Which dehydrator?

[juliebove]

I am considering buying a dehydrator but not sure what to buy. My father in law was given one as a gift, but he said it was pretty useless to him since it did so little at one time. He mainly used his to dry various fruits and veggies from his garden. I was considering the Excalibur, but it that might be too huge for me. There are three of us here, but it's not likely that my husband would eat much in the way of raw food. Not sure at this point that my daughter would go 100% either, but she has a lot of food alleriges and much of this type of diet would be doable for her. I am mainly doing research at this point, but eating more and more raw food. I am allergic to almonds and many of the recipes I see call for those. At this point I have mixed feelings about getting a dehydrator because I'm not sure how much use I would give it. I do have diabetes so I wouldn't be doing much in the way of fruit.

[SamuelWilson]

I strongly recommend the Excalibur Dehydrator Model ED 2900 (9 Tray) which is sold at Alissa's Store. To purchase this dehydrator, click here (http://www.alissacohen.com/dehydrator9tray.html).

[JinxieKat]

You will be amazed how much food you can have dehydrating at one time. I got the 8 tray american harvest garden master and I do love it. I'm the only one raw in the house and I've had up to 5 trays going at a time and I've only had it for a week! I can see were the Excalibur would be a very good thing though. I had limited funds at the time so I went with the garden master. It is a good dehydrator, just going to take some creative work to manage the taller stuff. But I think since I have so many trays I'm simply going to cut the mesh out of one, that will get me alot of room for taller stuff :) Maybe when this one dies I'll upgrade to the Excalibur, unless someone would like to buy a very gently used Garden Master :D

Jinx

[maraw]

I posted a similar thread not quite a year ago. I had a L'Equip and wasn't pleased with it for several reasons. I sold it on eBay and bought a (very highly recommended) 5-tray Excalibur. I am so glad I did. It made a huge difference. I am also the only one in my house that eats raw, but my dehydrator is running almost 24/7.

Hope this helps.
Anna

[prana]

In contrast to Maraw,

I love my L'equip. It is true that the size is smaller than the Excalibur, but it doesn't take up all your counter space. We have two raw folks in our house and this dehydrator is perfect. By the way, it isn't a small dehydrator, just smaller than the Excalibur and comes with a 12 year warranty!


(SoapBox)
Another plus (for some) is that it doesn't come with teflex sheets. Most people here enjoy these sheets, but the chemical on them comes from DuPont, it is teflon. If you have been up with the news lately teflon is impossible to remove from our environment once it begins to break away from its product (which happens over time). The towns that produce these products are winning lawsuits becuase teflon has become highly predominant in their water supplies. I could go on and on, but seriously, teflon is highly questionable as far as health goes. Think beyond your dehydrated foods and do something better for the earth and your neighbors.

[vivctfem27]

I am wondering what people use on the dehydrator trays so things wont stick? I dont want to use anything with teflon, thanks and btw my name is vivian and i just found this great web site. New to raw about 2 weeks but been on the health journey for about 10 yrs, feels right to go raw, i am loving it but need practical advice , such as the question above.

[SamuelWilson]

Vivian, so glad you could join us. I use cold pressed flax oil. It is the most flavorless of all the oils and it works great. Olive oil tends to impart a flavor in dehydrated items.

[Punky]

I have the 9 tray Excaliber as well and love it.
It is big though. I haven't used other brands so cannot vouch for them.
I like that I can put big plates and dishes in it by removing some trays.
I've put a whole lasagna in there before! a raw vegan lasagna that is ;)
With lots of extra room to boot.
The 5 tray is the same size except shorter.

I have the L'Equip juicer and LOVE it. So I believe they are a reputable company with good warranties. Haven't used the dehydrator but worth
a comparison on price, warrenties and features.

[Punky]

(SoapBox)
Another plus (for some) is that it doesn't come with teflex sheets. Most people here enjoy these sheets, but the chemical on them comes from DuPont, it is teflon. If you have been up with the news lately teflon is impossible to remove from our environment once it begins to break away from its product (which happens over time). The towns that produce these products are winning lawsuits becuase teflon has become highly predominant in their water supplies. I could go on and on, but seriously, teflon is highly questionable as far as health goes. Think beyond your dehydrated foods and do something better for the earth and your neighbors.

Prana, thanks for the info on the teflon. I didn't now that about the teflex sheets. I already have some though (came with the dehydrator). Does it come off in the food? I never like to use teflon pots and pans when cooked.
Would wax paper or parchment paper work well instead?

[Revvell]

Excalibur 9-tray.

