Food dehydrator help.

[sheena]

Can anyone out there recommend a good food dehydator please??

[Odsox]

I have a Stockli ... what can I say ? It works fine, dehydrates loads of stuff at the same time, it's a bit noisy ... about the same as a fan heater.
It's easy to clean and I've had it for about 3 years now ... that's about it ... not much else you can say.

On the other hand, the stuff that comes out of it, dries tomatoes, soft chewy pineapple, soft chewy bananas, dried apple ... etc all dried at home with no sulphur or any other additives, what could be better ?

[sheena]

Thanks tony: it was the sulphur and additives element that I was worried about.

[Berti]

mmm I was considering buying one of these.
are they worth the money, and when? do you need to justify getting one by having to process X kilos of stuff etc?
what exactly can you use them for, I have read fruit and veggies, what other things?

how useful are dried veggies...except tomatoes I don't see a point?
berti

[Odsox]

mmm I was considering buying one of these.
are they worth the money, and when? do you need to justify getting one by having to process X kilos of stuff etc?
what exactly can you use them for, I have read fruit and veggies, what other things?

how useful are dried veggies...except tomatoes I don't see a point?
berti

It all depends on what you would like to do Berti.

Since getting mine I have dried Pineapple & Bananas when really cheap, Tomatoes of course, seedless Grapes to make sultanas, Mushrooms, Apples, Plums, Figs, Peas and Beans .. those 2 are very useful for stews and saves freezer usage. I did also dry some courgette strips and although they were OK'ish I don't think I would do them again.
Another use is to dry off saved seeds of peas, beans etc as they don't dry naturally very well here and would go mouldy otherwise.
This year I intend to have a go at drying onions (in an outhouse!) as my maincrop onions never seem to keep too long, probably for the same reason as the peas & beans .. too humid and not enough sun.
I do believe that you can dry herbs very well, lavender too, but I have never tried it.
I suppose if you have a solid fuel range with a drying rack most of those things could be dried in the kitchen, so it also depends on your life style as well.
However you can't beat the dried pineapple, slightly sticky and chewy and very moreish as is the banana. I have never seen them for sale like this and I think I would buy a dehydrator just for those two.

[Berti]

thanks tony :) that helps.
let's see what I am going to do.
they aren't easy to get second hand over here........so I am afraid I will have to buy a new one.
let's start saving ....
berti

[eccentric_emma]

i got one from www.westfalia.net and it was around £25 so not too pricey. Actually my mum got it for me as a Christmas present in 2008. I love it. We have home dried tomatoes, apples, pears etc and its really worth the money. The one I have is a bit basic but definitely worth it for a beginner. I love drying onion rings in it although you get very smelly breath after some of those! Drying out herbs is easy peasy and quite quick too.

I have also tried various raw recipes - google 'raw dehydrator recipes' and you'll get some interesting ideas. My dehydrator has holes in it but if you need a sheet to make fruit leathers, they can be easily made out of greaseproof paper.

Maybe with veggies you could dry out odds and ends, grind them up and use them as a stock powder? Haven't tried this myself though but I think it might be worth a go if you have a dehydrators worth of leftover veg cuttings.

[Elizabeth]

Hi Eccentric Emma

i got one from http://www.westfalia.net and it was around £25 so not too pricey.

Is it possible to dry items for wreaths? I made Christmas wreaths with oranges, bay leaves etc. I dryed them in a low (electric) oven but found thay they coloured.

[Berti]

yes you can do that............it's what I have read on various sites.
not by experience (yet) though ;)

berti

[eccentric_emma]

Yes you could however with my dehydrator you wouldnt be able to dry anything more than half an inch thick because of the way its designed.

[Odsox]

Yes you could however with my dehydrator you wouldnt be able to dry anything more than half an inch thick because of the way its designed.

Oh how strange, I didn't realise there was so much difference in dehydrators.
I just measured my Stockli and the trays are 2 inches deep and nearly 13 inches in diameter.

[eccentric_emma]

Yes well mine is just a cheap brand really. I think mine is really designed to be one of those 'use once then shove to the back of the cupboard' devices but its lasted fairly well. I use it a lot in the summertime.

[sheena]

Thanks for all the replies: We now have a food dehydrator on its way to us, so we can't wait to use it.
Hopefully it should save us a lot on refrigeration both in space and cost and then the dehydrated items can be stored, taking up minimum space, whilst giving us maximum freshness.

[Thomzo]

Thanks to Emma, I now have one on the way as well. I have been trying to get one for years but they've always been really expensive. Getting excited now.

Zoe

[Rosendula]

I have a L'Equip dehydrator. Before buying it I read lots of reviews and that seemed to come out tops. I, on the other hand, would NOT recommend it. The element is too fragile and breaks easily. Wish I'd bought a cheaper one.