LOVE my new food DEHYDRATOR!!

yorkie girl · 02-14-2008, 09:29 AM

I made apple chips, strawberry fruit leather (fruit roll ups) and bannana chips! My favorite are the apple chips! I got the granny smith ones, used my hand slicer and sliced them thin, they didn't brown and look just as if you bought them from the store, minus all the additives. The fruit leather is simply pureed strawberries and some water - it is fantastic! I didnt pretreat any of the fruit, I wanted to do it naturally to see how it came out.

Im so happy because I bought the GOOD machine. It is a NESCO not a RONCO and the heater and fan is in the LID not a bottom heating element. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Dont have to constantly rotate the trays, has an adjustable heat setting. I bought it at Bed Bath & Beyond for $60 + my 20% cupon came out to $50. Cant wait to do jerkey.

yorkie girl · 02-14-2008, 09:52 AM

Plus it is much cheaper!

mrsdimples · 02-14-2008, 11:09 AM

Can you do any veggies with it? I see you do Modified Atkins, but for the "true" Atkins folks out there--none (or very little) of the dried fruits are allowed. Does sound REALLY yummy and not that expensive for the dehydrator itself. I thought it would be a lot more expensive then that!

fawn · 02-14-2008, 01:19 PM

Dried veggie chips are awesome in the dehydrator! Jerky is the best! I just do a dry rub of my own concoctions......

yorkie girl · 02-14-2008, 03:20 PM

I do plan on doing veggies, I want to make ''chips'' so I will experiment with cucumbers and other stuff. Will repost on what comes out good.

flaminghotsauce mama · 02-14-2008, 03:23 PM

We dehydrate our Roma tomatoes at the end of the growing season. My kids *love* dried tomatoes and eat them like chips.

artinformation · 02-14-2008, 04:36 PM

I have wanted to get one of those for a long time. Don't have the space. Maybe oneday. Beef jerkey and vege chips would be awesome

3leggedtable · 02-14-2008, 07:04 PM

I love kitchen gadgets, but have no space for any more toys.

BarbDe · 02-14-2008, 07:12 PM

Do you guys dry the tomato whole?
I haven't used mine in a while. I should break that out and get drying again!

Jayelgee · 02-14-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsdimples

Can you do any veggies with it? I see you do Modified Atkins, but for the "true" Atkins folks out there--none (or very little) of the dried fruits are allowed. Does sound REALLY yummy and not that expensive for the dehydrator itself. I thought it would be a lot more expensive then that!

I'm assuming by "true Atkins" you mean induction??

flaminghotsauce mama · 02-14-2008, 07:59 PM

We've done slices and halves. The slices dry quickly and keep longer. I end up freezing them anyway, but they go great in soups, sauces, and stews if they make it that long!

I've also been known to freeze whole Roma tomatoes. I just whip them in the blender with other veggies & seasonings for a salsa cruda.

We've never tried drying the slicing-type tomatoes, they have a lot more water in them than the paste-type.

jacksmixedtape · 02-14-2008, 10:32 PM

Yay for homemade jerky and veggie chips! That sounds amazing. $50 ain't bad for something so useful. Do you have any jerky recipes?

BarbDe · 02-15-2008, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacksmixedtape

Yay for homemade jerky and veggie chips! That sounds amazing. $50 ain't bad for something so useful. Do you have any jerky recipes?

In Ziplock Bag

Add 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs of beef. (London broil works well - sliced very thin, the butcher at Publix is very happy to do this for me, with 1 day advance notice)

2/3 cup Worcestershire
2/3 cup Soy Sauce
2t black pepper
2t onion powder
2t granulated garlic
1t Liquid Smoke
1 t crushed Red Pepper
1T Honey
Marinade 12-48 hours
Dry off meat
Smoke 6 hours or until consistency you like
(I have done this in the dehydrator as well with excellent results)

Mmmmmm. Maybe a plan for this weekend!!!

sappl38220 · 02-15-2008, 08:35 AM

Sounds great, Barb! I may have to borrow my folks dehydrator to try this.

yorkie girl · 02-15-2008, 08:48 AM

I havent done anything else yet, because I LOVE the apples so much. What a great, clean, portable snack. I will try banannas again this weekend and will try them longer - my goal is bananna chips. I also bought some Peaches & apricots to see what I can do with them. Will let you know, but the Green granny smith apples are AOK!

