Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: *jo* on October 20, 2010, 02:28:15 pm
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Does anyone have a food dehydrator? With all the amazing summer fruit coming in and the cost of dried fruit I was thinking it may be a good investment. Any info would be great thanks... ;D
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I would love to hear peoples thoughts alos ;D A friend has one and I have borrowed it before to make dried apple. I think if I had one I would use it. I know Quirky Jo has two I think??
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I have three of the Excalibur dehydrators and I dry a lot of fruit.
The first one I got was the 5-tray, some 25 years ago and it still works. However, after I moved up here and had access to a lot more local fruits, it was not big enough so I bought a 9-tray and later another 9-tray. I have one in my pantry all year because I use it often. It is perfect for drying bread as I don't have to fire up the oven. I bake crackers and they have to be dried well so they won't get moldy and I use it for that. I also use it to make jerky and it gets a lot of use when I make candied peel.
Before I got the Excalibur, I has several other smaller dehydrators, none worked well and I tossed them in the trash.
Here's a photo from one of my candied orange peel projects.
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h129/Basenjibabe91/Cooking/Excalibur.jpg)
I know they are available in Australia because my friend in Victoria has one. She bought it on eBay a year or so ago.
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If I would have as much space as Andie I would have one more ;). My 9-tray Excalibur is always filled with some goodies, kale chips, apples, crackers, soaked nuts and grains:
(http://img3.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads/p1050414c1p8d43ag6.jpg) (http://www.fotos-hochladen.net)
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Somehow I don't think the girls in Australia are thinking of anything that big ??? ???
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My brother has one and he loves it. He uses it to dry bits and pieces from his vegie garden that are surplus. He can't share it with me as he lives in Canberra.
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I bought one at the start of the year, but haven't used it much yet. I read an article about naturally dried fruit not being good for children systems (sugar is too concentrated from memory), so haven't wanted to dry much fruit. I do want to get into baking crackers and vegie chips though. :)
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Andie I have dehydrator envy!!! That is just mind blowing, I love the idea of doing peel too.
The kale chips sound amazing Tebasile great photograph.
I have done some research prior to my queryand the excalibur seems the mercedes benz, (it can't be the rolls royce, that badge is only for the Thermomix :D)
There is a huge price difference here in Australia too, from $90 for a Breville or similar brand that have one horizontal fan, less even air flow and longer drying time, to the $350 and some, that have two vertical fans, obviously more even air flow and faster.
Judy, Judy, Judy bigger is better!!!!!!!! LOL...except when it comes to the price tag :-\
Bummer cookie he can't share it with me either hehe.
As for the concentrated fruit, my son has type one diabetes so fructose CAN be an issue. The problem with dried fruit is not the concentration as much as we tend to eat more so hence greater intake of fructose. I might eat one maybe two fresh apricots in one sitting however give me some dried apricot halves and I can assure you I will eat more than four small pieces, which is the equivialnt to two fresh apricots.
There also doesn't appear to be the range available here, maybe that is just Perth ???
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:D :D :D :D if you have room for it *Jo* ;) ;)
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Jo hi,
They have a different brand at loose produce in Como and have run some classes in the past but I haven't managed to see them or go to the classes.
HTH
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Nice one Judy ;D
Meagan excuse my ignorance, what is Comoros? There is an organic store in Morley that sells the 5 and 9 tray excaliburs with 5yr warranty but KACHING $$$...then again Christmas is around the corner...hhmmm...
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I have a 'Harvest Maid" dehydrator. It is good, and I don't think they are very expensive. I have had mine for about 15 years without any probs. You can buy extra trays. If I have a big run of something, say Apricots, I leave it run all night. When making jellies, the residue can be spread over plastic sheets, that come with the machine, and dried as sheets of fruit . I used to make a dried vegie mix for soups, but now with the TMX, I don't bother. They supply a powder from which you make a solution to dip the fruit in to prevent it going brown. I don't use this but use lemon juice in water that does the same. I dry fruit and then Vacuum seal it in small bags. Hope this helps.
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Sorry Jo that is my iPad predicting what I am writing and correcting it. It was meant to say Como!!!
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I can vouch for the 9 tray Excalibur (recommend also the recipe book, very comprehensive). The smaller size would be filled too quickly. I make dehydrated fruit snacks for all the family, but have to say we don't consume them daily.
Judy has a point- it is fairly big- but it is reasonably light ( like the TMX) and can be moved around. Before we had our kitchen done it used to be carried between rooms! The trays are the heaviest part, but can be easily removed and stored away.
WOW Andiesenji :o :o :o I would love to see your gadget collection ;D ;D ;D
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I found an interesting review about dehydrators- it might be topical for the raw foodists
http://www.greensmoothie.com/dhd/specs-exc.html#temp
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Hehehe Meagan if you are like me I can't stand corrective text, like I need an inanimate object telling me what to do??? :P Thank you for the information.
