dehydrator [General]

2008 Oct 23
Does anyone actually own and use one of these? I have a friend interested in drying fruit and I really know nothing about them. Any info is appreciated.

2008 Oct 23
I have a few buddies who have them - the only big tip they've given me is to make sure to get one with adjustable temperature. I looked around about 6 months ago or so and was going to buy one - pretty hard to beat the one at Costco for 65 bucks.

www.costco.ca

2008 Oct 24
They are great for sun-dried tomatoes,,,salt and pepper a bit of balsamic..Also a good job on drying chili peppers.

CB

2008 Oct 24
My friend makes beef jerkie with his. When he first got it, he raved about making all sorts of things with it. Apple and banana chips, among other dried fruits, as well. I will get more info from him and post back soon!

2008 Oct 24
thanks for the info everyone....I checked out the one at Costco.ca..... it looks great.

2008 Oct 26
I use the excaliber food dehydrator and would not recommend anything but. Although I use mine daily.

2008 Oct 26
Google tells me they are expensive Butcher - but that the reason may be because they are made of stainless steel, is that right? Otherwise, why so much? Does it have adjustable temperature? Anything else fancy it might have that we should know about?

2008 Oct 27
To put it plain and simple the excaliber rocks! I have two of them!! It has a temperture gauge as well as a oven like atmosphere inside. I can go from 90-300f. Ie: I can put a whole chicken in there and dry it out real nice so when I roast it, well you figure it out...The fact that it can dry 15 square feet in one shot also makes it worth it. (if your going to be doing alot of stuff in there at a time) Great for harvest season.. There is also a timer on it with a automatic shut off switch. Always handy. It also despences the hot air equally on each tray, so you dont have to rotate anthing like the little wheels.
I suggest if your thinking of buying a tiny dehydrater that your not going to use vary often buy a nesco american harvest dehydrater. www.nesco.com even the 40 doller one is a great option, allthough still no temp control. These are good machines though, highly recomended! Hope this helps..

2009 Oct 24
Wow, Personal Edge in Carlingwood has the Nesco unit for $90 regular price! That is $10 cheaper than Costco and $30 cheaper than Preston Hardware!

2009 Oct 24
I had one, but I got tired of putting in a whole lot of fruit and only getting out a little bit of fruit. It's probably cheaper to buy dried fruit at the health store, I'm guessing.

2009 Oct 25
For me it is not about the money, it is about knowing where my food comes from.

Fruit leather from apples is pretty cheap though. I already calculated that applesauce is cheaper than buying it, and fruit leather is made from applesauce.

2009 Oct 25
My dad swears by using his dehydrator for beef jerky. He makes really good beef jerky and has adapted a recipe to suit different tastes too, like spicy and mild. It always turns out amazing! We my sister and I were kids, he would also make us dried apple rings. Super easy and really healthy. Just take MacIntosh apples and slice them very thin and put them in the dehydrtor. Some recipes call to coat them in sugar, but they are the best (in my opinion) when they are plain. Applesauce and other fruit purees also work very well. My personal favourite is cherry/raspberry/apple puree dried to make fruit leather! So good!

2009 Oct 25
Yeah, I have not tried jerky yet ... it is on my list eventually :-)

2010 Jul 21
Tried out making jerky yet? I'm thinking of trying some out, been looking at food safety issues primarily. USDA recommends cooking red meat to 160 before dehydrating. Joy of Cooking says you can heat to 160 after dehydrating but USDA quotes research suggesting that dehydrated bacteria are more resistant to heat. As much as I like Joy, I think I'll stick with the people quoting research.
I'm thinking marinate 12 to 24 hours, roast to 160, dehydrate 10 or more hours at 140. Furthermore, my primary interest in jerky is camping food. I'm not sure how well home made jerky would last in a non-refrigerated environment. I realize vacuum sealing would go a long way but I don't have that equipment and I'm not sure it's worth it for me to invest in it. Experiences anyone?

2010 Jul 21
Nope, still have not made it. But just checked my unit and the jerky settings is 160F - so that would solve your problem would it not?

2010 Jul 21
Hatman if you want it to ensure it's safe and make it last, read up on adding cure to your jerky.

you want to dry/smoke it lower than 160F, IMO, which isn't safe unless you add a cure.

2010 Jul 22
Monty: Yes, I've looked at the curing stuff. I could probably cure for however long is necessary, then marinate, then proceed. USDA recommends curing as well, though they still say pre-cook to 160 even with curing. That being said, they're excessively cautious and the study they quote for that was using ground beef to make jerky, not exactly the best meat to begin with. "The authors found that in both the heated and unheated samples, the jerky made with the curing mix had greater destruction of bacteria than jerky made without it. The jerky made with the mix and heated before dehydrating had the highest destruction rate of bacteria." I most certainly won't be using ground beef, most likely flank steak cuts, or eye of round if I'm feeling cheap.

Zymurgist: The USDA argues that even with a dehydrator at 160 the internal temperature of meat won't reach 160 until after it's been dehydrated. Most of the heat is expended evaporating the moisture. Once the meat dries it begins to heat up internally, but by then the bacteria are more heat resistant apparently. "Within a dehydrator or low-temperature oven, evaporating moisture absorbs most of the heat. Thus, the meat itself does not begin to rise in temperature until most of the moisture has evaporated. Therefore, when the dried meat temperature finally begins to rise, the bacteria have become more heat resistant and are more likely to survive. If these surviving bacteria are pathogenic, they can cause foodborne illness to those consuming the jerky."
Another concern with dehydrating at 160 is case hardening. The outside will dry and harden too quickly at higher temperatures, leaving the inside only partially, or inadequately dehydrated.
Both quotes are from: www.fsis.usda.gov

2010 Jul 23
Many different electric dehydrator models are available; I settled on four that best represent the various designs available: L'Equip's Model 528, Nesco/American Harvest's Gardenmaster, Excalibur's Large Garden and Living Foods' Jumbo dehydrator.

2010 Jul 27
Anyone know where to get an Excalibur in Ottawa? Rainbow Foods used to carry them and have now switched over to Good 4U dehydrators. C.A. Paradis only carries L'equip and Deni. Thanks!