Dehydrators - anyone got one?

I haven't thought about that. I notice whilst they are drying to begin with there is certainly a smell so I wonder if the flavours mix, dunno if that would affect the taste

 

First lesson learned I think - it has been on 36 hours now, and most things are still drying - I think I cut things too thick.

 

It's a learning process to begin with FC, for Bananas I cut them to 3/8" . Kiwis are delicious dried, cut them to 1/4"

 

Ooooh - kiwis! I hadn't thought of kiwis!

I reckon that the stuff I did yesterday was near on 1/2" hence the prolonged drying - I have whacked the temperature up and put it all on for a further 12 hours (will check it before going to bed) - - What would the effect of over drying be?

 

You want them most things at the leathery stage, bananas are lovely like that and make a great snack. But if they go past that they become too tough to eat - but will still be Ok for things you are going to rehydrate (e.g. to add to stews etc).

I think the more you dry them out the longer they will store.

We have just bought a few more plastic air-tight boxes as Tescos as they were selling them at half price. We transferred my stash of tomatoes, pumpkins and Parsnips from polyethene bags to these new boxes at the weekend. My beetroot hadn't stored well though and we had to throw that away, it had a strange white bloom on it so decided not to risk keeping it any longer.

 

You can get very expensive ones JJ, but that "Andrew James" model that both me and FC have is around £40 - I've had mine about 18 months and really recommend it.

Dried bananas are really expensive in the shops, you'll save a lot in the long run drying them yourself, although I don't know what the running costs of the drier is. They are really nice on their own so I don't know why they add sugar (and I've got a very sweet tooth).

I'm not too certain about your chillies, I'd be inclined to leave them out in the open still, as air dried won't be completely 100% dry and putting them in a jar may make them go mouldy.

 

I got mine from Amazon - £40 plus shipping. I am deliberately trying to cut down on sugar without going mad, hence the idea for getting a dehydrator. There are plenty of books available, and also resource on the net too; I get the feeling that they are used more in the States than they are here, but that may change as people cotton on to the fact that they are now reasonably priced.

There is a hint of a flavour to everything that has come out of mine, which I am trying to decide whether it is banana or new machine smell.... I washed everything before I started, of course, but obviously couldn't wash the fan or the heating elements.

I have just put it on to run empty for an hour at 70º, and once I have finished the housework I will whack a batch of apple on - I am thinking that I will do them with the mandolin to get them nice and fine, and that way they should be done quickly?

 

I have only tried them once, they came out tasty but went brown straight away so didn't look too appertising. Exposure to air I suppose. I'd made a mental note to try lemon juice to prevent the browning if I tried again.

 

I put them in a bath of lemon juice diluted in some water, then dabbed them dry before putting them in the dehydrator. Three trays of plain apple, three trays of apple lightly dusted with a caster sugar and cinnamon mix (although I am thinking I maybe should have had more cinnamon in the mix) - smells nice in here at the moment.