Food Dehydraters

[lady-janine]

I am considering splurging some of my hard-saved pennies on a food dehydrator (my freezer is completely full) and wonder if any of you has any experience of using one of these.

Every year I have surplus garden produce and drying to use later would with food bills through the winter.

Please don't suggest : giving it to neighbours; selling it, I used to do that as organic fruit and veg but the village shop has changed hands and no longer takes it; an honesty-box at the gate (not practical as we are rather off the beaten track. Our cottage cannot be seen from the rather narrow lane, and then there is the cart-track and farm yard to contend with.)

[davebro]

Reminds me of Eddie from the "Friends" episode.

"I'm a dehydrating maniac!" - and he was

[lady-janine]

lol thanks dave

[Buenchico]

The BBC Good Food website is usually a reliable source of info:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/best-dehydrators-and-how-use-them

[lady-janine]

Thanks Chris for that comprehensive info. I was hoping that someone with experience of using one would post on their findings. But thanks again.

[barry1010]

We used to preserve runner beans using salt (not pickling) and it works very well. They would last until the next crop
https://www.1900s.org.uk/1900s-preserving-beans.htm

We still pickle onions and red cabbage and also make chutney and piccalilli.

[puzzled54]

I have a second hand dehydrator but usually only use it for strawberry slices when I have a glut, and apple slices. The strawberries taste like sweets. The apple goes into porage. What are you thinking of drying?

[lady-janine]

Whatever I have a glut of in the garden puzzled. Mainly apples, raspberries, blackberries, cherry toms, french beans, etc.

[puzzled54]

I’m not sure about raspberries and blackberries. You can’t slice them like strawberries so would have to dehydrate for a really long time and I would think they’d be like bullets. I plan to try tomatoes, sadly no French bean excess this year