Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: K Frame on June 09, 2017, 10:23:18 AM
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I've thought about getting one for some years, but I finally sprang for one.
One of the big reasons is for making treats for Seren and, with Castle Key, for his Leonbergers, as well.
We're training the pups using a method that requires a LOT of treats. One of the favorites in the Leonberger community is pieces of hotdog, sprinkled with garlic powder, and microwaved until they're jerky.
I figure why go microwave and just use a dehydrator. Big advantage to that is you can make a LOT in a batch.
I also want to dry fruit, especially apples and peaches, for use during the Winter. My Grandfather used to make dried applies, known in the German community in Pennsylvania as schnitz, and my Grandmother made a fantastic dried apple pie with them.
Who has a dehydrator? Other than beef jerky, what's your favorite stuff to dry?
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Bags can bankrupt you if you're not careful. Amazon has decent deals on bulk rolls.
Brad
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You could probably talk Chris into coughing up some deer if he gets one, too.
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Bags can bankrupt you if you're not careful. Amazon has decent deals on bulk rolls.
Brad
Bags?
Are you talking about a vacuum sealer?
I have one of those.
I'm talking about a food dehydrator. Completely different piece of kit.
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I like to dry fruit and make my own trail mix. Probably saved my life once years ago on a wilderness archery elk hunt. with a really crappy guide/outfitter.
that didn't bring any food or water. and abandoned us or we abandoned each other after I told him I might shoot him...
oh well that's major thread drift...dehydrators are great! enjoy!
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I've thought about getting one for some years, but I finally sprang for one.
One of the big reasons is for making treats for Seren and, with Castle Key, for his Leonbergers, as well.
We're training the pups using a method that requires a LOT of treats. One of the favorites in the Leonberger community is pieces of hotdog, sprinkled with garlic powder, and microwaved until they're jerky.
I figure why go microwave and just use a dehydrator. Big advantage to that is you can make a LOT in a batch.
I also want to dry fruit, especially apples and peaches, for use during the Winter. My Grandfather used to make dried applies, known in the German community in Pennsylvania as schnitz, and my Grandmother made a fantastic dried apple pie with them.
Who has a dehydrator? Other than beef jerky, what's your favorite stuff to dry?
We have an apple tree* so my most dried item is apples. (And as our peach and plum tree mature, they will be added to the list.) All my children love the dried apples through the winter.
Peppers from the garden are next. Nice way to deal with the excess crops and very good for chilis and soups.
Fresh herbs and spices from the garden are really the only other things we dry. Lots of sage, dill, mint, basil, and more that aren't coming to mind right now.
I'm hoping to try to make some sun-dried tomatoes this year.
Jerky is one thing I haven't done yet, but would like to. Maybe this year.
*(Now three, but the other two won't be producing for a few years.)
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Bags?
Are you talking about a vacuum sealer?
I have one of those.
I'm talking about a food dehydrator. Completely different piece of kit.
Doh :facepalm:
Too many things happening at once.
Brad
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Been considering a dehydrator, as we grow a lot of herbs and end up trying to freeze a lot, which isn't a great way of preserving them. Drying would be better.
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Crap, hadn't even considered herbs!
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Probably gonna buy: https://www.amazon.com/Presto-06302-Dehydrator-Adjustable-Thermostat/dp/B008H2OENC/
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This is the one I got:
https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-WFD201W-Dehydrator-Watts-Stackable/dp/B0188X0V8G/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1497023337&sr=1-1&keywords=food+dehydrator+westinghouse
I think the rectangular format will be more usable.
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Tomatoes.
Our favorite has been some of the very sweet cherry tomatoes varieties. Roma types are also great.
Slice them in half and set them skin down on the racks.
Great for salad toppings and they rehydrate great for use in cooking.
Think "sun dried tomatoes"
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I have one of these (bought it a long time ago) with 2 extra trays https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-FD-50-Snackmaster-Dehydrator/dp/B00004W4V4
I mostly use it for beef jerky, but also sometimes use it to dry tomatoes, peppers, and dog biscuits.
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We've got the next size bigger Nesco, Garden master I think. got enough trays to stack it about 3' high.
