Food drying - Dehydrators (merged)

[Deleted User]

I used to have a really basic dehydrator 20 years ago but it was metal -based without a thermostat and I didn`t really get on with it so gave it away. I did make some bits and pieces but it wasn`t efficient at all

Anyway I have just recieved a l`equip dehydrator this morning and it is lovely. I soaked various seeds and grains last night and have made savoury crackers, crackers with various grains and soaked almonds and ripe pear and banana, onions are drying and so is rosemary. I sliced two ripe pears and they are drying and so are two trays of fruit leathers that I made by whizzing drained morello cherries plus drained breakfast apricots plus dessicated coconut.

I have had a green life machine for a very long time and this dehydrator goes hand in hand with the grinding facility eg I put the grains, almonds and fruits through and it comes out as a paste which is ready to dehydrate

I can`t believe how I have missed out on dehydrating all these years. It goes so well with my personal food philosophy

I have scoured the net for recipes. Anyone else have a dehydrator?

Seakay

I don't have a dehydrator but would be interest in your experience as I have been considering getting one. My concerns have been;
initial expense
running costs
robustness/suitability of parts

Also, what is a green life machine? It sounds very intriguing!

D&DD

I've got one but its only a little tchibo one not a posh one like yours :rotfl: I'm only really just getting into it but its a godsend as we don't have much storage space here.My youngest loved the fruit leathers I did (first attempt at them this year)and its nice to know what goes into his food.I have the Mary Bell book and am working my way through it...slowly

culpepper

Mines a l'equip too.
I got mine for drying the garden produce. It's been marvelous for the tomatoes. I dried them completely and ground them as powder and just add a bit of water to have puree for our pizzas. We have quite a large amount of dried onions too.
I've got Mary Bell's book .It is excellent.
Is the greenlife machine ,a juicer?
I recently bought one from the charity shop and it was great for putting tomatoes through and removing all the pips and skin although we didnt dry them ,I just used them for our bolognaise. We did have a huge glut of tomatoes this year!
If you dont have a huge lot to dry, I would go with one of the smaller makes but for us the larger size has been very useful.

squeaky

Hi kittie

We have an older thread on dehydrators which does include some useful tips and so I've added your post onto it. Since posts are listed in date order you'll need to read this one from the beginning again.

[Deleted User]

the green life machine that I have is the earlier version of this

http://www.healthydiet-shop.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=996

it is going strong and is as good as new. It just chugs along juicing or grinding

ps it was expensive but has paid its way over and over and it is permanently out on my worktop

I used to juice home grown wheat grass with it

kittykat500

I bought a Harvest Maid dehydrator back from the US many moons ago. I don't use it that much though - go through phases. I have dehydrated fruit purees with homemade yoghurt to make fruit leathers, apples, tomatoes, grapes cut in half. The stuff is definately moreish only, in my experience, I can't make enough in a batch!

What tends to happen is, as a family, we eat most of it in one or two sittings which when you equate it to calories, can make it a bit excessive! I suppose it's healthier than crisps as a snack but maybe a bit too sugar laden when concentrated! I'd like to make beef jerky but have always been a bit dubious about warming meat on a low temperature for an extended period of time!

Anyway mine cost about 100 quid donkey's yrs ago, so 24.99 is a brill price!

[Deleted User]

I have just been out to get another load of fruit: pineapple, mango, papaya, pears, bananas, apples and I need to order some more flaxseed for biscuits. I have a load of seeds sprouting and I think i`ll make some essene bread with them. I also bought some sweet potato to dry in slices and I`ll have a go at seasoning with garlic salt

This has really kept me busy today but I have enjoyed it no end. I can see the potental for releasing space in the freezer.

Culpepper, the l`equip is a very neat machine and I have found a permanent space for it on a butchers trolley. It looks very nice

npsmama

I'm the type of person who loves her grain mill and Kenwood Chef.

Toying with the idea of getting an excalibur dehydrator.

any advice please?

[Deleted User]

I recently got myself a new l`equip dehydrator from ebay. I had a very basic dehydrator years ago and always hankered after another better one.

It has 6 trays and looks nice enough (grey) to sit on a butchers block in my kitchen. So far I have de-hydrated peppers, lots of onions, bramleys and various fruits. I also made a fruit leather from two tins of drained and liquidised fruit. Everything has been very successful so far. I packed and sealed everything into poly bags. I like the fact that the produce takes up so little space

I think I will get the money back eventually if I concentrate on produce near its sell by date eg peppers in value bags

I sent to the us for some paraflexx sheets which I will cut down to fit the l`equipe as I did like the fruit leather and I don`t want to mess with cling film

I sprouted seeds and dried those and will use them in hm bread

I dried rosemary and ground it with some dried red onion. It is now stored in a box and is a lovely sprinkle for lots of things eg hm oven potato chunks in olive oil

Anyway I have only just started but I would definitely buy one again and there is lots of info on the net re the different types

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/dry/dehydrator.html