Revvell

[Punky]

Oh I just wanted to add that since you didn't want to do too much fruit since
your diabetic, that Alissa's enchiladas are very yummy and need the dehydrator.
I also made corn chips to eat with stuff too. My very cooked meat eating husband ate and liked both of these very much. You can do raw pizza in the dehydrator too; or a raw lasagna (no almonds). Let's see what else, flax crackers of course.
People are raving about Alissa's pizza bread wrap for sandwhiches. I can't remember if these have almonds or not.
Also popular on the boards is the chili and onion bread recipes which use the dehydrator. People going nuts over those two recipes; do a search (banana button up top) to get the recipes. Oh and Alissa's stuffed mushrooms are really awesome and taste like cooked ones and very hearty and filling. I beleive they use pinenuts in them.

How old is your daughter?

[juliebove]

Thanks everyone for your responses. My daughter is 7.

[Punky]

Thanks everyone for your responses. My daughter is 7.

You can make fruit rollups for her. My kids love them.
and alissa's fruit crepes are a hit with my kids...you make banana crepe/wrappers in the dehydrator for these.

[prana]

Punky,

This is a piece of an article that was published recently...


MAKING THE TEFLON BAN STICK
Saturday, February 11, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com

On Jan. 25, health advocates and environmental groups celebrated a rare victory when eight chemical companies agreed to a partial phaseout of a harmful chemical used to make Teflon and other nonstick products. The deal to reduce the use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the result of pressure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an extremely rare example of government muscle applied to big business in an otherwise regulation-averse Bush era. DuPont, which was fined $16 million in December for hiding evidence of PFOA's health dangers, and seven other companies have agreed to voluntarily reduce use of PFOA in products by 95 percent by 2010, with a full phaseout by 2015.


The PFOA that they refer to is the chemical that makes Teflon stick to it's surface (frying pan, non-stick sheet, clothing, etc). I can't tell you what causes cancer anymore, but if a company is voluntarily getting rid of chemicals that have been under scrutiny for a number of years, I'm guessing there is truth to the issue.

Some folks here use the parchment paper instead of Teflex which can be found in healthier stores without the bleach. I use the two sheets provided by L'equip; you would have to purchase more if you were really into fruit roll-ups as the manufacture only supplies two sheets.

Hope this helps.

[Sheryl]

Can someone explain the rational in using flax for dehydrating. Exposing flax oil to air and / or light is terrible for it and makes it go rancid. For that reason it's packed in air free environments.

Would not dehydrating with it completely destroy the omega 3's and increase rancidity? When I need some oil in dehydrated things I use just a touch of coconut oil. It's saturated (good saturated) so stays healthy when dehydrated.

Looking for illumination...
Sheryl

[eachpeachpearplum]

No question, an Excalibur 9-tray. You can always use less trays but you cant make it bigger. Only my daughter and I use ours(a 4 tray) and I am saving for the 9 tray - I wish for it everyday!

When I get mine I am going to keep it either in the panrty or the garage!

[Revvell]

When making crackers, etc., the flax holds them together. We are not using the oil, we are using the whole seed ~ sometimes ground up, as often as not, just soaked.

Revvell



Can someone explain the rational in using flax for dehydrating. Exposing flax oil to air and / or light is terrible for it and makes it go rancid. For that reason it's packed in air free environments.

Would not dehydrating with it completely destroy the omega 3's and increase rancidity? When I need some oil in dehydrated things I use just a touch of coconut oil. It's saturated (good saturated) so stays healthy when dehydrated.

Looking for illumination...
Sheryl

[juliebove]

You can make fruit rollups for her. My kids love them.
and alissa's fruit crepes are a hit with my kids...you make banana crepe/wrappers in the dehydrator for these.

I thought she would like fruit leather. I loved it as a kid. But she hates it as do all of the other kids I've tried to give it to. I think the problem is that it's not as creative as the junk food kind you can buy with the tongue tattoos, the rainbow colors and all the other stuff they put in there. She has a severe banana allergy so we can't do anything with those. My husband does love banana chips. He used to eat a whole bag at a time. I guess I could make those, but I'd have to be sure that it wouldn't contaminate the dehydrator. I wouldn't want to make her sick. I don't know that bananas would do it but whenever she accidentally gets wheat, even a minute particle of it, she's sick for two days.

[juliebove]

I think I will get the 9 tray Excalibur then when I get my taxes back. Do I need to purchase the sheets separately for it? Or do some sheets come with it?

[Revvell]

Do I need to purchase the sheets separately for it? Or do some sheets come with it?

That would depend on where you purchase methinks ~ from an affiliate who has various choices and specials which include the sheets or a distributor in which case I think the sheets are separate. Haven't looked into it that thoroughly as yet.

Revvell