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I've had the cheap Nesco for years. Pretty sure it's a discontinued model now. Jerky and dried fruit are pretty regular. Dog treats too. Probably not toxic at that low quantity, but you should avoid giving garlic and onion to the dogs anyway.
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I have a presto one. I like drying banana slice and apples for snacks. I made some sports bar things I liked, banana base, chocolate protein powder, buncha chia, flax,and hemp seed. Did some with an apple puree base too, good, but very tart, bombed them with vitamin c powder. Might try drying some cabbage. Herbs for sure.
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I like to dry fruit and make my own trail mix. Probably saved my life once years ago on a wilderness archery elk hunt. with a really crappy guide/outfitter.
that didn't bring any food or water. and abandoned us or we abandoned each other after I told him I might shoot him...
oh well that's major thread drift...dehydrators are great! enjoy!
Was it the dehydrated food or dehydrated water that kept you alive?
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I've thought about getting one for some years, but I finally sprang for one.
One of the big reasons is for making treats for Seren and, with Castle Key, for his Leonbergers, as well.
We're training the pups using a method that requires a LOT of treats. One of the favorites in the Leonberger community is pieces of hotdog, sprinkled with garlic powder, and microwaved until they're jerky.
I figure why go microwave and just use a dehydrator. Big advantage to that is you can make a LOT in a batch.
I also want to dry fruit, especially apples and peaches, for use during the Winter. My Grandfather used to make dried applies, known in the German community in Pennsylvania as schnitz, and my Grandmother made a fantastic dried apple pie with them.
Who has a dehydrator? Other than beef jerky, what's your favorite stuff to dry?
While you're at it, try dried bananas too. Natural foods place we shopped at many moons ago had them. Very tasty. (The banana chips you see sometimes aren't like those at all.)
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Was it the dehydrated food or dehydrated water that kept you alive?
The story is too long to go into all of it but after the outfitter wrecked a tire on his truck he said he was going to drive 70 miles to the nearest town to get a spare and was supposed to bring our water cans back filled with fresh water later that same day. We had 1 gal each when he left but he hooked up with his girlfriend and didn't come back until the next night. We were camped at 8000 feet and hunting above camp up to 10000'. When he showed up a day and a half later he had water and we had to try to rehydrate. We found out the next morning that he forgot about them and came back empty so he stopped and filled them at a beaver pond at the bottom of the mountain. That's when I threatened him and we parted ways. My trail mix and some freeze dried eggs were the only food we had for 2 days. Ok maybe I was being a little dramatic about the dehydrated fruit saving my life but it was close.
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I make jerky on mine.
I also dry veggies and fruit. I love to dry surplus tomatoes and use them like sundried tomatoes. I do onions and peppers.
Love dried strawberries. I may get a bumper crop of berries in a few years, so I'll probably dry them also.
Some year I'm going to attempt dehydrated watermelon, heard it is amazing.
I just use ziplock bags to store my dried food in the freezer.
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The story is too long to go into all of it but after the outfitter wrecked a tire on his truck he said he was going to drive 70 miles to the nearest town to get a spare and was supposed to bring our water cans back filled with fresh water later that same day. We had 1 gal each when he left but he hooked up with his girlfriend and didn't come back until the next night. We were camped at 8000 feet and hunting above camp up to 10000'. When he showed up a day and a half later he had water and we had to try to rehydrate. We found out the next morning that he forgot about them and came back empty so he stopped and filled them at a beaver pond at the bottom of the mountain. That's when I threatened him and we parted ways. My trail mix and some freeze dried eggs were the only food we had for 2 days. Ok maybe I was being a little dramatic about the dehydrated fruit saving my life but it was close.
And you didn't sue him for return of your hunting fee?
And plaster his name everywhere as someone to completely avoid at all costs?
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While you're at it, try dried bananas too. Natural foods place we shopped at many moons ago had them. Very tasty. (The banana chips you see sometimes aren't like those at all.)
I can't stand dried bananas.
I'm not entirely fond of fresh bananas, either.
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I got this best a few years ago. Worth every penny compared to that round neso pos I was using.
https://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/excalibur-9-tray-26hr-timer-3926.html (https://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/excalibur-9-tray-26hr-timer-3926.html)
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Are you talking about a vacuum sealer?
I have one of those.
