Food drying - Dehydrators (merged)

midnightraven3

you have convinced me:D

excalibur it is:T

wish i had done this earlier in the year now:(

but it will depict what i grow next year:D

mambury

midnightraven3 wrote: »

i have spent 3 days reading this thread (and all the links) reading everything i can on the net, i even watched the woman on youtube
the one who tells us loads of times how hygenic she is and uses antibac spray & uses gloves yet touches her hair constantly, then the food:mad:)

sorry, bugbear of mine:D

anyways
i need/want one

i cant decide
try the westfalia one, and see how i get on

or buy the one i REALLY want, the excalibur 9 tray, with the timer

hmmmmmmmm

the westfalia one is much cheaper, but i wonder about the middly bit

the excalibur is quite expensive, will i get THAT much use out of it to justify buying it

please help:(

I;ve gone for the westfalia cheaper one to see if i get on with dehydrating before taking the plunge with the more expensive ones. I really can't justify spending £150 - £200 + if I don't use it....

It arrived the other day and I've not even got it out of the box yet. I shall report back when I get a chance to play next week!!

The westfalia ones seem to go for a bit more on ebay (even used) than they cost to buy in the first place.....

Pitlanepiglet

Thanks SD, I think we'll have to move to ziplock bags as well. I've been lusting after a vacuum sealer anyway for packing food into the freezer so I think that will be next on my gadget list (probably cheaper than buying yet more jars!).

I bought the Excalibur from UK Juciers and I was really happy with the service, there was a problem with the payment going through and they rang me within an hour to check the card number and to put it through over the phone. The machine they turned up the next day.

We're planning next years growing around dehydrating, at the moment we run too many freezers and I'd like to cut down the power usage.

midnightraven3

i saw that mambury, it pays to shop around

the cheapest i can find the excalibur so far is £229

http://www.ukjuicers.com/excalibur-9-tray-dehydrator-with-timer-black

anyone know anywhere cheaper please?

Sunnyday

I got the 5 tray Excalibur from ukjuicers, very quick to deliver and i`ll always look on their site if i need anything else.

Not likely though as i`ve no more room for anything else kitchen related

I`m looking forward to hanging some of the dried orange and lemon slices on the Christmas tree for decorations

I`ve around another 200 chillies to pick yet so mine will be back on next week, i`m looking forward to trying the fruit leathers too but DH keeps eating all the fruit lol.

SD

mambury

midnightraven3 wrote: »

i saw that mambury, it pays to shop around

the cheapest i can find the excalibur so far is £229

http://www.ukjuicers.com/excalibur-9-tray-dehydrator-with-timer-black

anyone know anywhere cheaper please?

found this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Excalibur-5-Tray-BLACK-Food-Dehydrator-dehydrating-/200317293343?pt=UK_AudioElectronicsVideo_Video_TelevisionSetTopBoxes&hash=item2ea3d7531f
HTH.....

Oh, and whilst I'm here...... I thought about making my own 'cuppa soup'.... anyone tried??? I guess the best way would be to dehydrate ready made soup rather than mixing dried veg powders.... I feel a lot of experimenting coming on!

Kevie192

Mambury, have you tried your westfalia out yet? I'm v interested in getting one mainly for fruit and fruit leathers but wanted a recommendation first

Also, we need more pics on this thread! x

mambury

oops... nope I haven't!! I shall get it up and running tomorrow.... I have some pears that are begging to be dried. We like dried pears in porridge (I tend to add them whilst I cook) to add flavour and sweetness..... Just the weather for porridge too!

I might have a bash at some banana leather too.....

Kevie192

Banana leather sounds yummy. One thing I definitely want to do is banana chips coated in honey but like then nice and crispy. Not sure how that will work but we will see I guess!

Anyone have pics to share?

mambury

kevie.... it's on as we 'speak'.... thought I'd try some orange slices for xmas decs first....