jem51 · 02-15-2008, 10:53 AM

i used to dry bananas but just cut them in half lengthwise. they get like soft leather. i think you will need to cut them pretty thin to get chips. i kept them out in a big jar and they didn't get moldy so i'm sure all the actual water was gone. i bought a cheap electric stove at a moving sale last year just so i'd have something til my house is done. it has knobs, what a concept, huh? the first oven # is 200 but if you turn the knob just til the light comes on, it only heats to 95-100. i have dehydrated nuts (after soaking), made krauts, pickled vegies, yogurt, buttermilk. at that low a temp it takes a couple days to dry almonds but no mold. i may hook it up in an outdoor kitchen later. it would be great for jerky since it is so big. i usually have several thing going at once.

fawn · 02-15-2008, 11:12 AM

Quote:

I will experiment with cucumbers and other stuff. Will repost on what comes out good.

cucumbers probably have too high a water content for dehydrating.

Yummy's_Girl · 02-16-2008, 08:09 AM

I love my dehydrator. Well worth the money and they are worthteh space they take up. I'd recomend if you dont have space for one, Make the space for it! It's so worth it!

pri17cess72 · 02-16-2008, 08:16 AM

I am off to buy the food dehydrator now.

ardawn · 02-16-2008, 12:19 PM

I am going to get one of these soon. I wonder how turnip,radishes,or jicama would turn out? Also the kids would love sweet potato chips,as well as the fruit leather. The possibilities are endless. I can't wait to experiment with herbs,jerky,yogurt,etc.....

Zer · 02-16-2008, 12:51 PM

Nesco Jerky Xpress is $40 online at Target - and I'm sooo tempted!

Quote:

• 350-watt dehydrator makes tasty jerky
• Fixed temperature for simple operation
• Patented Fan Flow radial flow drying system produces fast, even drying
• Includes plastic beef jerky gun, attachments and 4 jerky spice & cure packs
• Dishwasher safe except for powerhead

Love the idea of making my own LC snacks without the hazard of commercial additives! Wonder if I can do vegie chips in this, as well as jerky. I'm thinking of green beans - all crunchy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkie girl

I bought the GOOD machine. It is a NESCO... and the heater and fan is in the LID not a bottom heating element. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Dont have to constantly rotate the trays, has an adjustable heat setting. I bought it at Bed Bath & Beyond for $60 + my 20% cupon came out to $50. Cant wait to do jerky.

VGrace · 02-16-2008, 01:00 PM

I have a dehydrator but have not used it in years, I am going to have to pull it out and make some beef jerkey!

Zer · 02-16-2008, 01:05 PM

Before I order a jerkymaker, I thought I'd find a recipe for salmon jerky, just to see what's involved. Love salmon, but cannot find any salmon jerky that is LC. Now, I've got some root-beer flavoring that is just too sweet for my taste, but it may do just fine as a sugar substitute in salmon jerky. Can you imagine this?

Recipe at Salmon Jerky Recipe - Home Cooking says sugar is the key to making salmon jerky. Urk! No wonder all the commercial stuff sounds like candied salmon to me! But I'm getting excited about this now!

Nigel · 02-16-2008, 01:15 PM

When you dehydrate to make veggie chips, do you need to steam or blanch the veggies a bit first?

Strawberry · 02-16-2008, 09:53 PM

Can you do celery chips? I occasionally buy these expensive celery chips that are made by dehydrating/freeze drying celery (the ingredient list is: celery, olive oil, salt ) And I would kill to be able to make them cheaply enough that I could eat them more often.

Also, somewhere in the lowcarb recipes section of this board, there is a thread about "chips" made in a dehydrator from veggies and cottage cheese... they looked delicious. You might try doing a search.

Yummy's_Girl · 02-16-2008, 10:26 PM

I've been meaning to try celery chips in mine but haven't gotten around to it. Many people who post on the dehydrator forums that I post on now and then have done dehydrated celery and use them and other veggies as salad sprinkles. Celery has a high water content so I would think you would have to cut the pieces fairly large in order for them to dehydrate down to a chip size. I do know many people do dry celery though.

As for blanching first, it depends on the veggie you are drying. Alot of them do not need blanched But I beleive there are some that do.

I've been wanting to dry a mix of veggies to use for sprinkling on salads and for rehydrating to make soups, but just have not had the time. Hopefully this summer when my aunt puts her garden out, since she often brings me fresh veggies if her garden does well.

