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Offline reliquary

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Food Dehydrators
« on: June 19, 2012, 02:21:34 PM »
Not sure where to post this..someone will redirect me if needed... ;) ...I'm thinking about getting a food dehydrator for preserving some of my fruit; specifically figs and apples.  Does anyone have any preferences or warnings, brand-wise?  I am thinking medium-duty, medium size, under $75, but price isn't the main driver.
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Offline keith44

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Re: Food Dehydrators
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2012, 05:00:33 AM »
I'm looking too, but can't offer any warnings.  I know we want a unit with a thermostat and that offers good air flow.
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Offline longwinters

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Re: Food Dehydrators
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2012, 05:09:25 AM »
Ours is made by Open Country.  It has 4 trays.  Works very well.  It should price within a few bucks of your price range.
 
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Offline bilmac

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Re: Food Dehydrators
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2012, 07:18:36 AM »
I dry lots of stuff without one. Last year I dried maybe a bushel or two of tomatoes by just quartering them ,putting them on trays and setting then where the bugs couldn't bother them and the breezes could go by.In moister climates you may need a little more, I've read that vehicles in the sun make good dehydrators. I would think that if some windows were cracked a little and the bugs blocked out that they would make great dehydrators
 
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Offline Cornbelt

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Re: Food Dehydrators
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2012, 01:13:04 AM »
You could make a coldframe  -what they call a hotbed around here. Glass on top facing more or less south. We have an atrium with a gass roof, which is the same principle, and get stuff dried real well with minimal atention. Just have to lay it out on a screen door and hoist it up to the top. Don't know how many pumpkins and green beans we drien last year, as well as peaches and apples. For ventilation, we used a desk fan. Not high tech, but works well.
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Offline bilmac

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Re: Food Dehydrators
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2012, 10:50:19 AM »
Yup, drying stuff is not high tech, we used to use dehydrators, but they are mini capacity and you have to buy the electricity. If you find the right spot and have some patience nature will usually do it.
 
My best dehydrator was my ice house. It had lots of windows on the south side and screened ventelation holes. But I sold it.
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Offline reliquary

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Re: Food Dehydrators
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2012, 11:42:59 AM »
I have a sun room and just got through making a screened-in area on the porch adjoining it, so either of those might be a good idea.  It certainly gets hot enough here...several instances of idiots leaving their kids in closed vehicles every year...  >:(  ...unfortunately...so, closed vehicles are one idea.  And, folks all around the world have dried food for millenia without high-tech. 
Thanks for the discussion.  I found a good deal on an American Harvest model FD-60 with some accessories, in the price range I was looking for.  A relative has one and uses it extensively. 
 
Does anyone have any tips for drying figs?  I've read a few articles from Google and it seems straightforward.
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