problems with dehydrating

[kmmiller11]

I tried making the banana bread last night and put it in the dehydrator and went to bed. In the morning I opened it up to turn the bread and it smelled like mold. What did I do wrong?

[crystalmoon]

Hi Im not sure what cause dthe smell...sorry. But when I tried banana bread it failed miserably & just wouldnt thicken up or dry out at all. I dont know what went wrong with mine either cos everything else Ive done in dehydrator has been fine.

[CaliRaw]

What temperature did you dehydrate on? My dehydrator (Excalibur) indicates to start the dehydrator on a higher temperature for the first 2-3 hours to get the temperature up, then turn it down to the desired temperature for the rest of the time. I start mine at 140-145, then turn it down after 2-3 hours. I have never had a problem with anything going bad while dehydrating, even food that is in there for 36 hours.

[crystalmoon]

Thanks Caliraw that's where I went wrong then...I've been starting & keeping everything on 100

[CaliRaw]

You're welcome. Sometimes, I pre-heat the dehydrator by turning it on while I'm preparing the recipe so that it has a 15-30 minute head-start, similar to cooked food where the recipe says to pre-heat for 15 minutes? I'll particularly do that at night if I plan to be in bed during the 2-3 hour initial uncooking time. That way, I'll feel more comfortable with turning it down sooner than the 2-hour mark and going to bed and letting it run through the night without it spoiling because it's not hot enough initially.