Dehydrator - should I Buy

Amarante

Thu, Aug 11 2016, 4:23 pm

I have been trawling the Internet shopping sites more than usual since heat and a literal pain in the tuchis limits my mobility.

Last night I stumbled on a well reviewed small countertop dehydrator and I am very intrigued. I do like jerky but it's so darn expensive and being able to make turkey jerky with controlled ingredients seems like it would be great.

Dried tomatoes would also seem to be useful and delish.

Not sure if I would make the fruit sheets or dry veggies or herbs. I used to eat freeze dried corn and peas as a snack but not sure dehydrated corn would make a good snack.

Does anyone own one and use it? Should I just let it pass as a momentary whim born out of midnight couch surfing Amazon?

In the scheme of things it's not a huge investment but I hate buying stuff and not using it because it just increases clutter in my life.

I've downloaded a dehydrator cookbook.

amother

Mauve

Thu, Aug 11 2016, 4:58 pm

I have two, a Nesco and an Excaliber. They run continually from May to Oct. My Nesco has ten trays and the Excaliber 9. When it is warm I run them outside since I don't have AC. I dehydrate just about everything, but have never made jerky or fruit rollups. I dry herbs in baskets outdoors and never on my dehydrators. Usually I have a garden so they come in handy. For the years I don't I buy bulk at farm stands or farmers markets. I use them for snack making, zucchini chips, carrot chips, sweet potato chips, kale and chard chips. In season I dry a great many plum tomatoes and lots of green beans (must be blanched first). I dry blue berries, cherries, peaches, apples and nectarines.

It takes work to clean and prep your fruit and veggies. This is not something one does as a one off hobby. It's great for people who don't have unlimited cold storage.

I bought mine on Craigs List, after having tried both out. My Nesco is 10 years old and my Excaliber 25. I'm on my third Nesco and first Excaliber.

amother

Mauve

Thu, Aug 11 2016, 6:13 pm

Amarante wrote:

Thanks for the response. Not sure I am willing to commit as passionately.

I don't understand why you don't think dabbling in the occasional treat makes sense.

Does a mandoline help with prep. I wouldn't mind making veggie chips as a healthy snack

I made no mention about not dabbling in the occasional treat. We just eat different kinds of treats at our house. The kids eat dried fruits, mountains of dried tomatoes and pounds of veggie chips.

I use a mandolin but it is an adjustable blade, so I can raise and lower the blade to determine the thickness of my slices. I've also found that a plain old D peeler works great on carrots and sweet potatoes. You get big thin curls that hold the spices. Parsnips are really tasty with some lime and chilli on them.

amother

Mauve

Thu, Aug 11 2016, 6:54 pm

Amarante wrote:

I misunderstood what you wrote about not dabbling as a one off hobby in terms of meaning you had to commit to the extent you have. Love parsnips.

Do you oil the veggies?

Yes, most, get oiled. Zucchini take a bit more work. I'll slice up about 5lbs, enough to fill the Nesco. They will get soaked in cold lightly salted water drained and then loaded on the dehydrator without oil. They get seasoned on the rack. After about 10 minutes they get flipped and seasoned on the plain side. Sweet potatoes do better if you oil and spice them in a bag, same with chard, and kale and cabbage. I store most of this stuff in 1/2 gallon mason jars. If the carrot or sweet potato chips get a bit limp they just need to be put on a cookie sheet in a warm oven to crisp them.

Apple season is crazy time because we go through about 3 to 4 bushels a year (4kids). For snacks I wash the apples in water with a dash of bleach, I hand slice with the peel on. For cooking I have two of the kids man the apple peeler which cores, peals and slices. Two others fill the racks. I dislike pears, but if I can get a deal I'll do those as well, but with the skins on. The kids are also in charge of cherries. One works the cherry pitter, another is quality control and checks each cherry to ensure the pit is gone and the other two load the trays while doing the final pit check.

If you can get a Nesco with 5 racks for $20 or so give it a try. It's a great way to give your kids healthy snacks and they can have fun helping. It's an easy way to be sure they get 5 servings of fruit and veg a day. And at the end of a long work day it's easy to let them raid the dried fruit and veg for a good dinner without cooking. Mine enjoy dipping dried fruit into plain or honey sweetened yogurt.