I love mine. I bought it from amazon for around $100. It's a Le Equip and I dehydrate nuts and herbs in it. I bantered back and forth but am glad I got it
I'm the newbie here so, I hope you don't mind me answering.
I have two dehydrators myself. It is nice to have available to take care of your own fresh fruit, veggies, herbs, etc. Both of mine have probably paid for themselves! I even dehydrate fruit skins to grind up into teas. It's been very handy to have around.
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welcome Junebug! thanks for sharing!!
I enjoy mine as well.....
flax/chia crackers are great
I grind all my sprouted, dehydrated seeds, legumes, nuts and grains in to flour
jerky as well, the sky is the limit!
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I'm the newbie here so, I hope you don't mind me answering.
I have two dehydrators myself. It is nice to have available to take care of your own fresh fruit, veggies, herbs, etc. Both of mine have probably paid for themselves! I even dehydrate fruit skins to grind up into teas. It's been very handy to have around.
Marjorie, one of the reasons I chose the Le Equip was it is BPA free. I don't know if that matters to you.. It's also large with 6 trays so I can do multiple kinds of nuts or seeds
After I bought my first dehydrator, within a couple of months I was using it so much that I bought a second one. One I use primarily for drying soaked nuts/seeds and making meat jerkies. The other one is for seasonal berries, fresh herbs and kale chips. Given that I used to buy most of the dried fruits I use to make homemade trail mix from the company Just Tomatoes, Etc.!, and their products aren't cheap, I would've recouped the cost of the first dehydrator from those savings alone in less than a year. However, a friend kept bugging me to try Rhythm Superfoods' line of kale chips, and I finally did (I was so resistant because I remembered that the 'vegetable chips' in the HFSs about a decade ago were not too far removed from the consistency and uniquely repugnant flavour of baked construction paper). Anyhow, the two flavours I tried, Bombay Curry and Mango Habañero, were so good that I was hooked. Needless to say, I wasn't hooked on the exorbitant price. $6.99 apiece for a two ounce bag of dried kale?!? ... Ouch! It didn't take too much effort to figure out how to make them myself, even flavoured versions. Too, I appreciated that the first batch of organic kale chips I made, including two heads of kale and the oil and spices used, cost less than five dollars to make. Of course, if you like any type of meat jerky, you know it's near impossible to find one that is made in a BT/GT-friendly manner (or even just a semi-health-friendly manner, for that matter).
I almost went with the L'Equip dehydrator but decided to go with a Nesco American Harvest instead, in part, because of its very positive user ratings on Amazon.
Plus, I liked that this one has a square rather than round shape like some; that it has seven heat settings for various foods (with convenient corresponding heat settings for various foods embossed on the housing beside the thermostat control knob); that the 700-watt motor is mounted on top rather than bottom; and, that the drying system forces the heated air down the exterior pressurized chamber rather than through the trays (this causes the air to flow across the trays, not through them, and greatly minimizes any cross-mingling of flavours in case you're drying two or more items at once). Oh, and I liked the price point.
Just be warned, I've observed that drying food can be a bit addictive. I'm not quite at the 12-step stage yet, but ...
Compliant, me?!? ... I even attended a university whose mascot is one of my ◆ Superfoods! What is food to one man is bitter poison to others.~ Titus Lucretius Carus
Wow...thanks for the valuable feedback, much appreciated. Sounds like this is going to be a great investment for me.
Hi Marjorie - I have a large stainless steel LEM that I used primarily when I made my own tempeh but now it's a black dot and so I don't bother but would like to make jerky in it one of these days.
I bought small 4 tray Excalibur in December 2010 to do nuts and seeds and I use it 6 times a year. Last time I used it (1 month ago), I noticed oil leaking from the fan/heater unit and the bottom of the plastic has cracks in it and some parts were brittle and fell off and I have a big hole in it. The customer service for this never called me back and I had to pursue them by email. I dehydrated at only 110 F only. They don't have a warranty on the body, hmmmm...I wonder why!? They wanted me to pay $60.00 + 20.00 for shipping to send the body out, but I think it may be a fire hazard if it made that much damage @ 110F.
Anyhow, I am looking in L'Equip that Mother mentioned as I heard that they are good and the price seems quite reasonable.
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I am of the outside opinion.. I used to use mine round, much cheaper, and who knows, maybe even bad plastic??? by todays knowledge.... BUT I stopped using it as I am alone.. used to make dried banana slices.
I might try making chips by just making a portion for one in the toaster oven.. ???????????
I don't see much of a difference, just that it might need to be on a very low setting..
I have not used mine in years.maybe a decade... its in the bottom cabinet taking up useless space.. so no big loss.
If I had kids to make things for, I might pull it out again, so I would know what they eat.. but cleaning it was a pain.. I think any oven would serve the same purpose.. BUT I COULD BE WAY WRONG..
Could you borrow one from someone for a week and see how it fits your life style.. are you near Denver/Evergreen? I might send mine out to you.
Being here is invaluable, but not enough. We need ALL the Doctors. I needed them for a very small cancer spot-I could never feel!!! Please do your mammograms! Doing so saved me from cancer later on. I am grateful! Thanks for learning from my experience! I was lucky! I wish the same for YOU!
I am of the outside opinion.. I used to use mine round, much cheaper, and who knows, maybe even bad plastic??? by todays knowledge.... BUT I stopped using it as I am alone.. used to make dried banana slices.
I might try making chips by just making a portion for one in the toaster oven.. ???????????
I don't see much of a difference, just that it might need to be on a very low setting..
I have not used mine in years.maybe a decade... its in the bottom cabinet taking up useless space.. so no big loss.
If I had kids to make things for, I might pull it out again, so I would know what they eat.. but cleaning it was a pain.. I think any oven would serve the same purpose.. BUT I COULD BE WAY WRONG..
Could you borrow one from someone for a week and see how it fits your life style.. are you near Denver/Evergreen? I might send mine out to you.
Hi Great idea! I have a friend here who has one, perhaps, she will let me borrow it first to try it out. Thank you for the offer, much appreciated.
I guess I am just excited to try something new. I know when I need some variety in my life regarding foods and now is the time!
Not to discourage anyone from purchasing a dehydrator but I've managed to be able to dry foods in my oven on the lowest setting with the fan going. I have a convection oven setting so perhaps this is why I've been successful. Given I'm BT A and don't have a need to dry meat for jerky, I didn't think I'd ever eat all the dried foods I could be processing in a dehydrator.,.....I've managed to slowly dry vegetables and fruit successfully and make great kale chips on a very low setting in my oven.
Just sharing an alternative method...in case anyone would like to experiment. I'm someone who can't stand looking at appliances that sit out on my kitchen counter....Over the years, I've collected a myriad of juicers, blenders, steamers, slow cookers and lots of pots and pans that just take up way too much space.
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Being here is invaluable, but not enough. We need ALL the Doctors. I needed them for a very small cancer spot-I could never feel!!! Please do your mammograms! Doing so saved me from cancer later on. I am grateful! Thanks for learning from my experience! I was lucky! I wish the same for YOU!