I had seen that site Gabry, if only it was $30 difference in between a five and nine tray here and now, it is approx $100-$120 which makes a difference. I didn't think of strorage, good thing you mentioned that...oh well, DH needn't know about that extra detail :-))
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it gets a lot of use when I make candied peel.
Sorry Andiesenji- I meant to ask- I would love to know how to make candied peel in the Excalibur- would you be happy to tell me?
Thanks in advance :-* :-*
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I'm hoping to get one withing the next year. At the moment I just use my fan forced oven with the door popped open, set to about 70 deg and that is fine for fruit. Only takes about 3 hours to do apples.
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I also have a Harvest Maid and have had it probably for 15 years as well. You can get 2 sizes one that will stack up to 15 trays I think and it has a smaller circumference, the one with the larger circumference can stack up to 30 trays. You can get them at Harvey Norman - but they are no longer Harvest Maid. The new name escapes me. Don't bother with a Sunbeam or any other 'toy' variety. Get a good one and be done with it.
You can buy solid sheets for doing fruit leather or anything liquid and a mesh sheet so you don't have to sit the fruit directly on the shelves. I strongly recommend the mesh sheets because it is easier to get fruit off those than it is to scrape it off the rack if it has stuck. Many of your summer stone fruits - apricots, nectarines etc will need to be poached before you dehydrate.
I love mine and my only regret is that here in the tropics it is difficult to get reasonable priced fruits that you would like to dehydrate. Mine mostly does Mango at this time of the year if I can get some from friends.
Hope this helps.
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I know the retail price of the Excalibur is high in Australia but my friend got one on eBay for less than $100. Australian and as it was within about an hour drive, she was able to avoid paying for shipping.
Unless you are in a hurry, watch for one second hand. They are practically indestructible, unless one backs over it when it is sitting in the driveway (my bad!) and as I said earlier, my oldest has been in service for more than 25 years.
Before I had my kitchen remodeled I would place them on top of my clothes washer and dryer, although from time to time one had to operate while setting on a tray table - if I needed to use the top-loading washer.
I didn't make the citrus peel in the dehydrator. I just put it in there to dry after cooking as it speeds up the process considerably.
Made a bunch of dried banana chips last night and this morning. Sorry, didn't think to take a photo. I've been busy taking photos of my various collectibles for my blog. This morning put up photos of a very interesting "collectible" teapot - one not designed for actual use.
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You can get them at Harvey Norman - but they are no longer Harvest Maid. The new name escapes me.
I think the new name might be Ezi dri. Those 2 names are somehow intertwined though I am not sure exactly how.
Oh my goodness, those excalibur ones look amazing! I imagine comparing those to my little ezi dri model is like comparing a TMX to a Breville food processor or similar. Oh well, I have my TMX now so the Ezi dri will suffice for dehydrating!
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Jo I went to loose produce today and they have the Excalibur ones, impressive but pricey!!
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Hi Jo, I have the Harvest Maid and love it. Have been using it for years to do anything from dried chillies (great when there are so many in the garden that you just don't know what to do with them), to fruit leather. I don't even bother to look at the directions anymore as the HM has the guide on the machine. There are some things that do take ages, but the result is worth it.
I love to dry capsicum (red especially) and then chop it (TM now of course) and jar it up and use for a quick sauce for chicken. Mine lasts in the jar in the cupboard for 12months or more.
Cut up some chicken thighs into nice chunks and brown in a skillet with some EVOO. Add lots of crushed garlic, the minced dried capsicum and stir to soften. Add cream to make a nice sauce by reducing down. This is really yummy served with either steamed rice or flat noodles / pasta.
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Thank you EVERYONE...I am going to invest in one...when I do I hope I can please rely on you with info on some recipes...now to get DH on board, oh that's easy ;)
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I have had a dehydrator for years and my DH does awesome beef jerky. He likes to try out differnt marinades, but the best one is just plain ole sweet chilli sauce! Only trouble is, it doesnt last long once the kids find it!!!
Julia
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I have a food dehydrator - L'Equip Filter Pro. I have used it to dry various bits of fruit and also mushrooms - the results have been fantastic - if you've got the room, it's a great thing to have and you then know that you're dried fruits haven't had sugar added to them or that they have been dipped in oil!
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After researching a bit into Excalibur dehydrators I want one :o might have to sell a few more TMs to be able to though!!!!
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I'm looking around the house for stuff to sell on gumtree LOL
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i was given an old sunbeam healthy food dryer from my mum, that she has had for years but never really used it much.
i am at the moment drying some onion as i would like to make my own dried onion soup mix.
has anyone else had a go at this and been successful?