I've done strawberries many times as well as bananas, apples, tomatoes and beef jerky.

I've also done zucchini chips and those are really good. You can coat them with seaonsings first if you like. Ranch dressing mix is good on them.

The roma tomaotes are really good if you like dried tomatoes.

For those that do not have a dehydrator and want to try it, you can use your oven if it is capable of going on low settings, or if it has a drying cycle. I used to do that for beef jerky before getting the dehydrator. You need to prop the door open though with the handle of a wooden sppon or something similar

Zer · 02-17-2008, 12:25 AM

Celery chips? Sounds good to me! I've enjoyed celery chunked with jicama as a munchie made more interesting by a sprinkling of cayenne to add zip. It's not quite popcorn, but I get to do the hand-to-mouth activity that satisfies a lot of my snacking urge. I imagine that celery chips would be tasty, crunchy.

Dreamchaser · 02-17-2008, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yummy's_Girl

I've also done zucchini chips and those are really good. You can coat them with seaonsings first if you like. Ranch dressing mix is good on them.

Zucchini chips sound awesome! I think I could almost buy it just for that.

02-14-2008, 09:29 AM	#1
yorkie girl Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 71 Gallery: yorkie girl Stats: 180/171/150 WOE: Modified Atkins Start Date: restarted Aug 2008	LOVE my new food DEHYDRATOR!! I made apple chips, strawberry fruit leather (fruit roll ups) and bannana chips! My favorite are the apple chips! I got the granny smith ones, used my hand slicer and sliced them thin, they didn't brown and look just as if you bought them from the store, minus all the additives. The fruit leather is simply pureed strawberries and some water - it is fantastic! I didnt pretreat any of the fruit, I wanted to do it naturally to see how it came out. Im so happy because I bought the GOOD machine. It is a NESCO not a RONCO and the heater and fan is in the LID not a bottom heating element. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Dont have to constantly rotate the trays, has an adjustable heat setting. I bought it at Bed Bath & Beyond for $60 + my 20% cupon came out to $50. Cant wait to do jerkey.

02-14-2008, 09:52 AM	#2
yorkie girl Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 71 Gallery: yorkie girl Stats: 180/171/150 WOE: Modified Atkins Start Date: restarted Aug 2008	OH yeah . . . Plus it is much cheaper!

02-15-2008, 08:48 AM	#15
yorkie girl Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 71 Gallery: yorkie girl Stats: 180/171/150 WOE: Modified Atkins Start Date: restarted Aug 2008	Just did apples I havent done anything else yet, because I LOVE the apples so much. What a great, clean, portable snack. I will try banannas again this weekend and will try them longer - my goal is bananna chips. I also bought some Peaches & apricots to see what I can do with them. Will let you know, but the Green granny smith apples are AOK!

02-16-2008, 01:05 PM	#23
Zer Blabbermouth!!! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SoCal (Orange County) Posts: 7,295 Blog Entries: 42 Gallery: Zer Stats: 5'10"; 64; 508.7/377/199 WOE: Atkins: <5%Carb; BMR:2423cals; 182gProt; 128ozH2O Start Date: 432.4(2/8) 413.2(4/8) 402.2(6/8) 387.8(10/12)	Salmon jerky, maybe flavored with root beer??? Before I order a jerkymaker, I thought I'd find a recipe for salmon jerky, just to see what's involved. Love salmon, but cannot find any salmon jerky that is LC. Now, I've got some root-beer flavoring that is just too sweet for my taste, but it may do just fine as a sugar substitute in salmon jerky. Can you imagine this? Recipe at Salmon Jerky Recipe - Home Cooking says sugar is the key to making salmon jerky. Urk! No wonder all the commercial stuff sounds like candied salmon to me! But I'm getting excited about this now! __________________ 432.4#(2/8/08; I got a talking scale) ... Feb:-5# March:-13# April:-5.8# May:-6# June:-6# July -5.8# Aug:+6 WHOA! Sept:-2.6# Oct:-15# ...394.4(10/1) Nov:-2# ...379.4(11/1) 376.2(11/13) 373.0(11/17) 377.0(11/21) 374.6(11/25) Dec 377.4(12/1) Interim goals: 432.4 430 420 410 399 390 380 370 360 350 340 330 320 310 299(2/5/09) 290 280 270 260 250 240 230 220 210 199 5'10"; 64yrs; Your feedback is welcome at my blog Tango, anyone?

