Dehydrator

**Gibs** · 02-11-2011, 10:45 AM

I have been wanting one for a long time, never tried this before. What does everyone think of them? I remember reading somewhere before that the "home made" stuff is better then bought dehydrated foods...what does everyone think?

How much do they normally cost to purchase?

Any other info you can give me would be appreciated.

**savvy_sniper** · 02-11-2011, 11:34 AM

There are tons of dehydrators out there. It depends on how much "stuff" you will be dehydrating, how much you can afford, etc. I dehydrate a lot of stuff. I bought a used Excalibur nine tray dehydrator (paid about 1/2 price) on Craigslist a couple of years ago.

**savvy_sniper** · 02-11-2011, 11:36 AM

Here is an article from Mother Earth News that I posted some time ago on a dehydrator discussion thread. I will look for the thread and post it here if I find it.

Choosing a Food Dehydrator

**jas** · 02-11-2011, 11:39 AM

The prices vary from quite reasonable to the higher end. I really enjoy mine a lot. There are tons of things you can do with them. There are a few really good books out there on all the amazing stuff. I use mine a lot to rise my bread dough. I have an Excalibur that you can remove the shelves and put in the dough to rise.

I just lent mine to my bff and she dehyrated some flowers from her mothers funeral. She was doing it in the microwave at first. It would have taken her forever.

There is so much I have not tried yet that I want to. One of them is to make homemade yogurt. The fruit rollups are always a hit at my house along with the jerky.

The Dehydrator bible by Jennifer Mackenzie, Jay Nutt and Don Mercer

Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook is another good one.

**savvy_sniper** · 02-11-2011, 11:42 AM

Also, here is a great website about dehydrating.

Dehydrate2Store.com | Welcome - Educating and Helping Those Who Want To Learn About Dehydration

**Debbie-cat** · 02-11-2011, 11:57 AM

I love mine!! I too have an Excalibur and use it all the time.

**MissSeetonFan** · 02-11-2011, 03:46 PM

I got mine for free from my sister's mil, not sure what brand, but I love it.

You can dry just about anything on it.

**frugalfranny** · 02-11-2011, 03:57 PM

I just have a small one........four trays --but it can be increased and I haven't needed to do that yet.........good enough for me.

American Harvester is the brand.........got it for under $50. I did buy the fruit leather trays separate --on ebay and glad I did.

I love mine! Not only for what it does but it has cut my 'food loss' by probably 90%. If something is getting old and I know I won't be using it.........I dry it.

The fruit leather can't be beat............sooo much better and tastier than the store bought!

You have to decide how much you think you will use it............that should tell you what to pay and how big to go.

AFTER YOU BUY --you will have to experiment with it to see what you like when dried. IE: I love all the dried fruit......but not real crazy about squash ---cukes ---when dried.

Whatever you do............ENJOY!!!

**Jamauk** · 02-11-2011, 04:20 PM

I just got an Excalibur dehydrator for Christmas. I'm still experimenting with it. Never thought to use it to rise my bread....hhmmm...

**jas** · 02-11-2011, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Jamauk

I just got an Excalibur dehydrator for Christmas. I'm still experimenting with it. Never thought to use it to rise my bread....hhmmm...

It even has a setting for it. Mine is in the yellow setting 110 degrees.

**Jamauk** · 02-11-2011, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by jas

It even has a setting for it. Mine is in the yellow setting 110 degrees.

Well, would you look at that?! Mine has one, too! LOL!!

I'm looking forward to figuring out fruit leathers. My kids love those things and I'll feel much better when I know exactly what's in them!

I'm also looking forward to drying lots of herbs this summer. Mmmm....

**Missy** · 02-11-2011, 11:25 PM

i dont have a fancy one, mine was about 50.00 and it is white- westinghouse i think. it gets a good work out in the summer. i dry lots to save for the rest of the year.

**mndtrp** · 02-13-2011, 07:05 PM

I've been working up to getting one, since my last one quit working. Most people seem to recommend the Excalibur brand.

I intend to dehydrate the following:
jerky
fruit
cookies
vegetables
herbs
whatever else I can get my hands on.

**Gibs** · 02-14-2011, 07:57 AM

Thanks everyone for the replies. I havent really searched or looked at any of the brands or really about anything they can do, so I saved the links in my bookmarks so I can have a good read through them. At the moment Id love to have something cheap to try, I want to make sure it is something I am going to use. Hoping we like the product that comes out of it. Gonna be keeping eyes and ears open for a good deal sometime in the future.

**newstudent** · 02-14-2011, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by mndtrp

I've been working up to getting one, since my last one quit working. Most people seem to recommend the Excalibur brand.

I intend to dehydrate the following:
jerky
fruit
cookies
vegetables
herbs
whatever else I can get my hands on.

How do you dry cookies and why is that better than just storing them in the freezer???