Food drying - Dehydrators (merged)

midnightraven3

been using my laser 2000 one for a few months now
everything is fine

someone else has just got one and its given up a question i never thought about

anyone who has one of these will know, it comes stacked
but when i set mine up, i rotate the trays slightly so it fits in the groove, this makes the dehydrator taller, i use it that way

and restack smaller for storage
(with me so far:o)

can you use it stacked smaller?
or is that just for storage?

if you can, i assume it would cut down drying time?

kinkyjinks

I'm thinking about getting a dehydrator with the survey money I've managed to save. I buy my OH beef jerky probably once a month and it works out pretty expensive. I've also got an allotment so am thinking that it will come in handy for any gluts I might get this year.

I have a few questions; does the veg/fruit taste just as nice/strong once rehydrated; if I turned 1 lb of beef into jerky what weight would my finished jerky be (currently paying £2.50 for 25 gms) and do you need to buy those special vacuum bags to store the finished product in? TIA

AlwaysAllie

Just got a Lakeland dehydrator this week and trying it today for the first time.

Have so far done trays and trays of oregano which seems to take less than an hour. Just doing mint now.

Have also done some orange peel which the book said would take 8 hours but it's done in two .

Anyone know any uses for lemon balm as I have loads I could dry!!?

AA

Sunnyday

AlwaysAllie wrote: »

but it's done in two .

Anyone know any uses for lemon balm as I have loads I could dry!!?

AA

Found this http://www.superbherbs.net/Lemonbalm.htm


I managed to kill mine last year and i`ve not planted any yet this year, thanks for reminding me

HTH

SD

[Deleted User]

I have started drying my summer produce and already done a few herbs. Today I decided to get going with overwintered onions and I have 9 trays drying as I write

The herbs took longer than expected as the book says to dry at 95 farenheit to preserve the oils so I am trying a different method with herbs this week. I tied them in bunches and hung them upside down on curtain rails in sunny windows.

The orange slices that I did ages ago are still good but they were the ones I stored in lock and lock boxes. The ones in zip lock bags didn`t last as air and moisture must have got in. Ah, you live and learn

[Deleted User]

AlwaysAllie wrote: »

Anyone know any uses for lemon balm as I have loads I could dry!!?

AA

lemon balm and a few green tea tea leaves and water at lower than boiling, let go cold and serve with ice cubes. Lovely refreshing drink

Lemon balm on its own as a hot drink is beautifully calming

[Deleted User]

my onions are done and I had a fab result. White and crispy. I have done onions in the past but in a dehydrator without controls and they turned out too brown. I am very pleased with these and have put them in vacuum sealed bags using a cheap sealer that I bought many years ago. My onions were very big, average 460g each and I dehydrated 5 and packed them in 5 bags. I`ll be dehydrating onions every day next week as I have grown far too many

Sunnyday

kittie wrote: »

The orange slices that I did ages ago are still good but they were the ones I stored in lock and lock boxes. The ones in zip lock bags didn`t last as air and moisture must have got in. Ah, you live and learn

Kittie i stored my orange and lemon slices in the ziplock bags too with the same results

The peppers and chillies that i stored the same way are great though.

Nice to hear that your onions have turned out well - won`t be too long before i`m doing mine hopefully. We are up north though so quite a bit behind but we have had some lovely warm days recently.

SD

Sylvan

We're trying to decide whether to get one of the smaller round ones from Westfalia or Lakeland or the much more expensive big Excalibur ones with all the bells and whistles.

Have those of you with the smaller ones found them adequate for your needs when you have gluts of produce?

[Deleted User]

I have had 3, a smaller round one which I eventually got rid off as it wasn`t that good and you have to keep rotating stuff and lots of bits fall through. The fan is at the bottom and so the trays are at different temperatures. That was a waste of money. I then had a l`equipe and eventually gave that away when we were moving, another buy that I wish I hadn`t bought.

Now, years later, I have a 9 tray excalibur and I love it and use it regularly. The fan is at the back and it dries everything evenly and has a timer and thermostat. It is far and away the best you can buy. I`ll have a lot of the cost covered this year as I use it so much and I easily fill the 9 trays every time

It stands on the countertop in my utility room, so is ready to use and just reading about lemon balm here makes me realise that I have lots in a big tub, and it will be on today. I cannot wait for my principe borhese tomaotoes to ripen as they are being grown for the dehydrator

I have dried charlotte potato slices and then vac packed them, after watching a you tube video. They will be useful in all sorts of ways from casseroles to crispy fried to toppings. I have a glut of petrowski turnips at the moment and didn`t grow them for drying but I may leave a few to get large and will then dry to use in casseroles. I don`t dry greens. I may also dry beetroot slices as they will be good for soups, I blanch first