardenmaster Pro Deyhdrator is more powerful and larger than any other. Expandability? The Gardenmaster Pro Dehydrator can expand to an enormous 30 trays, which allows extremely large quantities of dehydrating! Power? 1000 watts ensures you complete drying capabilities. In addition, the Patented Converga-Flow® fan forces heated air up the exterior pressurized chamber, then horizontally across each individual tray, converging in the center, for fast, even and nutritious drying. Flavors simply won't be mixed, and you don't ever have to rotate trays! The Gardenmaster Pro Dehydrator has a fast, powerful fan that operates quiet at 2,400-RPM motor. This on top of a specially designed 4-1/2 inch fan mean faster, more nutritious drying. Additionally, the Gardenmaster Pro's adjustable thermostat allows temperatures to be changed from 95 to 155 degrees, which gives you the opportunity to adjust temperature settings for all your different foods (total dehyrdrating flexibility!) On top of all of this, the Gardenmaster Pro's Vita-Save® Exterior blocks light to help retain natural nutrients and vitamins during the drying process. FD-1018 Standard Accessories 8 Dehydrator Trays 8 Clean-a-Screens 8 Fruit Roll Sheets 1 Jerky Spice Packet and Cure How to Dry Foods Recipe Book (60 pages) Features 1000 watts of drying power! Patented Converga-Flow® Adjustable temperature control Includes 52-page recipe and instruction book, 1 solid sheet, 1 mesh sheet, and 1 packet jerky spice 4.5" Fan, 2400-RPM motor, adjustable thermostat, 1,000 watts Dries in hours, not days: Fruit rolls, 3-6 hours; beef jerky, 4 hours; apples, 4-6 hours; bananas, 5-8 hours; pineapple, 4-6 hours Opaque Vita-Save® exterior (blocks harmful light) Expandable to 30 trays 1 Sq. ft. per tray NO tray rotation required Link to comment
TurtleMama Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 You all are a wealth of information. Thank you SO much for the input and suggestions!! I think I could budget out up to 100 for a dehydrator, so I am grateful for the price ranges and brand names. Y'all ROCK!!!! Link to comment
LeeAnn Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 You all are a wealth of information. Thank you SO much for the input and suggestions!! I think I could budget out up to 100 for a dehydrator, so I am grateful for the price ranges and brand names. Y'all ROCK!!!! What ever you decide to buy, be sure you follow the suggestions on the lemon juice or vinegar soak for color preservation. On my first batch of potatoes I forgot both the blanching and soaking. Put the slices in the dehydrator and they turned black. Very bad, had to throw them away. Good luck Link to comment
Josephine Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 ... I forgot both the blanching and soaking. I'm dehydrating potatoes now. Blanched for 5 min like the booklet said and they were no where near transparent. Taking FOREVER!!! Link to comment
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