Dehydrators

[Rick]

I'm in the market for another dehydrator and I'm looking at the 5-Tray SMALL GARDEN-Excalibur 26 hour Timer #3526T for my wife and me.

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/Dehydrators-37-cat.htm

I was wondering if anyone had an Excalibur and what you thought of it?

[nell67]

for 50 bucks more,I'd go with the larger one,I hadn't seen these before,but I think I would like them better than the one I have,and I like my $5 yard sale dehydrator.

[Rick]

15 square feet of drying surface is just way too much for me. The 8 square feet will probably be more than the two of us need.

[Chicago Dan]

Rick,

I don't know what kind of volume you are looking to process but even with my little city plot I find myself wishing I had more capacity. Even with different herbs ready for processing on different days and rotating shelves etc. I still find it a bit of a hassle and I don't even mind combining different herbs on different shelves etc. Of course there are efficiency issues. I would rather get it all done in fewer runs then having many smaller batches.

Then again I am also drying part of my large raspberry crop into fruit rolls for the kids and that window is not open for too long.

Personally when my unit gives out I'm going to get a big as the wife will allow.
Then again overkill is part of my nature.

[canid]

...Then again overkill is part of my nature.

i hear you there.

[Rick]

I ordered the five tray Excalibur. We'll see how sorry I am on the size.

[Rick]

Mitch - My wife and I used to dehydrate foods when my son was hiking the AT but we got away from it after he finished. Since I'm getting back into it I'm in the process of pulling out some old recipes and information we had used then. I came across some information I thought you might like since you do ultra light backpacking.

A 1 pound 5 ounce can of fruit cocktail when dried reduces to 3 ounces and tastes like fruit candy.

A 13 ounce can of cream soup reduces to 3 ounces dried.

A 6 1/8 ounce can of water-packed tuna dries to 1 ounce.

A 1 pound 9 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce when dried to leather reduces to 3 ounces and will yield about 2 cups of sauce.

1 pound lean ground beef dried weighs 5 ounces and equals 3/4 cup.

A 30 ounces package of frozen vegetables when dried weighs 5 ounces.

1 pound of fresh tofu equals 3 ounces dried (Bleeeck!)

4 cups dried cooked brown rice = 1 pound
6 cups oatmeal = 1 pound
3 cups powdered milk = 1 pound
3 cups raisins = 1 pound
4 cups granola = 1 pound
6 cups home-dried bananas = 1 pound
8 cups home-dried tomatoes = 1 pound
8 cups home-dried peaches = 1 pound
2 1/2 cups home-dried celery powder = 1 pound
4 cups applesauce leather cut into 1 inch squares = 1 pound


Hope that helps.

[crashdive123]

Having never used a dehydrator before....I've read about the one you're getting Rick, I've read about the homemade ones posted someplace else on the forum. My question is, for a first time user how are the carousel dehydrators that are available at the big box stores?

[Tahyo]

I'm going to jump in here on this one but admit right off the bat that I personally do not use one of the carousel dehydrators.

I have been using an Excalibur brand for almost 10 years (before that, the oven). I've used it for jerky the majority of the time, but have used it to dry fruit, herbs and my wife has used it to dry a few flowers here and there.

The heating element and fan are at the back of the unit, which theoretically you shouldn't have to turn or move your trays around. I do anyway and would like to think that by doing so things dry evenly as well as a bit faster.

When I did my research on getting a dehydrator, one of the reasons I did not go with a carousel type was the fan was at the bottom and the top tray was going to get limited air flow.
My oldest son uses a carousel style and has no complaints, but he does not use it near as much as I use mine.

If the Excalibur I have now broke tomorrow, I would immediately order a new one, but a bigger model.

[nell67]

Having never used a dehydrator before....I've read about the one you're getting Rick, I've read about the homemade ones posted someplace else on the forum. My question is, for a first time user how are the carousel dehydrators that are available at the big box stores?

Craxh,I bought a used carousel at a yard sale for $5,without a guide with it,so I keep an eye on whatever I put in it,and I have to rotate the trays from top to bottom,to ensure that everything dries fairly even,I would go with the one that Rick linked to if I bought a new one.

[Rick]

Crash - We had a carousel type years ago when the boy hiked the AT. The heater is generally on the top or bottom with those so you have to move the trays around to get even drying. That was a pain in the ..... They don't have a timer either. So if something needs to dry for 6 hours you can't put it on in the evening or you have to get up and shut it off in the middle of the night or it will over dry to food. If the heater is on the bottom then they are just harder to clean. The foods drips down on the fan assembly until it starts to dry out.

Many with the heater on the bottom don't even have a fan on the theory that hot air rises. Again, you have to move the trays.

