Food Dehydrator

we dry peppers in the fall and lots of apples too
EDT to add dried strawberries are the bomb

LOVE mine. While I've true lots, the only successful thing I've made are zuccini chips, cauliflower popcorn, and fruits. Maybe I'll get a nice batch going tomorrow!

I ADORE my dehydrator. I got a professional grade Cabela dehydrator for Christmas several years ago. I pretty much use mine for jerky only, but I have been thinking about trying some zucchini chips.

KetoneKaren wrote: »

@Strawblackcat

Recipes or directions, please? Especially the cashew cheese and the kombucha SCOBY fruit leather, thanks!

For the SCOBY fruit leather, I just put a few SCOBIES, some fruit (any is fine -- I like strawberries) and whatever spices/extracts/sweeteners that you want to add into a blender and blend it until it's a smooth paste. Then, I lay it out in fruit leather sheets and dehydrate it at 100 degrees (so that's it's technically still "raw") for about 24 hours, or until it's a fruit-leather-like consistency. Then, I peel it off the sheet and slice it with a knife before wrapping the sheets in wax paper. I keep them in the fridge until I'm ready to eat them.

For the cashew cheese wheel, I soak about 100 grams of cashews in warm, salted water for 4-6 hours, and then drain and rinse them off. I then add them to a blender with 2-4 tablespoons of fresh tap water and blend them until they form a smooth paste (add more or less water as needed to achieve a smooth consistency). Then, I take the paste and stir the contents of an opened probiotic capsule into it. Any kind is fine; no need to use an expensive one. You could also use a tablespoon of non-dairy yogurt or kefir. I then gather up the paste and place it into a cheesecloth that I set into a strainer that's propped on top of a bowl. Place a small jar of whatever ontop of the cashew-paste, and let it drain into the bowl for 2-4 days. The probiotics will culture the paste and make it taste tart. After it's drained, stir salt, garlic powder, nutritional yeast (this is what makes it really "cheesey"!), or whatever other seasonings you want. Then, form the thickened paste into a ring mold set on top of a small plate and freeze it until you can cleanly pop the disk of cashew paste out of the ring mold. Place the frozen dish onto a dehydrator rack and dehydrate at 100 degrees for 12-24 hours, or until it has formed a thick "rind". You could also dehydrate it at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time if you want, but the probiotics would die off.

OMG! I am in North Chesterfield, too. Where do you live? I can totally share recipes. Maybe we can get together for a raw food meal sometime.

I use my dehydrator all the time! It is strawberry season here in New England so will be making a batch of strawberry chips this weekend.

KetoneKaren wrote: »

I love my food dehydrator! I have owned it for years and never used it. Then we had some chicken we weren't going to eat before going out of town, so I dehydrated the chicken and refrigerated it for the pet sitter to give the dogs in case they wouldn't eat their dry food while we were gone (they tend to pout). It was a hit! It keeps a long time in the refrigerator.

I made kale chips today and they are awesome...and not burned! Yea! I have also used it on apples, pears, cherries, and cherry tomatoes. I don't care for sundried tomatoes in oil, but these are great! The flavor of the dried tomato is so intense, a little goes a long way. And one or two slices of dried fruit is such a treat, so sweet...I am tickled with my new/old dehydrator!

Does anyone else use a dehydrator? Feel free to share your recipes and experiences, I'm all ears!

Karen in Virginia

Karen I also used to do chicken jerky for my dog. It ultimately sent him to vet & had to have surgery because of sharp shards poking and cutting his stomach and intestines.

I would be very careful doing that. We actually quit because we almost lost our dear pet.