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9:32 am
July 24, 2010
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I tried dehydrating frozen mixed vegetables. I don't have an Excal, just a cheapie dehydrator with no temp control (on or off). I put one pound on each tray for a total of 3 trays, and lined each tray with parchment so I wouldn't have to chase down the bits after they dried. After 12 hours in the dehydrator, they smelled soured and of course were not drying evenly. I should have researched this better, but those darn videos take so long to load. They say that experience at any price is cheap, but I'm glad the vegetables were on sale!
7:21 am
October 15, 2011
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I am thinking that the parchment paper impeded the air flow. For mixed veggies, parchment paper should not be needed.
2:04 pm
June 1, 2010
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parchment may not be needed for veggies, but it makes for easy packaging and clean up--even with cut frozen veggies.
6:55 pm
October 15, 2011
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dehydrated apples and oranges, unpeeled and used the slicer to slice through them evenly. There are going to be used in a garland (oranges, apples, and cinnamon cutouts) to decorate a tree at the nursing home i work at. They really came out great.
7:58 pm
December 14, 2010
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Dried Apple Pies
I just had to post this . I made fresh apple pie today.
11:19 am
November 11, 2010
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Ah, well, may be. But dried peaches (rehydrated) make for some of the best fried pies around.
1:39 pm
December 28, 2008
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Cornbread is drying right now for dressing later in the week. We shall see how this works – have never tried this until today.
And since the dehydrator is running anyway, put in some marshmallows from a bag that was slightly out of date. Wasn't sure what temp to do them (must get a dehydrating book!). Had the cornbread in at 145, but that temp is now reduced to 125. The marshmallow started to puff up a bit. We want them dehydrated, not melted!!
10:25 am
June 29, 2009
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Well Pete-these two items really have my attention?? Anxiously waiting results!!!
4:21 pm
December 28, 2008
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Have some cut spinach in the dehydrator now. After the brocolli debacle, I will watch it closely! (Which is much easier to do through this glass door in the new dehydrator.)
The cornbread and marshmallow drying experiment turned out fine. The marshmallows are back in the dehydrator because they got dry on the outside but were still sort of mushy on the inside, then the inside and outside equalized mostly after sitting a while. (That was clear as mud!) Trying to say that after dehydrating for hours and hours, the marshmallows had a crust on the outside and were soft in the middle. While I was contemplating what, if anything, to do next (translation: I forgot about them!), they remained in the dehydrator and now they are semi-dry throughout, a tad on the sticky side – but not sticky like they become if you forget about a package of them and they glue themselves to each other. We shall see what happens after some more dehydrating.
Will the marshmallows absorb some of the aroma of the spinach? Will they turn green? Is there spinach fortified cocoa in my future??
5:36 pm
March 1, 2012
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I have a simple dehydrator without a temperature gauge. I would like to dry fresh cranberries that are sweetened. (Craisins). Does anyone have a tried and true method to recommend? I have googled several ideas, but hope the vast experience y'all have could guide me a bit easier. Thanks!
7:42 pm
October 17, 2010
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I don't have vast experience, or in fact ANY experience with dehydrating, but here's a recipe that was on a card I picked up at a locally grown cranberry booth at a harvest fair recently.
"Sugar Hill Cranberry Co.
Dried Cranberries
1 16-oz bag cranberries
2 quarts boiling water
1/4 cup sugar or corn syrup
In a bowl, pour boiling water over cranberries, or submerge berries in a pot of boiling water with the heat turned off. Let berries sit until skin pops. Do NOT let cranberries boil. Drain. If desired, coat the berries with either a light corn syrup or granulated sugar. Transfer the berries to a cooking sheet and place them in a freezer for 2 hours.Then put berries on a mesh sheet in the dehydrator for 10-16 hours until chewy and no pockets of moisture. Store dried cranberries in the freezer.
Another method of drying is to turn on the oven for 10 minutes at 350*…then place the cranberries on a cookie sheet in the oven, turn off the oven, and let them sit overnight."
Hope this helps!
11:17 pm
March 1, 2012
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Thanks, brookdale! That sounds even easier than what I found on google.
4:17 pm
December 28, 2008
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Ended up with more than a half pint of dried spinich from that 12 package of frozen spinich! It really looked like there was going to be much less than that. So excited here!
The marshmallows are pretty good – not sure that I will do this again, but who knows. (Maybe as a way to preserve left over marshmallows rather than wasting them?) They are about the same size that they were originally. There is a full quart and about a half pint or so from the big bag of marshmallows.
Have 4 packages of mixed veggies finishing up now and just took out 4 packages of black eyed peas. They didn't shrink much. They finished at a very full quart jar and something over 3/4 of a pint. If I redistributed the peas a bit, it would be a tiny bit less than a full quart and a full pint.
Will get out the sealing machine now and vacuum seal all those jars! They look really good. Sooooo grateful for learning how to do all this at the retreat! (OK, OK, been dehydrating a few things for years, using a couple of super cheapy dehydrators, but it was the retreat that opened my eyes to the real possibilities for dehydrating and proper storage.)
1:38 pm
November 11, 2010
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Made the pork jerky recipe for the 1st time. I don't usually eat jerky, but they love it and now DH will have some portable protein for when he's out working in the bush all day long. (And since the local folks here don't eat pork, his stash is safe.)
9:02 pm
November 14, 2010
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Pulled out the dehydrator tonight….I've got some grapes on the go (love homemade raisins), a layer of tomato halves, a layer of celery and a corner of potato slices.
The potato is an experiment. I'm working on making instant mashed potatoes, from real dehydrated potatoes. First attempt is with raw potato. Thought I would put the dried slices into the BlendTec and turn into a powder. Then add boiling water, and see how that constitutes it.
My mama always told me not to play with my food….that's why I could become a chef and play with other people's food.
4:53 pm
July 15, 2011
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I may be cheating here – I didn't make this today but last month as gifts for Christmas – I made Suzanne's Citrus Potpourri in a borrowed round dehydrator. It came out awesome! I loved giving it as gifts in old Ball canning jars I had (those I gave to special friends) and newer Ball canning jars to people who I knew wouldn't really appreciate the old jars. Nice gift. Something different.
I have never had a dehydrator but after watching the demonstrations at the Retreat this year I really want an Excalibur! 
Jan
1:16 pm
May 15, 2011
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This weekend I will be making apple fruit leather, more croutons, and maybe blueberry fruit leather. I love my excalibur! I bought some teflon sheets on ebay and they make it soooo easy to make fruit leather!
This summer I will be dehydrating home grown garlic slices, and about 100 pounds of onions (or more if possible!)
The keeper onions make fabulous dehyde onions and onion powder.
9:33 am
March 24, 2013
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Dehydrating peas, corn and mixed veg-taking the easy way purchased them on sale. Just open the bag and pour on trays then dehydrate. Then gonna vacuum seal.
12:45 am
June 1, 2010
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nothing, darn it! my Excal went on the fritz @ the holidays. The direx from manufacturer—to see if it's just a fuse or a real problem—require more physical ability than I have. So it's just sitting there, taking up space. grrrr.
5:35 pm
December 28, 2008
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Another follow up on the marshmallow experiment: Have been dropping the dehydrated marshmallows into hot chocolate this winter. By the time I get seated and ready to drink the hot chocolate, the marshmallows have rehydrated. And they do not seem to melt quite as fast as fresh from the package marshmallows do.
So, will call this a success! Not that we have a need for too many dehydrated marshmallows, but it is something good to know about for the second half of the occasional bag.
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