The Excalibur is pretty nice. I've done some fruit and the yogurt leathers (like fruit rollups) and it was just a set and forget. Sweet. The fan and heater are in the back so each of the trays received the same heat level. It also has a thermostat so you can dial up the temperature you want. That's important because meats can take longer than vegies if you only have one temperature. Sometimes a lot longer. With a thermostat you can set the temperature lower for fruits and higher for meats. More like your oven.

The carousels work but it's more work for you.

[crashdive123]

Thanks Tahyo, Nell and Rick.

[wildWoman]

We just use the oven in our propane stove for drying, with just the pilot light on. Good option if you don't have electricity although for proper drying temperatures, you should turn it on to a low setting every now and then. However, it's worked fine for us with just the pilot light, as long as stuff is spread out enough and checked for spoilage.
Once we wrestle our wood cookstove into the cabin, we'll see how that works for drying. Unfortunately a small simple model without the warming/drying closet.

[bulrush]

$200 for a dehydrator? I think I'll just make one for $20. A lightbulb or 2, a biscuit fan, and some woodworking and screen and I'm ready to go.

[Rick]

Wait a minute. Aren't you the same guy with 25+ knives?:rolleyes:

[Rick]

I was just reminded of another tip on drying foods and thought I'd pass it along. This also ties in with the thread to make your food dollars stretch. Fruits like bananas and grapes don't last very long. They can go bad if you don't eat them right away. Rather than let that happen I toss them in dehydrator. So instead of throwing the last couple of bananas away I turn them into banana chips.

I just dehydrated my first celery stalk. It dehydrated down to about a half cup in size!!!!
I was amazed. This was a huge celery stalk that required four trays for drying and now it fits in a small plastic container.

[crashdive123]

*in his best Elvis impersonation* Thank you, Thank you very much.

[Alpine_Sapper]

I was just reminded of another tip on drying foods and thought I'd pass it along. This also ties in with the thread to make your food dollars stretch. Fruits like bananas and grapes don't last very long. They can go bad if you don't eat them right away. Rather than let that happen I toss them in dehydrator. So instead of throwing the last couple of bananas away I turn them into banana chips.

I just dehydrated my first celery stalk. It dehydrated down to about a half cup in size!!!!
I was amazed. This was a huge celery stalk that required four trays for drying and now it fits in a small plastic container.

You can also cut your banana's into chips and freeze them. Works great for smoothies/protein shakes, adding to oatmeal, or for banana bread. If you thaw them they are kinda mushy, but since you pulverize them for all those uses anyway shouldn't be a problem. :)

[Rick]

"Okay, Banana. Youse was told not to talk. Now we're gonna pulvarize you. Any last words?

Mmmmm. Mmmm. Mmm. Mmmmmm. Mmmmm!

"What'd he say?"

"Nuttin' stupid. Bananas ain't got no mouth."

[buttercup]

"Okay, Banana. Youse was told not to talk. Now we're gonna pulvarize you. Any last words?

Mmmmm. Mmmm. Mmm. Mmmmmm. Mmmmm!

"What'd he say?"

"Nuttin' stupid. Bananas ain't got no mouth."


you have a very interesting sense of humor . . .

[Rick]

Bizarre. I think that's probably the proper adjective.:D

[buttercup]

I thought of bizarre and I almost used strange but thought interesting would cover it.

[Ken]

And may I :D add:

Absurd, Bizarre, Comical, Cranky, Curious, Demented, Disoriented, Disturbed, Eccentric, Erratic, Freakish, Goofy, Harlequin, Harmless, Idiosyncratic, Jumbled, Kooky, Laughable, Loopy, Misguided, Nutty, Odd, Outlandish, Peculiar, Quirky, Rotund (saw that pic in "Show Yourself" :p) Sad, Screwball, Singular, Strange, Tyrannical, Unnatural, Unusual, Vocal, Void, Weird, XXX, Yapping, Zany.

[Rick]

Let's see. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes..........

[Rick]

Some of you are getting back into dehydrating like me and some of you are just starting out so I thought I'd share some info.

I dehydrate five white onions today about the size of tennis balls. I chopped them up to about the size of commercially dehydrated minced onions. Some pieces were a bit larger but I didn't have any pieces larger than my thumb nail. I dehydrated them for about 8 hours and wound up with 2 cups of minced onions.

Now I don't have to worry about keeping them in the fridge to preserve them. I put them in a 2 cup Tupperware container with a screw type lid and put them in my spice cabinet.

[Dennis K.]

$200 for a dehydrator? I think I'll just make one for $20. A lightbulb or 2, a biscuit fan, and some woodworking and screen and I'm ready to go.

Save yourself the woodworking - Try replacement air conditioning filters. Stack the food on the filter, another filter on top, repeat 'til you have 6, 8, 10 or so. Bungee them together, attach the whole set up to a box fan.
AC Filters will keep the dust & bugs out while your food dries.

[Rick]

Man, that would take a looooong time with our Midwest humidity.

[Dennis K.]

Good point. Depends on the local conditions. YMMV