just general help

[charlie-imac]

We've been on the raw diet for about 2 months now and need some help. We are getting bored and have thought about getting a dehydrator but have some questions. Is it hard to plan meals when you have to dehydrate? How much noise do they make? Will we be having cooking oders? Does it help with hunger/cravings? What is the best hydrator and where is the best place to purchase from? And last, what size? I was looking at the excalibur site and see that there are several sizes.

many thanks,
charlie imac

[Shmoopie]

The popular Excalibur here seems to be the 9 tray.

[Regen]

I've had my dehydrator for several months now but only last weekend did I actaully manage to fill the whole nine trays. That said, I would be cross with myself now if I'd only had the 5 tray version as the larger one allows for more flexibility when flipping trays over and washing the liners. At first, the dehydrator was permanently on but only a third full. Now I try to use it once or twice a week but fill it when I do

Planning ahead? Yes it sort of requires planning but it's not difficult planning. A few days before my crackers run out I soak anything that needs soaking and then start the next batch so there a bit of batch overlap. Other things I make in large batches when I don't really need them: last weekend I mage a triple qty of Alissa's "sausage" and put a few in the fridge for this week and the rest in the freezer.


There are three main things I make in it - RFRW's buckwheat cereal, Alissa's sausage and a variety of crackers, mostly from RFRW.


My counter space is limited so it made sense to have a taller one as its footprint is the same as the bigger one - I don't have space for a second one!


Hope this helps

:)

[Regen]

Sorry - forgot to mention noise. When I first had it I could hear it hum and whirr all over the house and DBF complained. We seem to have filtered it out now but it's another good reason for having the bigger model and using it more often.

[elian]

I bought the 4 tray excalibur and wish for the 9 tray.

[Maria]

I have the 5 tray excalibur and it's great. I'm only feeding myself (mostly.) If I had a family I would get the 9 tray for sure. It has a low hum--not too bad. You get used to it. You need to get Teflex sheets as well as you'll use those for spreading out cracker dough and other "wet" things, one Teflex sheet for every tray. They last for a long time.

[iluvcacao]

I have the 9 tray and it does make quite a bit of noise. It also heated up my small house a bit (nice in the winter, too warm in the summer!). We have a second fridge out in our garage and I put mine on top of it. It is a good setup for me. I don't hear the noise at all. Now, I have forgotten I had something out there because I couldn't hear it too! :o