Any serious food dehydrator people here?

[Susie]

I hear good things about the Cabela's dehydrators. And they are cheaper than Excalibur's.

 

[Lin19687]

I bought this one from Amazon and it is doing Very well !
It has been going almost non stop for the past 2 weeks

 

[DeeAnna]

...Anyone ever put it on the deck/desk table during good weather due to the heat inside issue?...

Yes, I sometimes put a dehydrator on a table under a roof so it's outdoors but protected. Some foods are just plain smelly, such as onions and garlic. Some foods can trigger allergies or respiratory problems. Garlic and mushrooms are two examples.

A lot of dehydrating can be done in the fall when the extra warmth in the house isn't a problem.

Elderberry harvest is in August, however, and that's a problem. I put up with drying them indoors this year, but I'd prefer to dry them outdoors if possible. The catch is finding a safe place protected from damage and weather that also has electrical service. Elderberries take 1 1/2 to 2 days to dry, and the weather doesn't usually cooperate for that long.

If the stuff I'm dehydrating only takes a short time to dry (July elderflower only needs 12 hours or so), sometimes I'll set up the dehydrator batch to run indoors during the night and morning and just live with the unwanted heat.

edit for @Susie -- We have 1 old Exalibur and 2 Cabellas. Good luck with both so far (knock on wood). Excaliburs cost considerably more than Cabellas for the same capacity. There are pros and cons to both brands -- I don't absolutely prefer one over the other.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Lin19687 said: ↑
...Anyone ever put it on the deck/desk table during good weather due to the heat inside issue?...

I guess I have never had an issue with any heat coming off of mine--but it does get put out in the garage for onions and mushrooms---I did onions a year ago and can still smell them faintly in the garage when its humid outside. mushrooms smell like dirty feet when drying

 

[Lin19687]

LOL I am currently drying mushrooms. Some smell but I didn't find it too bad. My DD on the other hand was mortified that I did that inside lol

I completely missed the Elderberries this year. I couldn't find any And I wanted them so bad !!! But I have Turkey Tail mushrooms for Tea that I can use for Immune boost @DeeAnna .

I do have Ginger and lemons I want to dehydrate for tea for the Winter.
I have a deck with a table and a big umbrella. I have just been waiting on good weather so I can do it with out wetness.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I am in the middle of apples. I missed out on peaches and pears this year and it was too wet this year for strawberrie, they molded--bummer. I need to coordinate soap making and dehydrating better next year. I am going to miss my fruit this winter

 

[Lin19687]

I have apples in now, but as soon as DD finds them they will be gone

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I have apples in now, but as soon as DD finds them they will be gone

I have a list of people waiting for them --ya really gotta try yogurt--your DD will love it too

 

[DeeAnna]

Mushrooms might not be a deal breaker for me if I dried them indoors, but my spouse is definitely allergic to morels. If I dried morels in the house and his body reacted to whatever weird mushroom chemicals were floating around in the air, I'd never forgive myself.

 

[Lin19687]

Ok, Red Delicious apples taste bland when dehydrated But slightly over ripe mangos are great
I have dried Honey Mushrooms, Miatake, Chicken of the woods and Turkey Tails.
Several herbs and wild plants.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Red Delicious apples taste bland

the best I have found so far are honeycrisp--and I always add cinnamon sugar to mine too, they maybe not be super healthy but they are super good

 

[DeeAnna]

My DH likes cortland to dry because it doesn't brown, but I don't think this apple has a lot of flavor. It might look purty, but flavor is way more important to me.

 

[jcandleattic]

the best I have found so far are honeycrisp--and I always add cinnamon sugar to mine too, they maybe not be super healthy but they are super good

Honeycrisp is what I make my apple pies with. Either by themselves or with a Gala or 2 mixed in...

Sorry I can't contribute to the dehydrating convo as I don't have one and have never used one.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Honeycrisp

my friends have 5 trees of them--they are a wonderful apple aren't they?

 

[Lin19687]

I will try the Honey crisp and the Gala (we get these regularly anyway).

 

[DeeAnna]

If you like Honey Crisp (I do), look for SweeTango apples. We bought some from our local orchard along with Honey Crisp to compare. ST apples are just as crunchy and super juicy as HC, but a bit more tartness and IMO a more distinct apple flavor. I think most people will like ST as well or better than HC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

will keep my eye open for Sweet Tango--thanks. I also will be watching out for the First Kiss apples from the UofM. they are supposed to be like Honey Crisp but be ready to harvest 4 weeks earlier. sounds like the will be called Rave in other states

 

[jcandleattic]

If you like Honey Crisp (I do), look for SweeTango apples. We bought some from our local orchard along with Honey Crisp to compare. ST apples are just as crunchy and super juicy as HC, but a bit more tartness and IMO a more distinct apple flavor. I think most people will like ST as well or better than HC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango

I'll have to look for these. I like tartness in my apple pies as well, and will usually use Granny Smith apples just to get that tartness...