Food Dehydrator

Living_proof

Mine is going even as I write. It has apple leathers on about four trays at present. I was given 40lb of apples and they would take up a lot of room in the freezer and to peel and core them would take forever. I finally decided to chop them with skin on, put in slow cooker until mushy, puree with hand held thingy and then spread on paraflexx sheets. I can then rehydrate into puree if required or add to smoothies as they are. I have also dehydrated tons of runner beans, small tomatoes by the hundreds, and many many courgettes. Having dried food is an insurance against the power going off and ruining frozen food although let's hope it doesn't come to that. Mushrooms are very good and can add a chewier texture to some meals. I also keep a jar of assorted dried veg and grind it in spice grinder to add to soups and casseroles. I have the 9 tray Excalibur which I bought at half price in rather sad circumstances. Last year I didn't use it at all but this year I will have a lot of produce and the idea is to produce in summer and consume over the winter. If I were to be doing this all over again I would probably get the four tray. Condensation is a big problem in winter and I have to run mine in the shed with the stable doors open for the moisture to escape. I am now plant based so this kit will be an even greater help now.

Thrice

I bought one recently as well, all I've dried so far has been basil! I dried overnight, crushed in a pestle and mortar and put into a wee jar to use as dried herbs.

Patiently waiting on the apples off the trees to be ripe, I'm going to stew some for the freezer and dehydrate some for snacking and museli toppings for the months ahead.

I'm kinda stuck for other ideas though, I suppose I just don't know what to do with it! I won't be buying stuff full price to dehydrate, my thoughts were that if I saw reduced foods that I could dehydrate then I would buy it. Got a bag of kale the other night for 24p and ended up using the lot up :rotfl:

littlesimplelivingcottage

My sister has a dehydrator which we use quite a lot. I love making a version of the fruit roll up things, often I will use whatever is going cheap in the supermarket. My favourite will always be blackberry though especially as you can get them for free!! Last Christmas our Tesco was giving away bags and bags of potatoes and veg for free, I have no idea why but the dehydrator became invaluable at this time as I dehydrated loads of potatoes for stews and soups. This year I'm hoping they do the same thing and I want to make my own version of "smash." I really do need to get into pinterest to actually find some more things to do with it as I know there are loads of things out there to try.

Floss

I have one, a round one with variable temperature. Yesterday I grated the courgette mountain (6 large + 1 smallish) and dehydrated it all...it is now in one bag in the freezer. Rigt now I'm drying a bag of y/s peppers, when they are done I will dry some apples from our allotment.

I'm waiting for delivery of some fruit leather trays to use more apples & free blackberries

Living_proof

Something else I have done is courgetti - spiralised big courgettes then dried and then frozen as they are so thin dry I think they could easily take up moisture in a jar. I have solar panels so in bright weather it costs nothing to run my dehydrator but I can't work out how much it would cost in the winter or at night. Certainly any dried veg. could be utilised in stew and soup over the winter, and also it's useful to have veg ready to go in the pot when you haven't got time to stand and chop them, or maybe if you are recovering from an op they would be a real life-saver, especially if you haven't got room for a freezer.

PollyWollyDoodle

Well, this is all really interesting, thank you for this. I think what I don't quite understand is what you do with the dried stuff. If you put it in say a stew or soup, does it rehydrate well? Also, I noticed somebody above said they freeze theirs, is this necessary or can you just keep it in jars or plastic boxes?

I'm looking at secondhand ones, and I think I may get one sooner rather than later as I could really use it now. Thank you for all the replies.

iamsalt

I have had one for a few years. It's a Lakeland one. They need to be treated kindly, not washed when hot or clattered about. I am glad I got it.
I mostly store the dried stuff in jars (a lot gets eaten within a couple of months) I hate shopping and it's a pain to get to shops without a car
I love yoghurt drops (like chewy sweets),
I use produce from the garden -pears apples etc and reduced fruit -pineapples and bananas are fab - I don't like the crispy banana chips so eat them chewy.
I dry reduced veg as well as home grown. Mushrooms are great - I rehydrate if I have time and the mushroomy hot water smells and tastes good they also seem to retain more substance in stews etc after dehydrating them. I also do onions and root veg and make my own stock powder without salt in it

PollyWollyDoodle

Well I asked a friend - someone who has an allotment and whose wife does a lot of preserving- if they!!!8217;d ever used one. His reply was !!!8216;We!!!8217;ve got one in the loft, it!!!8217;s never been used!!!8217;! So guess what I!!!8217;m borrowing can!!!8217;t wait to get started. Thanks for the tips above, I!!!8217;ll probably start with courgettes or apples as I have lots.

DigForVictory

If you can borrow a mandolin (slicer) it helps. Saving time and skin on fingers although apple rings dehydrate fine with the odd drop of blood (done that, eaten the results, no problems just not aesthetic).

Dehydrated so far -
apples, mangoes, tomato slices with a tiny slice of basil on, peppers, blackberries - and have two cans of mango pulp to try mango fruit leather.

Also a vacuum packer (reduced, naturally), but be really sniffy about price before parting with extra money for "seasonal" packaging. I bought a Christmas pattern roll last month, along with some thicker micron packaging for food to take camping which (may) take more physical abuse.

Frankly, when faced with a glut, think of ways of dehydrating first? And hurrah lovely neighbour for the loan.
Say thanks with a jar of apple rings dehydrated with a dusting of cinnamon? (Dip in a lemon juice solution to avoid browning but then a light sprinkling of cinnamon really adds a wow to the basic apple ring - other Christmas spices also popular!)

berries

I have one too. I did buy it for making dog treats as shop one full of rubbish and expenise too. Now I use it for me too. There's a great fb page . So many ways to making yummy stuff!!! I'm still learning ways for me. My dogs get yummy stuff too. I recently bought a new one as other one died. Had to wait until I saved enough for it.