What not to put in a dehydrator?

[Jeannie]

HI all!

Very excited, got my dehydrator yesterday, and made some sweet potato chips, the kids and I polished off the lot in one go! Had them with some guacomole and it was so good! Also made some zucchini chips, potato chips, and kiwi fruit.

There was a little bit of space left on one rack so I cut up half an onion, sprinked with some cumin, but..... what a horrible smell...lol...so strong and pungent, nearly drove us all out the house! Never again!:eek:

Has anyone had a nasty experience or a huge flop with their dehydrator?

[Aleesha Sattva]

onions in the dehydrator are usually gooooooooooooooood. so are mushrooms.

no flops that i can think of.

[Jeannie]

Lol... Aleesha, they actually did come out good in the end, so if I do decide to do them again I will make sure I leave the house while they dehydrate!:)

[modernmonkey]

My dehydrator is on its way too. You know you're serious about raw food when you spend over £200 on kitchen equipment. I'm sure there will be lots of questions coming from me soon!

[Jeannie]

@ Modernmonkey: *laughing* Sooo true! I have spent a fair bit on tools for the kitchen recently too, but with all the health benefits we will soon be experiencing... we will save heaps on doctors bills and pills!

[Aleesha Sattva]

My dehydrator is on its way too. You know you're serious about raw food when you spend over £200 on kitchen equipment. I'm sure there will be lots of questions coming from me soon!

actually i disagree with you. how much did your stove cost? well over 200 i bet! how about your toaster oven? ours was over 100 dollars. how about the coffee maker? there's another 100.

do you have a slow cooker, wok, pots and pans? how about a waffle iron? those are all pricey items.

i figure raw foods is waaaaaaaaaaaay less expensive. you need so little compared to cooked foods.

[modernmonkey]

Then it's a personal thing. I have none of the items you mention and I am in rented accommodation. I have never spent more than £50 on a kitchen item. Personally, it is an unusual thing for me to have done this but it is a credit to this lifestyle. I have absolute faith in it which is why I know I'm serious when I part with my money for a dehydrator (and the best in its range). I also agree long term it will be value for money otherwise I wouldn't have bought it. I'm just trying to be humorous about the subject. I think it's revealing and complimentary.:)

[zinny]

I also have never purchased a stove, coffee maker, wok, etc. (Right now I'm renting, which here means you have to have your own appliances--so really no oven at all! I do have a cheap two-plate burner, usually kept high on a shelf.)

But I have shelled out plenty over the past few years for the big-ticket raw food prep stuff. BTW I think that the #1 raw food tool is an excellent knife; my favorite appliance is the juicer. I go through spurts with the dehydrator, not using it for months and then suddenly filling the whole thing up. I also find the smells to often be overly intense. A friend keeps hers in the garage, which seems to work well.