02-16-2008, 10:26 PM	#26
Yummy's_Girl MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,917 Gallery: Yummy's_Girl Stats: 168/134/130-135 WOE: A way of my own Start Date: June 2006	I've been meaning to try celery chips in mine but haven't gotten around to it. Many people who post on the dehydrator forums that I post on now and then have done dehydrated celery and use them and other veggies as salad sprinkles. Celery has a high water content so I would think you would have to cut the pieces fairly large in order for them to dehydrate down to a chip size. I do know many people do dry celery though. As for blanching first, it depends on the veggie you are drying. Alot of them do not need blanched But I beleive there are some that do. I've been wanting to dry a mix of veggies to use for sprinkling on salads and for rehydrating to make soups, but just have not had the time. Hopefully this summer when my aunt puts her garden out, since she often brings me fresh veggies if her garden does well. I've done strawberries many times as well as bananas, apples, tomatoes and beef jerky. I've also done zucchini chips and those are really good. You can coat them with seaonsings first if you like. Ranch dressing mix is good on them. The roma tomaotes are really good if you like dried tomatoes. For those that do not have a dehydrator and want to try it, you can use your oven if it is capable of going on low settings, or if it has a drying cycle. I used to do that for beef jerky before getting the dehydrator. You need to prop the door open though with the handle of a wooden sppon or something similar __________________ www.myspace.com/yummys_girl Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.--Arnold H. Glasgow ~~~~~~Sammi~~~~~~

02-14-2008, 11:09 AM	#3
mrsdimples Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lafayette, IN Posts: 213 Gallery: mrsdimples Stats: 221/168/140 WOE: Atkins Start Date: January 3, 2005	Can you do any veggies with it? I see you do Modified Atkins, but for the "true" Atkins folks out there--none (or very little) of the dried fruits are allowed. Does sound REALLY yummy and not that expensive for the dehydrator itself. I thought it would be a lot more expensive then that!

02-14-2008, 01:19 PM	#4
fawn Big Yapper!!!! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 9,019 Gallery: fawn Stats: 210/120 WOE: Eating For Health Start Date: 2/2000	Dried veggie chips are awesome in the dehydrator! Jerky is the best! I just do a dry rub of my own concoctions......

02-14-2008, 03:20 PM	#5
yorkie girl Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 71 Gallery: yorkie girl Stats: 180/171/150 WOE: Modified Atkins Start Date: restarted Aug 2008	I do plan on doing veggies, I want to make ''chips'' so I will experiment with cucumbers and other stuff. Will repost on what comes out good.

02-14-2008, 03:23 PM	#6
flaminghotsauce mama MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: My Own Private Idaho Posts: 1,289 Gallery: flaminghotsauce mama Stats: 178/167/125, 5'5" WOE: Protein Power LifePlan Start Date: October 2008	We dehydrate our Roma tomatoes at the end of the growing season. My kids love dried tomatoes and eat them like chips.

02-14-2008, 04:36 PM	#7
artinformation Senior LCF Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 75 Gallery: artinformation Stats: 230/193/150 WOE: Atkins Start Date: Jan 28 2008	I have wanted to get one of those for a long time. Don't have the space. Maybe oneday. Beef jerkey and vege chips would be awesome

02-14-2008, 07:04 PM	#8
3leggedtable Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bridgewater, MA Posts: 209 Gallery: 3leggedtable Stats: 244/193/180 6 feet WOE: CAD Start Date: 1-29-2007	I love kitchen gadgets, but have no space for any more toys.

02-14-2008, 07:12 PM	#9
BarbDe Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SE Florida Posts: 3,300 Gallery: BarbDe Stats: Quit smoking 11/4/07; 9/22/08 216/210/170 WOE: Atkins Start Date: August 2004	Do you guys dry the tomato whole? I haven't used mine in a while. I should break that out and get drying again!

02-14-2008, 07:59 PM	#11
flaminghotsauce mama MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: My Own Private Idaho Posts: 1,289 Gallery: flaminghotsauce mama Stats: 178/167/125, 5'5" WOE: Protein Power LifePlan Start Date: October 2008	We've done slices and halves. The slices dry quickly and keep longer. I end up freezing them anyway, but they go great in soups, sauces, and stews if they make it that long! I've also been known to freeze whole Roma tomatoes. I just whip them in the blender with other veggies & seasonings for a salsa cruda. We've never tried drying the slicing-type tomatoes, they have a lot more water in them than the paste-type.

