Dehydrator, cant make good stuff

tsagona

Cathlete
I bought a food dehydrator with high hopes. I have used it three times drying various fruits. I haven't made anything that has been very tasty. I was really expecting this to be fairly easy and enjoyable. I guess I am not enjoying it nor do I find it easy. Are there any people here that successfully dehydrate? I would love to get some pointers and suggestions.
 
I have not used my dehydrator in years, but as I remember dried banana slices and peach fruit leather were the most popular with my family. It was important not dry at high temperature and give it time to fully dry.

What brand of dehydrator do you have?
 
I bought one to make homemade dog treats. The dehydrator with a fan...the smell of liver drying!:eek: It stinks up the house. Next batch is going to dry in the garage.
They show how to make homemade fruit roll ups with applesauce, but I limit my fruit(sugar) intake to under 30 grams a day and fruit adds up fast!
 
I love dehydrating but I don't really do fruit. I use it for making crackers out of flax/chia, tomato, carrot, zuchinni, all kinds of veggies and herbs. I also like dehydrating sprouted buckwheat and other seeds for healthy crunchy salad toppings.
You can get a lot of information from raw foodie sites like ani phyo and kristen suzanne (kristen's raw) - she has some cheap ebooks with fabulous recipes. HTH :)
 
I soak and dehydrate most nuts and seeds to use in recipes. Soaking releases the enzyme inhibitors of the nuts and seeds, and dehydration re-crisps them. Often times, I will heat up leftovers in the dehydrator rather then use the stove. I too use the dehydrator to make raw breads and crackers, as well as granola, and various veggie crisps/chips - eggplant, kale, and beet chips. Of course, I make treats such as these chocolate cashew cookies on occasion too. ;) LOVE my dehydrator! :D
 
I make tons of things in my dehydrator (especially when I was following the raw diet). Also use it a lot for backpacking foods. I dehydrate spaghetti sauce. It turns into leather and I throw it in a ziplock and it goes in our pack for a future dinner. I have also made raw corn chips (corn, red bell pepper, garlic, cumin, flax meal). YUM! It's great for making fruit leather and for dehydrating veggies and fruit. There are several good books on amazon about dehydrating.
 
I use mine for herbs after I've made enough pesto for the year and still have a ton of basil. It takes about 24 hours at the mid range temp, but I also have a ton of trays in. We also use it for making turkey, fish, or beef jerky. DE-licious.

I love the idea about spaghetti sauce! I will have to try that one...

Ellen
 

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