Food drying - Dehydrators (merged)

kittycat204

firstly , you lucky lucky thing,
secondly, look at this thread, will keep you busy for a while, but worth it. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/139707

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Hi budgetboo,

Well done on your find! I'll add your thread to the link that kitty kindly provided later to keep the replies and advice in one place.

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[Deleted User]

I just had to come back on here to say how fantastic the dehydrated veggies are. I spent all day, every day, towards the end of the last growing season, dehydrating whatever I couldn`t freeze/brine/eat and the results are proving to be amazing especially after christmas and into the present `hungry gap`. There isn`t one product that I am not using, even the marrow and parsnips, in fact I will be growing a marrow plant specifically to dehydrate as my cupboard is far too full of chutneys based on marrow (they are lovely by the way

Today I put a lot of very mixed dried veg into the slow cooker ie potatoes, marrow, green beans, parsnips, various herbs, beetroot tops, sliced dried garlic, onion, sliced dried tomatoes and a handful of dried peppers. A little hm white wine and some water and also chopped dried apricots and cinnemon. I then topped the lot with 4 skinned chicken pieces and it will be on the go now for the whole day. Lol, a handful went in at a time

I made that last week and the flavours melted together and I seasoned/thickened with chicken gravy granules. It was absolutely wonderful

So, this year I will not hesitate to dry anything I can grow and that also includes celery and carrots, I am making a special effort with them. The dehydrated tomatoes smell divine by the way

Re storage well you don`t need to vacuum seal at all, they all keep really well in jars and in lock and lock boxes. I need to sort accessibility for this coming season ie the big bulk under the stairs and a bit of everything in the kitchen. I love the fact that everything was chopped and ready to use

I saw a cheap dehydrator on qvc yesterday, a round one, like the one I started with and gave away after a year. I now have a 9 tray excalibur and it is far and away the best I ever used. The thermostat and timer are invaluable

Ken68

Am also looking forward to this year Kittie. Dried nearly every surplus veg and fruit last autumn. Great success for pineapple (oh the colour) and tomatoes, apple rings, same with pears. Still have some green beans (dried), peppers. Mushrooms do OK though they freeze also.
Mainly looking forward this year to cherries.
The local sweet shop gave me loads of plastic jars for storing.
Come on everyone, lets start the season. Does rhubarb dry OK ?

[Deleted User]

ahh, I have 2 big pineapples here. I`ll dehydrate them tomorrow. Re mushrooms, I dried a lot of porcini 3 years ago and am now being very frugal with them as the smell and taste beats any other mushroom offering. I haven`t been able to find them since as I think the best places have been discovered by eastern europeans.

Plastic sweet jars! what a good idea

Rhubarb! I don`t know yet as my plants are only 18 months old and we are keeping apace with their growth. I did read that `mushed` cooked rhubarb makes good leathers

Oh to live surrounded by cherries, to have enough to dry

Ken68

Yes Kittie , have two cherry places I go to, about two miles out of town. One is a small plantation planted yonks ago by the local wildlife trust who I help out occasionally.
I like the intense flavour of dried foods, just the smell is enough sometimes.

ginnyknit

I have the Lakeland de-hydrator and I ove it. I store everything in plastic bags and it works fine. I buy whoopsied veg and dry it saves it languishing in the fridge and getting wasted. It saves on freezer space too. Hadnt thought of pineapple, must look out for cheap ones now

Living_proof

I am tremendously interested in a dehydrator although now the household is just me I wonder whether I would manage to get good use from it. I have been reading as many websites as possible and the American ones seem to concentrate on drying F&V as snacks rather than the basis for a meal. I think I would buy good value veg and use some and dehydrate the rest so as to get the advantage of buying in bulk at a good price. Eventually when I move and have more time I hope to grow a selection of fruit and veg. and there's a limit to what I can freeze. I've never tried fruit leathers or vegetable crisps so am unsure whether the expenditure would ever pay for itself. I often see Kittie post about what she is drying next and wonder does it all get used? Could I dry chickweed for chickweed tea, etc.?

It's not just the expense and use that's bothering me, it's also the size and cost to run. It would have been ideal when the children were younger and coming back from school or university but I just wonder if I can justify it now. I would definitely have to get a good one from the start or I would be forever wondering what I was missing!

Ken68

Yes Living Proof, the cost is a bit over the top considering tis only a fan heater inside a cabinet with shelves.
Mine is 400 watts, so 2.5hrs for the cost of a kwh (15pence).
And the machine is usually on for at least 8-10 hours.
Not an essential purchase, more an extension to your freezer, and definately a different sort of taste and texture.
A bit like using up surplus fruit by making jam or wine.

SailorSam

I've not read the whole thread yet, i'd not heard of a dehydrator before. It seems a good idea to be able to store that excess of fruit from the garden, but at over £100 for a heated cabinet sounds expensive. Couldn't you just put things on low in the oven for ages ?