Dehydrating

[tonibird1]

Ok, so now I have Alissa's book and I love it however, I do not have a dehydrator. I read somewhere that you can achieve the same thing in the oven on a very very low temp and the door slightly open. Any truth to this? Will the food still be raw?? I want to try some of the recepies but I am not ready to go and spend a lot of money on a dehydrator. Suggestions please. :rolleyes:

[Revvell]

Here are a few answers to your question: http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5409&highlight=dehydrating+oven

[Rawkinlocs]

Also, you can get a dehydrator that won't cost a lot of money by either:

1. Going on eBay and seeing if anyone is selling theirs
2. Sign up for the Freecycle Yahoo Group in your area and put a request out there...never know!
3. Do what many of us did by going to Walmart or Walmart.com (or http://everythingkitchens.com) and getting a round model, American Harvest Snack Master with temp. control for under $50 (and in some cases even under $30)! I know that in Michigan, Walmart had marked them down from $45 to like $30...I believe someone in Chicago said they had been marked down to $20. It works great and you can do a lot with it even if it IS round...many people would say things like, "I can't make the pizza because it has the hole in the center"

Since WHEN does the shape of a pizza have anything to do with how it TASTES?!? LOL! I've made pizza, crackers, breads, cookies, nut burgers and a whole lot more in my little el' cheapo round dehydrator :D

[tvillemom]

RK...I was doing a search...and trying to justify the cost of a dehydrator, and with Christmas around the corner (the kids come first), the el-cheapo Walmart brand is looking better and better. Wondering if there is anyone out there who is HAPPY with their Walmart brand? What things will I NOT BE able to do (that I could have done with the Excaliber?) I know creativity will go a long way. :D Thanks for your help.
Wendi

[Matilda]

tonibird

I have a cheap Walmart dehydrator. So far I am totally happy with it. I just bought some extra teflex sheets so I am good to go. I think the only reason it would be a problem is if you made a bread with some height?

I made Alyssa's blueberry bread today, and I believe it said to make the bread 2" high. I was not able to do that. I just made a few smaller loaves.

Anyway, so far I am happy with it. I put a thermometer in, and the temperature seems to be pretty accurate.

It's late...I am rambling...hope I helped.

[rawpriestess]

I don't have one of those, but I know people who do, who love it.

If you do not wish to justify the expense of a more expensive one, then buy the less expensive Walmart brand, I hear it works great, and you deserve a wonderful fun gadget that you will use in your raw food prep, and this is a nice way to do that.

Good luck on your choices.

[tvillemom]

Thanks ya'll for the advice. I am off to Walmart, happy that I FINALLY made up my mind.....maybe if use the cheaper model for a while, I can justify a nicer model. I think I read a thread here one time where someone actually cut their trays on the Walmart brand (buying extra trays that is) to make room for higher items, but still allowing it to stack......does anybody remember this?? I think they even had a diagram of how they did it! I'll do a search and see what I come up with. Thanks again, Matilda, and RP, you definitely helped make up my mind. By the way, Matilda, did you find texflex sheets for the Walmart brand, or are you rigging your own? I need to know these things. Thanks again.
Wendi :D

[Matilda]

tvillemom,
I apologize for not addressing you in my last post. I confess that I didn't notice it was someone different asking about the dehydrator. Sorry.

The dehydrator comes with one teflex--or rather--fruit leather tray. To start, I used that one tray, and wax paper on the other shelfs. That worked find for a couple of things. But than it got a little messy with others.
So when I figured I would probably be using this dehydrator for a while, I went to Walmart to buy more "fruit leather" trays.
I am not sure if they always have them. I lucked out when I went I think. I saw no dehydrator for sale, but there were trays at the end of the aisle.

I am not a chatty person---I don't know how I manage to get such long posts for simple questions. :)

[tvillemom]

Just brought my dehydrator home!!! :D :D :D I found the one fruit leather tray, but I think I will use their order form to go ahead and buy some extras! Thanks for your help! Can't wait to put something in it....
Wendi