I've taught classes on the subject, and the first thing we do is a reality check. That might help you decide how much money to invest in your dehydrator.
-Just how serious are you about dehydrating? Will it be a hobby or a major food preservation method, or something inbetween?
-Do you have a large garden, a number of fruit trees, berries, providing lots of produce?
-How many people are you providing dehydrated food for?
-Will you actually USE the produce you dehydrate? Do you know how to use the foods you dehydrate? Will your family accept a new type of food?
-Can you realistically use as much food as you plan to make just because you have a large capacity dehydrator? Wasted food is the most expensive we pay for.
-You also need to plan on how long foods can be stored. Dehydrated foods don't have an indefinite storage time, that's a common myth - the nutrients degrade quickly. Recommended storage times for dried foods range from 4 months to one year.
-Dehydrated foods keep best, and for a longer period of time, if it's stored in an oxygen-free environment - vacuum-sealed (I vacuum seal mine in canning jars using the jar attachment on a FoodSaver), and stored in a cool, dry, dark area. If you have to store dehydrated foods without vacuum-sealing in a hot environment, it will last about half as long. Most dried fruits can be stored for one year at 60°F, six months at 80°F. Vegetables have about half the shelf-life of fruits.
-I keep many dehydrated foods in the freezer for longer storage time. There is a special method called dehydrofreezing that is a combination of partial dehydration and the food must be frozen to avoid bacteria growth. The benefits using this method:
-Food takes up less space in the freezer.
-Dehydrofrozen fruits and vegetables have good flavor and color.
-They reconstitute in about 1/2 the time it takes for traditionally dried foods.
I've got a Nesco American Harvest. It's a modestly-priced unit and readily available. I've added trays to it, and I can expand it to 12 trays for up to 10 sq. feet of space. It's easy to use, clean, and store. It's been a workhorse. If I ever find a bargain on an Excalibur, I'd give it a serious look because my American Harvest is getting pretty old (at least 10-years old) and is probably close to going to "electric appliance heaven."
I also have the fruit roll-up sheets for the American Harvest and use them for fruit and vegetable leathers, as well as making sweet potato powder. They are a nice addition. I also have a number of Clean-A-Screen inserts which are wonderful for sticky fruits. We also like using the Jerky Maker and make a lot of bison jerky (using ground bison) around the holidays.
