first dehydrator purchase

[jimmydiablo]

Today I had to stay home with a sick child. So I took him for some fresh air and picked up a NESCO dehydrator with 4 trays. Dehydration of pineapples for snacks are in progress.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

mmmm mmm that sounds good

[SCinPNW]

Sounds good, let us know you they turn out.

SC

[Mjollnir]

My kids like pineapple from the dehydrator but absolutely love dehydrated green beans.

[jimmydiablo]

They came out great, made the house smell good to.

[jimmycthemd]

Well, you beat me to the draw by a week or so. I ordered one a week ago (should be in in about a week). I did a LOT of research and checked with a few folks at the old job that make their own jerky and dried fruit (one has a blueberry farm and dehydrates blueberries). They all had tried other brands and got the Nesco and loved it. With the heating/fan unit on top and the air distribution system they're about the best on the market for the price (mine was about $45 at WalMart).

[jimmydiablo]

$39 at kmart, I have apples and banana chips in it right now.

[PerryJeff]

I have a Cabelas 160 liter. I think it is great it costs far more than the little guys but you can put up some serious stuff. Regular about $500 I found in bargain cave for $250 with slight dent in the back plate. I think these are by far the best deals out there. I have no conection to them other then like it and for the money a great unit in my opinion...

Jeff


Cabela's Commercial Food Dehydrators


•Fully insulated housing
•Digital thermostat/timer
•Built-in drain reservoir

Do you make large quantities of jerky or other dehydrated foods, but get tired of refilling your dehydrator several times a day? Then you need the convenience of these commercial-grade dehydrators. Available in an extra-spacious 160-liter model or a large 80-liter model, they’ll tackle all your dehydrating needs in one shot. The 80-liter model has 12 (21-1/2" x 16") nonstick drying racks for a total of 28 sq. ft. Its larger counterpart has 24 (21-1/2" x 16") racks for a total of 56 sq. ft. Both have a drying power of 1,600 watts and a fully insulated housing that maintains a maximum drying temperature of 160

[jimmydiablo]

That is an amazing dehydrator, my issue is 3 kids that take most if my cash. I hope to one day buy a great dehydrator, until then. This little guy is working

[thedreamers]

Abunch of us are on budgets. We get what we can until we get more money. Sometimes the cheaper ones last years.

[jimmydiablo]

So far apples are my favorite. I can't believe how good dehydrated they taste

[1Admin]

Dry apples are the bomb. We dehydrated a bunch last year, put some away to test but ate most of them. Trees are filling up nicely again now so we should have more soon. Didn't come out as dry as commercially dehydrated- like long term storage dehydrated- but I think they would be short term storable (year or two).

[PerryJeff]

From 1Admin. Didn't come out as dry as commercially dehydrated- like long term storage dehydrated- but I think they would be short term storable (year or two).

I agree I can never get near as dry as commercial. I thought I would try putting some in the freezer on cookie sheets after they have went through the dehydrator this year to hopefully pull a bit more moisture out of them. I like to put fresh berries on cookie sheets freeze then put in baggies so you don't end up with one huge clump, and there is frost on the outside of the berries which I think is moisture being pulled from them. It might not gain me much but figured worth a try this year on some... ;o)
I like dried pear most but I don't have near as many as apple. I like the dry apples in qt bags and taking them for trips like a bags of chips...

[jimmycthemd]

I just got my Nesco in and gave it a try last night. Works great :-) Now, it's not the industrial machine some of them are, but it does the job. Would I recommend it to someone with acres of garden? No, go for the bigger ones...it's called a 'SnackMaster' for a reason. I'm going to use it to dehydrate unused mushrooms, strawberries and pineapple etc. that we overbuy for recipes and some jerky.

[gprod55]

Dehydrator

I bought a used one at a yard sale for $5 bucks and so far dehydrated bananas, tomatoes, carrots, beef, venison, onions, and apples. The apples I made were powdered with a mix of cinnamon and sugar. Turned out excellent. The beef were hamburger patties marinated as also the venison. The make is an offbrand called Aroma, its a 5 tray unit. It works great for our use. It takes it a while to get it to dehydrate completely like the tomatoes, beef and venison up too 24 hours. I also put up some hard boiled eggs using white vinegar and salt. Prepping is so much fun. The best part is after dehydrating the items it takes up less space. Rehydration can take up to 24 hours, but the items don't lose their flavor.