Dehydrator for Christmas

[Pedstone]

Well it's not the one I wanted (Excalibur) but I didn't expect my parents to spend that kind of money on a gift...it's the typical Ronco brand...I'll eventually save enough money for the best but at least I can try different fruits/veggies, crackers, etc and experiment a little to make sure I really want one..I'm sure it's getting hotter than the temp that is considered raw, but i'm starting out slowly this time with raw so I stick with it (I tried going 100% raw late this summer but got bored within a few months, creativity with food is not up my alley)
Wish me luck :)

[DebB]

I started out with my trusty Ronco as well! I bet you'll do just fine. Just remember to rotate the trays as you're dehydrating. Let us know how it goes for you! *Ü*

[Pedstone]

I started this weekend and so far have finished apples with success lol. I have bananas, cranberries, beets, & zucs in now...i did learn though that I need to put cranberries on a sheet for a while as they drip (what a mess) :)

[DebB]

I've never had much like with cranberries - did yours come out like raisins? Mine come out so dry, I could probably grind them for powder - ha!

Banana chips are soooo good. One of these days I'd like to try to dehydrate whole bananas. I bought them once at a health food store, wow were they good. I bet it'd take days and days.

I've got the neatest little gadget that I bought at a kitchen store for just a couple dollars. It slices the whole banana at once, evenly. It's worth it's weight in gold. YOu might like to keep your eye open for this if you plan on doing a lot of banana chips. I love buying the half price red banded bananas and making chips - so cheap!

I used to make *wonderful* fruit leather in my Ronco!

[sidrah]

I saw whole dehydrated bananas just tonight! I think there were only 5 or 6 in the pack. That would be something great to make on your own.

[drolemil]

I've had whole dried bananas before. They are like chewy banana bread bars. ;D

[DebB]

I've had whole dried bananas before. They are like chewy banana bread bars. ;D

Do you recall how long it took for the whole bananas to dehydrate? They were SO tasty! *Ü*

[drolemil]

Do you recall how long it took for the whole bananas to dehydrate? They were SO tasty! *Ü*

Sorry, I wasn't the one who dried them. I'm sure you can just let them sit in the D until they're all the way dry. Maybe try poking the banana every cm or so with a toothpick to increase total surface area and make them less susceptible to fermenting.

[DebB]

Sorry, I wasn't the one who dried them. I'm sure you can just let them sit in the D until they're all the way dry. Maybe try poking the banana every cm or so with a toothpick to increase total surface area and make them less susceptible to fermenting.

Thanks drolemil ~ I'm going to have to try this soon! *Ü*

[raweater]

I had started dehydrating with the "Dehydrate" mode on my digital countertop convection oven, it was 150 degrees I think but still let me try dehydrating before getting a real dehydrator. My new digital countertop oven goes as low as 120 degrees, just 2 degrees off from being raw lol, but I do have a 9 tray Excalibur with timer now.

If you do get an Excalibur later I recommend going for the 9 tray with timer, the timer is very useful if you have a recipe that's going to be ready while you're away or sleeping, or just if you don't want to have to remember to go turn it off.

[Pedstone]

Well the apples were a success, the beets were a major failure, the zuc chips were pretty good, the bananas are ok and the cranberries...well 1/2 are crunchy and 1/2 are good...so it appears there's a bit of practice in this whole thing lol...next attempt will be kale chips...

[DebB]

Mmmm - kale chips!

Oh - I also like doing leftover fresh herbs. I'll buy some for a recipe with leftovers -- I toss them in the dehydrator. *Ü*