BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Personal Chef Food Dehydrator...Best One?

I would like to get a food dehydrator and start a pantry of dehydrated foods. I am collecting the large glass pickle jars for storage.

Has you ever processed food this way?
What, in your opinion, is the best dehydrator?
Do dehydrated foods taste good in recipes?

I have an American Harvester dehydrator and I like it very much. They are common enough that I've been able to get extra trays at thrift stores, which is a big savings.

I don't use my dried foods in recipes, I eat what I dry dried.

Julie

Hey Phyllis!

We just picked up a food dehydrator.
Brand Name: Ronco

Haven't used it yet, however, years ago when I was a raw foodie I had a lot of foods from the dehydrator. It is a great way to, not only, preserve your foods, it also intensifies the flavors which makes them great for adding to recipes. If you're looking for a specific pop of flavors, chip up some of your dehydrated fruits or veggies into your meal towards the end of cook time and you'll be in for a tasty treat.

As a matter of fact, although I didn't dry these myself, I used dried cranberries in my Cranberry Cranberry Sauce and good is not the word. It adds much more complexity to a dish and helps to coax out other flavors you wouldn't've tasted without their addition.

You can also dehydrate them to the point that them crumble well, then put them in either a food processor, blender or a coffee grinder to make a powder or flakes out of them and use them to dust your foods at the finish right after plating. NO REGRETS!!! TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!!!

Hi Jason. Thanks for the tips! Adding the dried foods to recipes the way you suggest will be fun to try. I use dried cranberries in salads and smoothies - good stuff! I will look into the Ronco. I will be shopping this weekend and scout for it. I have already made a New Year's resolution to be more frugal and healthy and I think your tips will help a lot.

If there's a Kmart in your area, you may be able to find it there. I just happened to pop into one in our area [didn't know they were still in business :D], but I ran in for a refrigerator light bulb and came out with a dehydrator. My wife and I've been getting ready for our pre-New Year's Resolution campaign for health. Our kids are getting involved with us this go round, so we knew we were going to have to have a good amount of healthy snacks to have on hand. We travel an exorbitant amount of time and need to make sure that we make our junk healthy and convenient. LOL!!!