Food dehydrators...

[determinator]

I picked up a used food dehydrator at the local thrift shop the other day for $3, and hope to use it for extra tomatoes and cucumbers that I'll grow this year, along with whatever else I have.

I was wondering who else uses one, aside from Patricimo, to dehydrate stuff, and what they dehydrate. And, any other advice in using one.

I'm testing it out on half an apple right now, to see what it does, and how long it takes. ;D

Update: I cut it up into slices after posting the above...

[Jack of all Trapping]

I would use one, but I do not make enough power here(Solar) . If I had more panels and batteries I would definitely utilize. I have looked into solar drying but not in depth.

[jasonm]

I use one all the time. I usually make jerky and dry all fruits with it. The jerky is the best though. Things dry faster when you slice them smaller.

[hogkiller]

I use my Nesco for mainly jerky,,,tried the whole fruit thing but all the kids weren't into it at the time.
As far as jerky goes and i got a weekend to kill i'll do half the dry time in the dehydrator and the other half in the smoker,,,,suppose i could try liquid smoke in the marinade but it's hard to find round here.
Got some wild turkey breast strips soaking in black pepper and garlic as i type,,,,should be good to go this weekend.

[maritimer]

I made duck jerky this past winter for the first time. I'll be doing it with the rest of my deer meat here very soon as well. ;D

[determinator]

Thanks for the feedback...I ran the dehydrator (it says "Fruit Saver" on it) for 24 hours, and it didn't seem to do much drying. I'll be looking into a Nesco American Harvest FD-37 400 Watt Food Dehydrator. That may be the one that you have, Hogkiller and Maritimer. It looks to have the juice needed to get things done without waiting a few days.

[hogkiller]

Jun 14, 2013 14:21:34 GMT -5 determinator said:

Thanks for the feedback...I ran the dehydrator (it says "Fruit Saver" on it) for 24 hours, and it didn't seem to do much drying. I'll be looking into a Nesco American Harvest FD-37 400 Watt Food Dehydrator. That may be the one that you have, Hogkiller and Maritimer. It looks to have the juice needed to get things done without waiting a few days.

yep,,and you can also buy the extra trays for it. ;D

[blueduck]

Just did a load of Coral Mushrooms today in mine. I have a 12 tray American Harvester Snackmaster that I have had for years. This one goes from 95 degrees to 145 degrees. I use it a lot. I make lots of jerky with it and sometimes Ill dry onions, bananas or whatever.

[determinator]

The Nesco model is preset at 160 degrees, from what I understand. I would use it for mushrooms too, if I ever had too many on my hands (which I doubt!).

Pretty cool about the Coral Mushrooms, blueduck..do you rehydrate them when you want to use them? Or use them in soups, etc.? I'm growing a number of strains indoors at the moment, and hope to expand with them.

[tsr07]

My wife Terri she uses one all the time. She even uses the sun to dry fruits and veggies and herbs and roots and alot of other things. It is amazing when you have home made chicken soup with the dried veggies from the past summer and it is cold and snowy out.

[blueduck]

Jun 14, 2013 18:51:48 GMT -5 determinator said:

The Nesco model is preset at 160 degrees, from what I understand. I would use it for mushrooms too, if I ever had too many on my hands (which I doubt!).

Pretty cool about the Coral Mushrooms, blueduck..do you rehydrate them when you want to use them? Or use them in soups, etc.? I'm growing a number of strains indoors at the moment, and hope to expand with them.

Yes we rehydrate them if we are going to fry um up. Just put them in a cup of water for a few minutes is all it takes. They will puff back up to their original size. If Im adding them in with soups or stu's I don't bother. Last summer I found a overlooked jar of mushrooms we dehydrated in 2003 and they were just as good as fresh.

[determinator]

Jun 15, 2013 8:38:40 GMT -5 blueduck said:

Jun 14, 2013 18:51:48 GMT -5 determinator said:

The Nesco model is preset at 160 degrees, from what I understand. I would use it for mushrooms too, if I ever had too many on my hands (which I doubt!).

Pretty cool about the Coral Mushrooms, blueduck..do you rehydrate them when you want to use them? Or use them in soups, etc.? I'm growing a number of strains indoors at the moment, and hope to expand with them.

Yes we rehydrate them if we are going to fry um up. Just put them in a cup of water for a few minutes is all it takes. They will puff back up to their original size. If Im adding them in with soups or stu's I don't bother. Last summer I found a overlooked jar of mushrooms we dehydrated in 2003 and they were just as good as fresh.

Awesome! Thanks for the info. ;D Also, thanks to you too, tsr07, for your comments.

[Deleted]

I have a Nesco. Same model as hogkillers. Matter of fact, he bought me some extra trays for it last year ;D
I mostly do jerky in mine. I think goose jerky in a pepper/garlic seasoning mix is tops for me

[Ipostbulls**t]

I did morels this year with the Nesco dehydrator and it worked great will do it again if I stumble on a bunch again!

[determinator]

Well, I finally purchased a great food dehydrator about three weeks ago...a Nesco Professional. 700 watts of dehydrating power under the hood...HUHHHH!

So far, I've dehydrated some of the field mushrooms that I'd picked a couple weeks ago, until they were cracker dry, and stored them in canning jars. I'm keeping them in the fridge, and will be adding them to soups and such, as needed.

My brother keeps bringing over plums and apples that he gets from a neighbor. The plums are great dehydrated. I cut them in half, and take out the pit. Very sweet flavored. Best not to let them get too dry, though.

The apples I've been slicing into about quarter- inch thick slices, and sprinkling cinnamon, or cinnamon and brown sugar, on them. Gotta watch the dryness, too, or not as good a flavor. Sure smells up the place pretty good!

The brother's got a friend with extra venison, and I expect to be making some jerky. I can't wait for that stuff... ;D

So, yeah, I'm glad that I've got a dehydrator working for me now.

[patricimo54]

Oct 25, 2013 17:18:26 GMT -5 determinator said:

The apples I've been slicing into about quarter- inch thick slices, and sprinkling cinnamon, or cinnamon and brown sugar, on them. Gotta watch the dryness, too, or not as good a flavor. Sure smells up the place pretty good!

It has been awhile, but I am thinking a little lemon juice on the apples will keep them from turning brown as well as enhance the flavor.

[jimdundee]

we got a poppels dehydrator for a wedding gift in 92, the ex did jerky,and lots of fruit. good stuff for sure...our unit had a weak coil on bottom we had to rotate the trays to get even drying.

buono appetito