I'm talking about a food dehydrator. Completely different piece of kit.
Why? Because you simply accept that some pathetic "vacuum sealer" that won't even pull the moisture out of the food is somehow adequate? Rise up, march on the manufacturer and demand that they upgrade you to more suck.
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"Rise up, march on the manufacturer and demand that they upgrade you to more suck."
I actually wanted a freeze dryer. Much better than dehydrators in so many ways.
The only problem is, a true freeze dryer? Even a relatively small one?
Well in excess of $1,500, and most are close to double that because they are so complex.
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I used the new unit twice yesterday, both times to make treats for Seren.
First was quartered hotdogs coated with garlic powder. Those took about 6 hours to dry to a consistency that I think is appropriate for training treats. They still need to be refrigerated but they should be excellent.
I also sliced down a chicken breast and dehydrated that. I also ran it for 6 hours, and it wasn't quite done, but I had to go to bed so I packaged it up and put it in the fridge. Seren approves.
Next I'm going to try apples and strawberries for me, and then a beef liver for Seren.
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A dehydrator caution: Do not try to dry habaneros or those teeny little hot tai birdseye peppers indoors.
Not even in the attached garage.
I wasn't at the Branch Davidian complex when Janet Reno pumped in the gas but it had to be comparable.
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A dehydrator caution: Do not try to dry habaneros or those teeny little hot tai birdseye peppers indoors.
Not even in the attached garage.
I wasn't at the Branch Davidian complex when Janet Reno pumped in the gas but it had to comparable.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Drying garlic coated hotdog chunks was more than enough!
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A dehydrator caution: Do not try to dry habaneros or those teeny little hot tai birdseye peppers indoors.
Not even in the attached garage.
I wasn't at the Branch Davidian complex when Janet Reno pumped in the gas but it had to comparable.
Finally! An excuse to build this: http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/tools/solar-food-dehydrator-plans-zm0z14jjzmar
... or just take the electric one outside?... NAH
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For traditional dehydrating, we've been really happy with the model never_retreat mentioned. Ours doesn't have the timer (https://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-3900-Deluxe-Tray-Dehydrator/dp/B001P2J3K0/), but it's been good.
For any that are curious, we've had a freeze dryer for a couple months now. We've been too busy to use it a ton, but have done 10 or so batches so far.
Downsides:
- Cost. As Mike noted. A "small" 3-tray unit is low $2K, "standard" 4-tray is high $2K, large is near $4K. The trays are also larger as the unit gets larger.
- Maintenance. To keep the price from going much, much higher, the units use commodity HVAC vacuum pumps (https://www.zoro.com/jb-industries-refrig-evacuation-pump-60-cfm-6-ft-dv-6e/i/G3299931/). As such, to prevent early pump death due to the water and contaminants from the process the pump oil must be drained, water separated out (I freeze it for the purpose), and filtered after every batch. Not a huge deal, takes maybe 5 minutes/batch to swap out the oil, but non-DIY types would not likely be OK with it.
- Batch time. How long a batch takes varies widely depending on what you're drying. 30-36 hours is about the average for me.
- Noise and heat. The pump is decently loud, though several people have made noise-insulating enclosures with fans to keep the noise down. It also puts out a good bit of heat, and can't be placed in a garage if it's hot out, as cycle time increases greatly when environment temps start going over 80-90F.
Upsides:
- Better nutrient retention than canning or traditional dehydrating.
- Better rehydrated textures/flavor (for most things)
- Long-term (~25 years with mylar and O2 absorbers) storage of things that can't really be long-term-stored other ways, or aren't as desirable in other ways. (e.g. yogurt, cheese, eggs, leaner meats, "complete" meals)
If you've ever had the freeze-dried backpacking meals, you'll have a good idea of what the result is like. In general the rehydrated food will have the same texture/taste as if they'd just been frozen and thawed. Some things work well, others don't, some things work well with some tweaks. For instance avocados don't rehdyrate with quite the right texture, but if you powder the result it makes guacamole just fine.
Some people like eating freeze-dried things directly for snacks, some don't. Things like FD'd strawberries, apples, watermelon, etc. I've found people either love or hate, not much in between. Though I suppose that's true of traditionally-dehydrated stuff, too.