[Paddlewise] Food Dehydration

>>>>From: <Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com>
Subject: [Paddlewise] Food Dehydration

So, what do I need to look for in a food dehydrator?  Temperature range?
Number of trays?  Special features?  A particular brand (or one to stay
away from)?<<<<<

I've done quite a lot of dehydration over the years.  Having started out
with doing it in the oven, and then with a homemade unit using light bulbs
for heat, and then finally a commercial model, IMHO it's well worth it to
buy a commercial unit.  I recommend getting one with a fan and especially
an adjustable thermostat.  I use the Harvest Maid model (
http://www.nesco.com/products/product.phtml?category=300 ) and really like
it.  It's fast, very controllable, has good air flow and is easy to expand.
I started out with the basics, then added additional trays.  I like to dry
complete dinners (e.g., tamale pie) and other things that start out soupy
(like spagetti or apple sauce), and have found the plastic trays (Harvest
maid calls them "No-Spill Fruit Roll Sheets") to be very handy since they
are solid on the bottom with raised edges.  That way you can you dry meals
till they're no longer soupy, and then transfer to the regular slotted
drying trays (where they dry faster).

Quick tip: Some soupy stuff (like salsa or spagetti sauce) gets sticky as
it dries, so it's helpful to wipe a thin coating of oil on the trays before
starting (a lesson learned the hard way).  Incidentally, I've found salsa
reconstitutes with no detectable loss of quality at all.

Evan
Woodinville, Washington


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