Dehydrator recipes?

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FeebRyan
FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
Anyone else use a dehydrator? I love mine!

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  • kmcosgrove115
    kmcosgrove115 Posts: 260 Member
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    No - but heard of them - is this something I should be adding to my kitchen? We are eyeing up a Vitamix now and a panini maker - YUM!
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
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    Vitamix are amazing, you know they can make soup in three minutes just by the heat coming off the motor? Amazing

    A dehydrator is such a must, we make organic, raw veggie mince in ours
    Banana crepes made just from banana and honey
    Oat cakes
    Crackers
    Fruit leathers
    Wraps for salad made from peppers, tomatoes and nothing else

    Check out raw food cooking for more info, they are the mutts nuts
  • SkinneyGirl28
    SkinneyGirl28 Posts: 145 Member
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    I use mine more in the summer. If you do get one, make certain it has temperature control, because for one thing, raw is anything kept below 100 degrees. So even when I do fruit leathers, or just dried fruit, I try to keep it low
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
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    I use mine more in the summer. If you do get one, make certain it has temperature control, because for one thing, raw is anything kept below 100 degrees. So even when I do fruit leathers, or just dried fruit, I try to keep it low

    You can go up to 115 for raw and you can cook at 140 for an hour at the start because th food doesn't hear up quick enough to stop it being raw after this time. If you do that it stops the fruit leathers and other foods smelling odd which is great.
  • SkinneyGirl28
    SkinneyGirl28 Posts: 145 Member
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    Thanks for classifying that.
  • kmcosgrove115
    kmcosgrove115 Posts: 260 Member
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    WOW - great info! Gonna research this now!
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
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    Do it, they are awesome!
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
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    I bought one a few years back and while I don't use it often I would hate to part with it. My husband had bought me a cheap stacking style one (where the heater is in the base) when i wanted to just dabble and see what I thought. After it died I had found I liked using one so I bought an Excalibur with 5 trays (it's the style where the heater is on the side and it dries more evenly... you don't have to rotate racks or anything). Love that thing.

    I use it mostly to make apple chips and jerky, but occasionally I'll do something else. I'm very picky about the level of dehydration on my dried fruit so being able to make my own apple chips is important to me. I just slice them veeeerrrry thin, dip them in lemon juice, then dry them to what I like. I like Granny Smiths.

    Jerky, I just google marinades or buy ones from the store and once they tofu is done soaking pop them in there, too. A basic mix of soy sauce, liquid smoke, and olive oil can come out really nice.

    I've tried making fruit leather/peelies but so far no luck. Still working on that.

    This has got me thinking... Once I'm settled into the new apartment I'll have to bust it back out and go googling.


    On the Vitamix, I've been curious. I have a nice Oster blender that beats the heck out of foods and soups, but you have to make quite a bit in it at a time to make it work. Can the Vitamix and similar high pressed blenders handle tiny amounts? Except when making a big batch of soup to last me a few days I only make 2cups or so of stuff at a time preferably. I've had gastric bypass so making a regular few cups of smoothie or such is just a waste for me.
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
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    I bought one a few years back and while I don't use it often I would hate to part with it. My husband had bought me a cheap stacking style one (where the heater is in the base) when i wanted to just dabble and see what I thought. After it died I had found I liked using one so I bought an Excalibur with 5 trays (it's the style where the heater is on the side and it dries more evenly... you don't have to rotate racks or anything). Love that thing.

    I use it mostly to make apple chips and jerky, but occasionally I'll do something else. I'm very picky about the level of dehydration on my dried fruit so being able to make my own apple chips is important to me. I just slice them veeeerrrry thin, dip them in lemon juice, then dry them to what I like. I like Granny Smiths.

    Jerky, I just google marinades or buy ones from the store and once they tofu is done soaking pop them in there, too. A basic mix of soy sauce, liquid smoke, and olive oil can come out really nice.

    I've tried making fruit leather/peelies but so far no luck. Still working on that.

    This has got me thinking... Once I'm settled into the new apartment I'll have to bust it back out and go googling.


    On the Vitamix, I've been curious. I have a nice Oster blender that beats the heck out of foods and soups, but you have to make quite a bit in it at a time to make it work. Can the Vitamix and similar high pressed blenders handle tiny amounts? Except when making a big batch of soup to last me a few days I only make 2cups or so of stuff at a time preferably. I've had gastric bypass so making a regular few cups of smoothie or such is just a waste for me.

    My good friend has one, ill pass on your query and get back to you
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
    Options
    I bought one a few years back and while I don't use it often I would hate to part with it. My husband had bought me a cheap stacking style one (where the heater is in the base) when i wanted to just dabble and see what I thought. After it died I had found I liked using one so I bought an Excalibur with 5 trays (it's the style where the heater is on the side and it dries more evenly... you don't have to rotate racks or anything). Love that thing.

    I use it mostly to make apple chips and jerky, but occasionally I'll do something else. I'm very picky about the level of dehydration on my dried fruit so being able to make my own apple chips is important to me. I just slice them veeeerrrry thin, dip them in lemon juice, then dry them to what I like. I like Granny Smiths.

    Jerky, I just google marinades or buy ones from the store and once they tofu is done soaking pop them in there, too. A basic mix of soy sauce, liquid smoke, and olive oil can come out really nice.

    I've tried making fruit leather/peelies but so far no luck. Still working on that.

    This has got me thinking... Once I'm settled into the new apartment I'll have to bust it back out and go googling.


    On the Vitamix, I've been curious. I have a nice Oster blender that beats the heck out of foods and soups, but you have to make quite a bit in it at a time to make it work. Can the Vitamix and similar high pressed blenders handle tiny amounts? Except when making a big batch of soup to last me a few days I only make 2cups or so of stuff at a time preferably. I've had gastric bypass so making a regular few cups of smoothie or such is just a waste for me.

    My good friend has one, ill pass on your query and get back to you

    He said its fine for small quantities but he reckons 200ml is the lowest you should go.
  • SkinneyGirl28
    SkinneyGirl28 Posts: 145 Member
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    You can always freeze the rest, for next week.
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
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    Oh wow, 200ml is definitely small enough, that's a fair bit below the smallest batch of anything I'd make, thanks for the help!

    I do just save or freeze stuff like soups, but when making smoothies I really don't like them if they're not brand-new fresh.
  • SkinneyGirl28
    SkinneyGirl28 Posts: 145 Member
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    I have had the little book, "Of These Ye May Freely Eat" by Joann Ranchor. I just recently found it again in a second hand store and picked it up for a friend. In looking through this "revised" edition, I gave mine to a friend and kept the new one. It has a whole section of foods that you can dehydrate, and rehydrate. So I got ambitious and cooked and dried and cooked and dried. I was going to be living out of a tent with a camp stove for 10 days and did not want to depend on processed foods. Well, everything worked the way she said it would. I had wonderful meals. And because i sealed them in my food saver without any air left in them, I didn't even need to keep them in an ice chest. I had people from other tents over for dinner and they were really impressed.
    The book is only $3.95 when new!

    ND :smile: