Topic: Dehydrators ...does anyone onhere own one? I am after your opinions

[Duke Ellington]

We harvested a large amount of soft fruits this year and I have loads of chillies and small tomatoes in the greenhouse. My freezer is full again and thinking of investing in a dehydrator.

Duke

[ACE]

Yes we have one, a cheapie from Amazon, it is running full pelt at this time of year, fruit leathers, beans, 'sundried' tomatoes, beans, prunes, beans, squash, beans and more beans. I expect we will get another next year as the plastic trays are getting brittle and I cannot find any replacements.  We dry using 5 trays at a time as  the electric could work out expensive although my leccie bill does not seem to peak  while it is on. Get the best you can afford and have a room where you can site it in use as the smell although not unpleasant can spread around the house on some fruits. Mine is a few years old now and I think we paid somewhere in the £25 area. I is not left on at night or unattended as like all of them they are made in China which does not have the best reputation for quality control and we don't want a fire. Just being safe really as we have not had a problem.  You know that you can dehydrate in a warm oven, but it does tie the cooker up for a quite a few hours.  They all seem the same but put a celeb chefs name on it and you will pay extra for it. And they do take up quite a bit of room for storing away. You will still need space for storing your food, we use a vacuum sealer to keep some of the stuff.  One of the things we found useful was drying squash really dry then powdering it up for storage and use it for flavouring and thickening soups. Oh, nearly forgot put the fruit leathers between two rich tea biscuits, better than any jammy dodgers ;)

[BarriedaleNick]

One of the things we found useful was drying squash really dry then powdering it up for storage and use it for flavouring and thickening soups.

Now that is a great idea!
We have a cheap Lakeland one - does the job but I am not very inventive with it using it mainly for chillies and toms..

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, My interest has been revived as I bought a book an dehydration but then could not see why I would do it. What do use the fruit etc for? Can you use dried apple to make a pie? does it re-hydrate as required? I have so many questions as I would like to preserve more home grown fruit. Storage, store in vac bags or fridge/freezer? Do eat tme dry. I saw what I thought was pot puree once and people eating it so it is good they said. Might open a whole new topic. The machines and I looked on amazon there are loads from £20 to 3000. How many stars may help as a novice. Will be giving it some thought

[ACE]

You can tell the apple has be rehydrated, but it is not unpleasant when used along with other fruit. But at least the apples are not wasting away when there is a glut. But for anybody buying one, don't get a round one, they are buggers to store, get 5 trays and pay about£30/ £40. I did notice some of them have timers which could be handy. Temperature does not need to go over 70c but a variable one will give you more options. Read the revues and avoid those that have had trouble with. flimsy trays

[Duke Ellington]

Thankyou ACE I am considering two at the moment. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonShef-Tier-Food-Dehydrator-Temperature/dp/B078B42MXZ/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen-appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1535656608&sr=1-4&keywords=Dehydrator

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-Digital-Food-Dehydrator/dp/B00FF97SJ2/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen-appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1535656608&sr=1-5&keywords=Dehydrator
Duke

[ACE]

I like the look of this one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MRELOCI/ref=dp_cerb_2

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, I picked up these, I think one you have already seen, What do you think?
It worked and yes one you have already. There are so many and I worked on your pricing for them ACE,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DLR1WQ7/?coliid=ILCS1VKNKR6H1&colid=3VW80KTEJKL8N&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078B42MXZ/?coliid=I3OSSR6S500W56&colid=3VW80KTEJKL8N&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Never linked before hope it works. Be interested in your thoughts.

[ACE]

Both look good, you pays your money and makes a choice. I would not leave it to switch off by timer though if you are going out or to bed. Like I said before, use only when you are around the thing, it is a heat source so treat it as you would any other electrical appliance.

[lezelle]

Hi, Well that has got me thinking now. Never use the timer you say, do you switch it off at night or leave the house? I only ask as a quick look at drying times seem to run to hours you have to be around. I could isolate in the garage. Have to give more thought me thinks.

[ACE]

It does not need to dry in one hit. If we go out in the middle of a drying session we switch it off and restart when we come back in. Perhaps I am being over cautious, but if something did happen I can just imagine the insurance companies reply to a claim.

[lezelle]

Hi, No where your coming from on that front Ace, they try to fend it off. Even worse is loosing pets and the time to put things back to normal. We won't leave the house while the dishwasher is running so time it so we can as it is just finishing. I to can be a bit on the cautious side when it comes to some goods not only electrical.

[pumkinlover]

https://www.ukjuicers.com/dehydrators/excalibur?gclid=CjwKCAjw8ajcBRBSEiwAsSky_fvWc832sxJ0n-5IXVXWKNpDaUwI7mOYk-dw6-i5C-LdyPicB7LmrhoCrKYQAvD_BwE

I bought this one after M12 (who sadly doesn't post anymore) recommended it. The initial outlay is more but I do feel confident enough to leave it on overnight. Though it does create condensation if used in the autumn months.  The only drawback is the size- to store and also to fill it can take a lot of preparation time. I would therefore recommend it but  unless you have a willing assistant probably the smaller 5 shelf version.
Right off to make my first fruit leather with what is left from making apple jelly!

[lottie lou]

Ace what do you use to hold your fruit leather mix on your dehydrator please. Did you make your own?

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, Ok ACE your advice was appreciated so I went for the machine you were interested in and ordered it. I bought a book on dehydration cooking over two years ago but did nothing else about it. What do think of it and could you recommend another. the link to the one I bought is
 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0811713385/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
As you have quite a considerable experience with this subject your input is very much appreciated. I mentioned it to she who must be obeyed and was ok with it. I will be up for more advice as time goes on as you can only learn so much from a book and experience of/with a subject on this and others is the be all. Cheers for initialising another page to my book of life. Its also interesting to hear how all get on with it and mistakes and successes etc.

[ACE]

I don't bother with books for info, get on t'nternet. Recipes, ideas, cockups its all out there. The fruit leathers are not my department, she uses something that looks like greaseproof paper but sometimes If I have something too small for the tray grills I use the silicone rice mats that you put in the steamer.

[Duke Ellington]

Another question..
All these dehydrarors are pictured with different fruit and veg layered on top of each other. Will liquid from tomatoes drip onto and taint a different veg on the level below?

Duke

[ACE]

Another question..
All these dehydrarors are pictured with different fruit and veg layered on top of each other. Will liquid from tomatoes drip onto and taint a different veg on the level below?

Duke

I bet they are just advertising pictures to show what can be dried. We never mix stuff, but skin down for the first few hours on anything that is a bit wet stops the drips and when they are done for a while they are dry enough to turn, five trays of stuff soon shrinks enough to use just a couple of trays for the final drying. The trays need to be rotated over the drying cycle as the heat near the fan is warmer and they will get too dry if left in place.

[BarriedaleNick]

Ace - Can I ask how you dry your squash?  Just cut into chunks or do you slice it thinly..

[ACE]

As thin as you can get it, needs to turn to powder when you scrunch it up in your hand, bigger pieces just take longer and you don't know if the middle is done.