02-14-2008, 10:32 PM	#12
jacksmixedtape MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: going to school in NC Posts: 2,219 Gallery: jacksmixedtape Stats: 160/140ish, 5'11" WOE: gluten-free whole foods Start Date: May 2007	Yay for homemade jerky and veggie chips! That sounds amazing. $50 ain't bad for something so useful. Do you have any jerky recipes?

02-15-2008, 08:35 AM	#14
sappl38220 Senior LCF Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Northern MN~GODS Country Posts: 550 Gallery: sappl38220 Stats: 198/190/140 WOE: general lo carb Start Date: on & off since Dec '99	Sounds great, Barb! I may have to borrow my folks dehydrator to try this.

02-15-2008, 10:53 AM	#16
jem51 MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: south central OR Posts: 1,653 Gallery: jem51 Stats: oh so happy at 120 WOE: EFGT Start Date: controlled carb '97-98	i used to dry bananas but just cut them in half lengthwise. they get like soft leather. i think you will need to cut them pretty thin to get chips. i kept them out in a big jar and they didn't get moldy so i'm sure all the actual water was gone. i bought a cheap electric stove at a moving sale last year just so i'd have something til my house is done. it has knobs, what a concept, huh? the first oven # is 200 but if you turn the knob just til the light comes on, it only heats to 95-100. i have dehydrated nuts (after soaking), made krauts, pickled vegies, yogurt, buttermilk. at that low a temp it takes a couple days to dry almonds but no mold. i may hook it up in an outdoor kitchen later. it would be great for jerky since it is so big. i usually have several thing going at once.

02-16-2008, 08:09 AM	#18
Yummy's_Girl MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,917 Gallery: Yummy's_Girl Stats: 168/134/130-135 WOE: A way of my own Start Date: June 2006	I love my dehydrator. Well worth the money and they are worthteh space they take up. I'd recomend if you dont have space for one, Make the space for it! It's so worth it!

02-16-2008, 08:16 AM	#19
pri17cess72 MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SF Bay Area CA Posts: 2,464 Blog Entries: 1 Gallery: pri17cess72 Stats: 187/xxx/130 5'5" WOE: Atkins Start Date: 01/01/2007 Re-Start 01/01/08	I am off to buy the food dehydrator now.

02-16-2008, 12:19 PM	#20
ardawn Senior LCF Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NW Arkansas Posts: 659 Gallery: ardawn Stats: 5'6,goal weight 130 WOE: Atkins Start Date: starting anew each day	I am going to get one of these soon. I wonder how turnip,radishes,or jicama would turn out? Also the kids would love sweet potato chips,as well as the fruit leather. The possibilities are endless. I can't wait to experiment with herbs,jerky,yogurt,etc.....

02-16-2008, 01:00 PM	#22
VGrace Senior LCF Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: NM Posts: 802 Gallery: VGrace Stats: 173/?/130 WOE: WW	I have a dehydrator but have not used it in years, I am going to have to pull it out and make some beef jerkey!

02-16-2008, 01:15 PM	#24
Nigel MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,195 Gallery: Nigel	When you dehydrate to make veggie chips, do you need to steam or blanch the veggies a bit first?

02-16-2008, 09:53 PM	#25
Strawberry MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,726 Gallery: Strawberry	Can you do celery chips? I occasionally buy these expensive celery chips that are made by dehydrating/freeze drying celery (the ingredient list is: celery, olive oil, salt ) And I would kill to be able to make them cheaply enough that I could eat them more often. Also, somewhere in the lowcarb recipes section of this board, there is a thread about "chips" made in a dehydrator from veggies and cottage cheese... they looked delicious. You might try doing a search.

02-17-2008, 12:25 AM	#27
Zer Blabbermouth!!! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SoCal (Orange County) Posts: 7,295 Blog Entries: 42 Gallery: Zer Stats: 5'10"; 64; 508.7/377/199 WOE: Atkins: <5%Carb; BMR:2423cals; 182gProt; 128ozH2O Start Date: 432.4(2/8) 413.2(4/8) 402.2(6/8) 387.8(10/12)	Celery chips? Sounds good to me! I've enjoyed celery chunked with jicama as a munchie made more interesting by a sprinkling of cayenne to add zip. It's not quite popcorn, but I get to do the hand-to-mouth activity that satisfies a lot of my snacking urge. I imagine that celery chips would be tasty, crunchy.