Adventures in dehydrating

“I have a Snackmaster Express, I had heard noise was a problem, but I don't find it to be all that loud.”

“We have a cheapy Mr Coffee dehydrater. It's not very noisy at all. It does crank out some heat though.”

“last week I dehydrated some tomatoes. Now is the time for that. They will be great for soups,stews and sauces.”

“Ewker, I presume it worked well or you would have said otherwise. I love sun dried tomatoes but they are freaking expensive. Did the finished product wind up basically the same thing?”

“yeah basically the same. Plus the good part, it didn't cost me a dime. A guy at work brought in about 1/2 bushel. I took what was left over after everyone else picked out what they wanted”

“I used Lowry's Season Salt and just gave the meat a good coating of it, 'heavily sprinkled' is the best way i can describe it - not like i rolled it in the stuff like you would if you were putting breading on something, but it was well salted. It would have been gross if it were table salt, but the Lowry's has a good flavor (to me at least) anyway.

The marinade probably would have enough salt to prevent any bacteria during the curing, but it would vary from type to type i guess.”

“you can also dry food in your oven :) it isn't so loud...

or out in the sun.....(lol.....)”

“Alright, I finally perfected the beef jerky.

Now it's onto to apples. How should I go about slicing them? I was thinking just cut out the core and slice across to make rings, then cut the rings in half and dry that way, any other ideas. I guess it doesn't really make any difference...”

“i have an apple corer/skinner/slicer thing (i usually leave the skins on though). after i spin it through this contraption, the core is gone and the apple is sliced with one coninuous soiral slice (like a spiral cut ham). i then cut the apple in half, making half moon shaped slices. lay them on the dehydrator tray, and sprinkle with cinnamon. dry until desired moisture content is reached (i make mine kind of crunchy).

i'll look for a link to a corer/slicer/skinner thing if you are interested.”

“i like baume's idea.

I usually cut into quarters, core and then slice about 1/8 inch thick.”

“Baume, thanks. Post that link if you can find it. We need to find a contraption that will make uniform 1/8" slices, and that's big enough to cut something up to the size of a pineapple.”

“I think I may have become a dehydrator addict :)”

“something like this ?”

“yes, like what hoi linked to.

mine has a clamp on the bottom (similar to a C clamp) instead of a suction cup. i made a little stand for it out of oak, but it would clamp to a table or counter just as easily.”

“i think mine came from pampered chef or somewhere like that.”

“I bet those are easy to find in town somewhere that sells nicer kitchn or gourmet stuff.

Now that I see a pic i know what i'm looking for.”

“OK then its like this”

“

the stand i made is almost identical to the one in the picture.
last edited: 9/15/05 1:09:05 PM”

“i'm sure you could find one somewhere like bed, bath and beyond.”

“the peeler part has a pin that locks it away from the apple so you can leave the skin on if you choose to.”

“thats exactly what i was thinking. Theres all sorts of gourmet stores around too.”

“hmmmm.... Thanks, I may have to drop into a kitchen store type place and see what they have. Can you use it to spiral cut without peeling?”

“I leave the peeling on since that is where all the vitamins are. I use the good old Ronco Dial-A-Matic for slicing. I got it yrs ago and it still works great.


BTW Ronco has their pocket fisherman back out. Perfect for bping trips.



”

“yes, you can spiral cut without peeling.”

“That looks like a good slicer Ewker, I just got a cheap slicer at the store so we'll see how that works.”

“I think I will run by the "Buy it on TV" store over in Sevierville the next time I am by there.

I should be able to get something that will slice, dice AND puree.”

“Buy it on TV store...only in the Smokies area. That is what brings the tourist in..lol”

“LMAO, actually they have two or three.



Everytime I have to drive from Gatlinburg back to the Interstate, I tell myself a root canal is a better experience.”

“I try to avoid that area if at all possible.

Check to see if they have the Pocket Fisherman in stock...that name cracks me up

I bet some guy has his hand in pocket baiting himself..lol”

“I have that apple, corer, slicer thing from Pampered Chef, it works great and you can peel or not peel the apples Roam and Bison, you can use mine.”

“YIPPEE!!!”

“Apple slicing party at chante's house?”

“I deyhdrated blueberries, pears and pineapples over the weekend. My house was smelling pretty yummy!”

“i bet it was tarabull. i love the smell of dehydrating fruit.”

“How many of you treat your fruit (like apples) before you dry it to prevent browning?”

“Anybody dehydrated mangos?

Any tips, how should they be cut, how long will they take to dry?

I've got a box of 'em, so I'll probably put some in today.”

“Mangos! I love mangos. I used to eat them when I lived in American Samoa. Just can't seem to get really good ones here though.

I think I would slice them as thinly as possible. They will probably stick to the tray, like bananas, so you might want to use some Pam. I still have not been successful dehydrating bananas.”

“The secret to dehydrating bananas without using Pam is to turn them all over as soon as the top side gets a little dry (enough not to stick after being flipped).

Laborious, but I really don't like using Pam...”

“I dried them the last time length wise instead of slicing them in chips. They seem to be more chewy that way. Also dip in lemon juice or honey before you dry them then sprinkle with some cinnamon”

“I've never had a problem with bananas sticking, maybe because I dip them in a honey, water, and cinnamon mixture first?

So I guess I'll do the same mixture as I do for apples and bananas then.”

“Now this is a thread I can use....my mother in law gave me a dehydrator over Thanksgiving but I have yet to use it....any suggestions on what to dehydrate first (got a 50 miler comin up in 11 days).”

“Do you need to get a specific piece of equipment to dehydrate or can you use an oven. I've never tried to dehydrate anything before but have always been interested in learning how to do it. Trail mix starts to get expensive. If you could let me know how it works I would really appreciate that.”

“You can use your oven too. Last night I made a batch of venision jerky. I put 2 trays in the over, then filled the drhydrater with the rest. It took about 3 hours in the oven at 200* The consistency is different but, both are good!
Or ... make your own
http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/dehydratorstryder.htm”

“Chappy, I suggest you start with apples, they're easy and delicious.

Ok, I've got eight trays of apples and mangos going, we'll see how the mangos come out in a few hours.”

“I use the oven sometimes. Mostly for thinner things like spaghetti sauce or soup.

I use a cookie sheet, turn it on it's lowest setting (warm), and prop the door open with a wooden spoon.”

“Ok, Bison, apples it is..so off to the gro. store I go.................”

“I find that drying is not that practical unless I get free fruit. I'm the only one in my house who will eat it, and I've got a lot of dried apples and apricots that I am slowing munching down.

Drying goes a lot faster if you have air movement, so that would not be possible in an oven. I'm sure you could dry stuff there, however.”