Applicance Recommendations

[JoyfulSoul]

Getting a dehydrator and food processor. Any recommendations or words of caution?

[Mommax4]

I love my excalibur dehydrator. I bought it off ebay and it came with 7 teflex sheets. As far as food processor, one with a good strong motor. I bought a cheap one for $60 and I love it...it holds up to 9 cups.

[NoGMO!]

the Excalibur is really great - they make a 5 tray and a 9 tray - it really depends on how much of your food you will be dehydrating - for how many people and how much kitchen space you have.
also, I get alot of use out of my Champion Juicer - it's very durable and versatile... and the Saladacco Spirializer comes in handy for pasta (it's manually operated)
;)

[tracyinfo]

I love my Excalibur and my cuisinart. Don't have other brands to compare!

Blessings.

[ajay5150]

I too have an excalibur and enjoy using it. I regret not getting the 9 tray though becuase some of my recipes take up the space of 2 trays and it would be helpful to have more tray space.

However I have since learned of stainless steel dehydrators and am thinking they might be of finer quality. You can usually find these on ebay for between 250 and 600 dollars US.

As far as the food processor, cuisanart is probably the best. I have a hamilton beach that I'm happy with. But whatever you do, get a big one. I suggest 7 cups or more.

[levamssg]

I use my excalibur dehydrator all the time - I have the 9 tray. The adv. of the excalibur is that it heats from the back so all trays dry uniformly, -- no need to rotate trays. And I would definitely go for the 9-tray -- when you start doing breads, burgers, etc -- they take up a lot of height space so you need to remove trays. Right now, though, I have all 9 trays filled with tomatoes.

I use my food processors a lot -- have a small cuisinart and large GE from Walmart. My large processor has a chute on it for spitting stuff out ... I would NEVER get that again. It is annoying and takes up way too much counter space. My small one is great for little jobs.

Other stuff I have and use ...
I use my juicer daily - have a Greenstar. Use it for lots more than just juice!!
I have a citrus juicer for quickie needs of lemon/lime juice
and my new Spirooli will be used frequently I'm very sure.
and of course - the Vitamix. Can't live without that one! .. salad dressings - smoothies, sauces -- etc etc etc

[rawrev]

Getting a dehydrator and food processor. Any recommendations or words of caution?

Hi, I have a L'Equip dehydrator and blender (similar to VitaMix), along with a Cuisinart food processer, and like them all. I also have a spiralator and a Solostar juicer for wheatgrass and greens (it's pretty good on veggies too).

rawrev

[VeggieMel]

Originally, I bought one 4 tray dehydrator. Then that wasn't enough, so I bought another 4 tray dehydrator. Now I wish I had bought the 9 tray to begin with. Just something to consider.

[DevotedWife]

Hello everyone. I've decided to get an Excalibur dehydrator, and have only one question. What are your opinions on timer vs non? I would love to save money on Ebay, but have convinced myself that I need one w/a timer and haven't seen any of those listed. I normally work 12 hr shifts if that helps. It's just me for now, so I'm getting a 5 tray.

:o Purple is my fav color..couldn't resist.

[SedonaSun]

I don't have one with a timer, but I would certainly consider it next time. There are times I start drying something that only takes a few hours, or takes many hours but will probably end while I'm sleeping. Ideally I'd like to be able to start dehydrating any time its convenient for me instead of having to work it around sleeping or being at work.

Granted, a lot of foodstuff it won't matter if it's in a few more hours, but there are other things that DO matter if they get over-done -- at least they matter to me.

However, depending on the price difference, I might convince myself it's not that much of an inconvenience ;)

[Bretta]

I bought one with the timer and I love it! However, it was recommended to me before my purchase to buy the one without and just get a programmable timer from Walmart or Radio Shack and plug the cord into that, letting it do the same job. Good plan, but I was buying the nine tray and it just seemed a better buy with the timer from the Excalibur website...due to the reasons listed in the following thread:
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5766


Hope that helps a little.
Bretta

[JoyfulSoul]

Very helpful everyone. The excalibur looks like the way to go for sure. I've read about different types of trays. Which extra kinds should I pick up?