Dehydrators

[Dani]

I make egg powder by dehydrating a dozen eggs on a fruit leather sheet. Scramble eggs and pour on dehydrator fruit sheet. Dehydrate for 16 hours. Break up and put through a food processor. Store in an air tight container. To use 1 heaping Tablespoons of egg powder plus 2 Tablespoons water = 1 egg in any recipe

 

[Dani]

Dehydrated Tomatoes

I haven't tried this yet, but hope to with garden bounty this summer.
To Dehydrate Tomatoes: Slice tomatoes into ¼" slices. Place on dehydrator and dry until crisp. Place dried tomato slices into blender, herb, or coffee grinder and blend until a fine powder. Use powder in a variety of dishes from soups to meatloaf.

Reconstitute:

To 1 cup of dried tomato powder, add the following....

Tomato Paste: 1¾ cup water and ½ tsp. sugar.

Tomato Sauce: 3 cups water and ½ tsp. sugar.

Tomato Juice: 3-5 cups water or to desired thickness. Salt, pepper, to taste.

Tomato Soup: ¾ cup water, ½ cup dry milk. Season to taste.

 

[jeepgirl]

My dehydrator arrived on Thursday so we bought some goodies to go one there. Granny Smith apple slices are finished and are delicious! Did broccoli, squash, and corn yesterday. I'm going to add this to a soup mix for our B.O.B. peppers and more fruit are next!

 

[Kenny Lee]

I always wondered how or what egg powder was, now I know! Thanks for the info, love this forum already.

 

[jeepgirl]

Egg powder is my next venture

 

[A hunter]

What is the best dehydrator on the market for large amounts? I want something that will be good for fruit, veggies and jerky's. Thank you

 

[jayjay1]

I bought mine on ebay - paid 35AUS for it - 5 trays. It's good, but I've only done fruit so far - just spent the past 4 days doing green apples - next will try jerky.

 

[Trapper]

I have an American Harvest. 5 trays and it does a good job. Mostly make venison jerky with it but have done other stuff. I have dehydrated spaghetti sauce from the jar many times to make a leather. Tear it up into tiny pieces and zip lock bag it. Take it on canoe trips and add the water and boil, back to original. No weight, no glass to take. A quick and easy meal.

Make sure if you get one with a fan in it. My first one was a gift and had no fan. The fan cut drying time by 2/3rds.

 

[Kenprep1979]

What is the best dehydrator on the market for large amounts? I want something that will be good for fruit, veggies and jerky's. Thank you

basic dehydrators are ok but they take a day or 2 to get the job done . if you want to double your effort in half the time get a dehydrator that is equipped with a blower and it dehydrates in half the time doubling your food supply.

 

[Kenprep1979]

basic dehydrators are ok but they take a day or 2 to get the job done . if you want to double your effort in half the time get a dehydrator that is equipped with a blower and it dehydrates in half the time doubling your food supply.

the Presto DEHYDR is a good one think it runs around 60 bucks.

 

[Kenprep1979]

Dehydrated Tomatoes

I haven't tried this yet, but hope to with garden bounty this summer.
To Dehydrate Tomatoes: Slice tomatoes into ¼" slices. Place on dehydrator and dry until crisp. Place dried tomato slices into blender, herb, or coffee grinder and blend until a fine powder. Use powder in a variety of dishes from soups to meatloaf.

Reconstitute:

To 1 cup of dried tomato powder, add the following....

Tomato Paste: 1¾ cup water and ½ tsp. sugar.

Tomato Sauce: 3 cups water and ½ tsp. sugar.

Tomato Juice: 3-5 cups water or to desired thickness. Salt, pepper, to taste.

Tomato Soup: ¾ cup water, ½ cup dry milk. Season to taste.

you can also leave your tomatoes as whole slices or halves and dehydrate them . to reconstitute just add to whatever soup or stew you are preparing.

 

[Kenny Lee]

Can someone post the models they use or suggest? I've read that some of the cheaper ones melt the trays!

 

[getnready]

I have a five tray LEM dehydrator. It is comparable to the Excaliber which is the best, less the price. The most important thing about a dehydrator is having adjustable temperature control, timer and the fan should be in the back of the unit blowing across all the trays. This keep you from having to stand guard at your dehydrator and rotate trays every 3 hours! I have dried 2 pounds of jerkey within 4 hours, frozen vegetables when produce was not in season. I am celery dehydrating right now. For Christmas last year my husband got me the Food Saver Sealer/Vacuum. It has been so worth it! I dehydrate, fill food bags, throw in a decadent/oxygen thing, vacuum seal and on the shelf it goes!

 

[Reader]

I'm trying to get a dehydrator. Suggestions on brand and quality?

 

[TheShadowKnows]

I got a free dehydrator from my grandparents for Christmas this year and am making my first use of it tonight. It's an American Harvest Snackmaster. Not sure if it has a fan or not as I've never used a dehydrator before, nor did it come with directions but I do hear and feel air blowing so I assume it had a blower of some sort. It does not have temperature controls.

