Dehydrators

I love dehydrators! I have had one for a long time and it finally gave out on me. . . in the middle of harvest . . . at the start of apple season.

Arrgh!

So I purchased a new one, Magic Chef, off of Ebay and my mother is getting me a Ronco - so now I will have two. Woohoo! I got mine in the mail today and already have some peppers in it. Once I have had both of them running for a little, I will give my review of how each is performing.

Dehydrating is a wonderful thing.

What I love:

• Once the food is dried, I can put it in jars or use a Food Saver to seal it and it will keep for quite a while.
• It takes up less space.
• I don't have to worry about losing food in the winter when the power goes out and everything in my freezer starts to dehydrate.
• I don't have to worry about freezer burn.
• If I have fruits that are starting to over-ripen before they get eaten, I can toss them in the dehydrator and add to cereal or granola or cake mix later.
• It is also great if you save seeds to plant in your garden for next year - wash the seeds and toss in the dehydrator, then store for next season.

You can use your oven to dehydrate food, but I like to use the machine itself because it keeps my oven free for supper and it is more economical.

Two of my favorite things to dry: bananas - yummm, banana chips dipped in chocolate; and apples. When I dry the apples I cut, peel, and core each apple. Then let them soak in a bowl of salt water for a minute or two, dry them off just a bit and place them in the dehydrator. I plan to use the dried apples to make old fashioned fried apple pies.

Remember, when drying food it will remove most of the water content and the food will shrink quite a bit. But you can store so much more in the same amount of space.

A few interesting reads:
http://www.budget101.com/dehydrated_foods.htm
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2003-06-01/Choosing-a-Food-Dehydrator.aspx
http://www.seasonalchef.com/appledehyd.htm