Jump to content

food dehydrators?


janer1114

Recommended Posts

I'm curious about this as well.... I made paleo/whole30 beef jerky last year but it was kinda meh. The more I ate, the more I got used to it but it was nowhere near as good as actual jerky. Bass Pro Shop sells a gun sort of thing (looks like a cake icer or caulking gun) that allows you to make jerky out of ground meat and I've been thinking about how well it would work and whether a dehydrator was worth the cost.

 

I'd also like to dehydrate fruits (pineapple, strawberry, peaches mainly) and sweet tater strips (there are how tos out there for dogs but I'd like to make human style ones lol).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the Nesco American Harvest Gardenmaster Pro and it works great. (bought  for approx $90) I make my own jerky (with the jerky gun and ground beef/turkey/pork) and it turns out awesome. I wouldn't be using the spice blends that come with the gun and that can be bought separately though as they contain ingredients that are not Whole30 compliant. But there are lots of compliant recipes you can use out there to season your jerky. I also do sweet potatoes a lot and apples are great. Zucchini, beets, the possibilities are endless.  I also just started dehydrating cranberries as I have had a problem finding them that don't contain added sugar. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could do it either way based upon your preference. If you like them a little softer like fruit leather you could cut them a little thicker and dehydrate them for a shorter period, but I find them too chewy this way. I do them that way when I make treats for my dogs (it keeps them busy chewing for awhile ;) . I like to dehydrate them into a more chip-like texture. I just use the food processor blade to slice them thin, rub a little oil and salt and then dehydrate. Also kale is unbelievable in the dehydrator. A little coconut oil and salt massaged onto the leaves and dehydrate..... delicious. Oh and blueberries.... so good. There are so many things you can do in the dehydrator. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

I've always wanted a food dehydrator but I've resisted because I'm basically scared I'm going to buy the world's supply of bananas and dehydrate them all into banana chips and then eat myself into a sugar coma.  So.......ya.  :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always wanted a food dehydrator but I've resisted because I'm basically scared I'm going to buy the world's supply of bananas and dehydrate them all into banana chips and then eat myself into a sugar coma.  So.......ya.   :(

 

 

Haha, me too Shanny. Or that I will make and eat so many banana bread "larabars" that I'll start to look like one. It's absolutely impossible to find unsweetened banana chips here and I hate heating my apartment with the oven so I haven't made them yet. If I got a dehydrator I'd have to work really hard to not do that lol....I like the idea of dried veggies though. I'm always looking for something with a crunch or chew and dried sweet taters or kale might hit the spot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always wanted a food dehydrator but I've resisted because I'm basically scared I'm going to buy the world's supply of bananas and dehydrate them all into banana chips and then eat myself into a sugar coma.  So.......ya.   :(

 

I have only dehydrated bananas once.... and never again for that reason alone. I became a woman possessed. Pineapple is another one that I don't do for that reason as well. I only do the fruits that I know I won't go crazy with. Apples, blueberries and cranberries are pretty safe around me.  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Wow I have a l'equip dehydrator. I got it as a wedding gift years ago Never used it. My husband remarked about it the other day. It sounds like all of you have made things successfully. My concern is how long to dehydrate. So any of your recipes will be much appreciated. We are driving from MontreAL to Delaware for my niece's wedding in October and want some healthy munchies for the long ride Of course it should be compliant. This way we don't have to rely on Lara bars thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi! I'm still learning to use mine, but have happily reduced mountain-ish sized piles of kale to large bags of kale (and could reduce them further if I wanted to crumble them), and really like the results I got with making tomato leathers. You know how some recipes call for a tablespoon of tomato paste and then you are left with an open, unused can of the stuff? With a roll of tomato leather you just rip off whatever size chunk you want. Dehydrated blueberries are great, but you need uniformly-sized blueberries... I have several different varieties of blueberry bushes, and they are everything from tiny to grape-size, so I found they didn't dry at the same rate & so required sorting. I made "crackers" once... I was trying to find a use for the pulp from my juicer. They were okay... mostly.... but with sufficient experimentation I'm pretty sure you could make something amazing. Excalibur has a dehydrator "how-to" book that would probably be worth the price. I was suffering from sticker shock when I bought my Excalibur dehydrator, so I opted for the cheaper, but well-reviewed, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dehydrating Foods". It's very useful, especially for a novice like me (and I could relate to the title). Probably your local library has something you could play with until you find the right book for you. I don't think there are really recipes per se, and every dehydrator works differently, so it's really the technique you are looking for. The recipes come later... when you are trying to rehydrate your masterpieces into something edible. BTW... if you want crunch, uniformly thin slices via a mandolin (or food processor) are the way to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always wanted a food dehydrator but I've resisted because I'm basically scared I'm going to buy the world's supply of bananas and dehydrate them all into banana chips and then eat myself into a sugar coma.  So.......ya.   :(

We have a really large stainless steel food dryer.  Almost as big as a fridge.  We make whopping boatloads of our own jerky.  Wild game, beef, bison, fish, vegetables and berries.   Bear makes jerky by the bag and we hand it out to all of our folkaronies.  They beg for it and we can't keep it on the shelf.  We've never made a banana or mango chip.  Buy one and don't go there with the fruit. 

 

We use it for his work, camping, fishing, hunting and hiking.  It's a great investment.  You'll lurve it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...