Trying bananas and blueberries tonight, with plans to try other fruits and then jerky later on. I do have a fruit leather tray so I'll give that a shot eventually too. Will report in the morning when I see how the 'naners and blueberries turn out.

 

[Texas Patriot]

We have the Excalibur. 9 tray. Works very well and have had no issues.
I believe if you are going to purchase something you will use a great deal, buy the best you can afford. You do get what you pay for.

 

[Texas Patriot]

Oh. If you decide to dry any kind of hot peppers, place the dehydrator in the garage.

 

[Brent S]

Oh. If you decide to dry any kind of hot peppers, place the dehydrator in the garage.

appreciate the tip on peppers! I have mostly done deer jerky and apple slices. Bannanas sound good, would you soak them in lemon juice first? I'll try some celery soon, and the chives from the greenhouse. I hadn't done any spices yet either. I made some beet chips a while ago, and am here to tell you they were horrible!

 

[Texas Patriot]

We have never soaked anything in lemon juice before dehydrating it.
From what I understand, herbs should be dried by hanging them in a dry climate. We wrap them in newspaper and hang them in an unused closet.
Remember that because dehydrating uses heat to dry out your stuff, you will lose some of the nutritional value it. Not a huge amount, but some.
We use a lot of freeze dried fruits and vegetables in our daily meal preps. So we don't really dehydrate much except what we are preserving out of the garden.

 

[TheShadowKnows]

Well my bananas turned out a little chewy and extremely sweet. After a little further research it appears I didn't cut them thinly enough, and they were too ripe going in for what I wanted. I might try spraying lemon juice on them next time because I hear that helps with the crunch but I think if I use the right bananas, cut them small enough, and leave them in long enough, I'll get what I'm looking for with just plain old raw bananas. The blueberries need several hours still.

Though the bananas are not what I'd want to munch on as a snack, we are going to try baking with them. They are so sweet that they would make excellent banan bread, and I think peanut butter cookies with these banana chips on top would be an awesome treat as well.

Even with only mild success on our first attempt, I'm pretty excited about the whole dehydrating process, it seems to offer a lot of potential when it comes to food preps. We need a Food Saver to really maximize though; I'm not sure how long this stuff will keep if it's not vacuum sealed.

 

[Brent S]

Well my bananas turned out a little chewy and extremely sweet. After a little further research it appears I didn't cut them thinly enough, and they were too ripe going in for what I wanted. I might try spraying lemon juice on them next time because I hear that helps with the crunch but I think if I use the right bananas, cut them small enough, and leave them in long enough, I'll get what I'm looking for with just plain old raw bananas. The blueberries need several hours still.

Though the bananas are not what I'd want to munch on as a snack, we are going to try baking with them. They are so sweet that they would make excellent banan bread, and I think peanut butter cookies with these banana chips on top would be an awesome treat as well.

Even with only mild success on our first attempt, I'm pretty excited about the whole dehydrating process, it seems to offer a lot of potential when it comes to food preps. We need a Food Saver to really maximize though; I'm not sure how long this stuff will keep if it's not vacuum sealed.

I absolutely love the food saver. The bags are pricey, but seal great. I use it mostly for stuff in the freezer, but I even sealed some boxes of ammo for long term storage. I don't know about bananas, but the lemon juice made the apple slices better, both in flavor and color. Have you tried jerked yet? So far that's my favorite with the dehydrator.

 

[TheShadowKnows]

Haven't done jerky in it yet but I went on a spree at Cabela's last night and came away with a teriyaki jerky kit, my favorite! Going to try it next time I grocery shop and have some meat. And recommendation on the cut?

 

[Dani]

Haven't done jerky in it yet but I went on a spree at Cabela's last night and came away with a teriyaki jerky kit, my favorite! Going to try it next time I grocery shop and have some meat. And recommendation on the cut?

I like using brisket myself

 

[Brent S]

Haven't done jerky in it yet but I went on a spree at Cabela's last night and came away with a teriyaki jerky kit, my favorite! Going to try it next time I grocery shop and have some meat. And recommendation on the cut?

I usually use whatever is on sale. Any of the cheaper cuts work great, I wouldn't want to waste sirloin or anything better on jerky. As I said too, veneson is my favorite way to eat it.

 

[Gazrok]

I make egg powder by dehydrating a dozen eggs on a fruit leather sheet. Scramble eggs and pour on dehydrator fruit sheet. Dehydrate for 16 hours. Break up and put through a food processor. Store in an air tight container. To use 1 heaping Tablespoons of egg powder plus 2 Tablespoons water = 1 egg in any recipe

How long does that keep?

 

[Dani]

How long does that keep?

Honestly, I am not sure how long it would keep. I tend to make it during peak season and use during the winter months for baking and not getting so many eggs. I would imagine at least a yeat or so