Dehydrating

[~gd]

Okay, what I'm getting is one with temp control is a good idea.

I like the idea of powdering some stuff for seasonings.

Is it feasible to dehydrate potatoes, carrots and celery for roasts and soups? I'm thinking the pieces would be a bit small?

Also, I would like to make some fruit leather. What do you use them for? I have found a lot of recipes for making different kinds of leathers, but what do you do with them after you make them? Do you just eat them like a fruit roll up kind of thing?

I am excited about making banana and apple chips. They are so yummy and am thinking of making some trial mixes with them.

Feed back please????

Potatoes, carrots, onions are great dehydrated for roasts and soups. Do the onions in the garage or something though. Celery - someone else may know better than I on that. I freeze mine but I imagine you could dehydrate them.

Since I sit here with a 8 ounce jar of celery powder (Not celery salt) yes it can be dehydrated, commercial for sure, at home I don't know why not,

 

[farmerlor]

We have an excalibur. The one thing I use it for more than anything is taking the skins and seeds from when I'm done with making 5 milllion quarts of tomato sauce and drying them to make tomato powder. With tomato powder I can do anything, dips, sauces, breads, taco seasoning, etc, etc, etc,....
When I make fruit leather I usually use applesauce as a base and then add whatever other fruit I want .
Dried celery and dried onion are staples here.

 

[gettinaclue]

Excellent!

Thank you everyone for all your help and input!

 

[efbjr]

If the dehydrator stops working, the thermal fuse probably has popped. I replaced one on a Nesco (the model without the timer or thermostat). If you can use a soldering iron it is quite easy to do. They can also be replaced using crimp connectors. Just open up the unit with a screwdriver and the fuse is easy to find. Find the fuse rating number on the fuse and google it for a source. Replace the fuse, reassemble and you should be back in business!

 

[JRmom]

I have a cheapo Ronco with 5 trays and so far I'm pleased with it. The only thing is I have to switch the trays around as it doesn't have a fan so the bottom tray gets hotter than the ones on top. Can't let it go overnight because of that.

I dehydrated 1 qt. of potatoes this weekend and they turned out great. I just cut 1/4" rounds, boiled them for about 5 minutes, then drained and dehydrated until brittle. I'm thinking they'll be great for scalloped potatoes or just adding to soups.

I've also dehydrated tomatoes. I just slice them and use the whole slice, seeds and skin included. I've used some to make chili and they plumped back up and tasted great.

 

[Farmfresh]

I bought my Nesco about 20 years ago for $5.00 at a garage sale. It has the temp control and 4 racks. I use it almost constantly and love the thing.

My favorite things to dehydrate are celery, onions, mushrooms and herbs.

 

[angimw]

Good Question!
I have one that I borrowed...LOVED it last fall. I dried everything I could get my hands on until I borrowed (I do that a lot I guess!) one of those gadgets that helps calculate how much energy things use. My dehydrator, using it once per week for 9 hours, added 15-20 dollars to my electric bill! There is the distinct possibility that I used that gadget incorrectly however does anyone else know if there are more energy efficient dehydrators?

 

[Wildsky]

I bought the excalibur 9 tray a few days ago ($220 including a book "Preserve it naturally"

After using a small Nesco one for a few years, I needed to upsize it. I chose not to get the one with the timer, its a bit more $$$ and if I need a timer I'll simply add one at the outlet.

(Check my blog for details of what I"m doing)

I made Jerky yesterday.

Right this instant I have fruit leathers/roll-ups going, 4 trays mixed into pretty patterns (pic's on my blog too) those are for my kids to eat. I also threw in a couple of trays with spoons of yogurt, to make Yogurt drops...

Tomorrow I will be doing the veggies, celery, mushrooms, tomato, peppers etc.. The onion's I'll use my small round one probably and put it outside so I don't stink up the house too bad.

I love the amount of space I have with the excalibur, something like 15 square feet. I plan to dry lots this summer for winter eating. I'm going to experiment a bit with the potatoes, I'll dehydrate mashed potato, and I'm going to try shredded and chips too..

My apple trees are FULL so far, so by August I'll be drying apples and more apples....... perhaps apple butter dried as well. YUM

The excalibur costs us about 5c an hour to run.

I've seen recipes and how-tos to make yogurt and cheese using the dehydrator - one of these days I'll give that a go, and perhaps crackers using flax seeds.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

I plan to dehydrate some potatoes in the next day or two, but don't want to boil them. I'm sure I need to do something to prevent them from browning. Should I soak them in lemon-juice-water immediately after cutting? Would that work?

I also plan to experiment with dehydrating cucumbers. Has anyone else done this?

Really hope the million flies we have don't get into the dehydrator. That would be disgusting!

 

[JRmom]

Just drop the potato slices into ice water as you're chopping. They'll stay nice and white. I've read numerous places to blanche first. I drop mine into boiling water just until they start to go translucent, about 5 minutes.

Haven't tried cucumbers yet.