Dehydrator recommendations

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tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45704
Location: Essex

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 9:04 am Post subject: Dehydrator recommendations
Need a dehydrator, haven't got round to building my drying cupboard and after last nights rain I reckon we've got 20 kg of split cherries to do something with. Got to be a useful size

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 10:09 am Post subject:
Excaliber or l'equip are the ones i have, excaliber is good as tye heat comes from th back of the unit and moved with fans so all trays are heated equally while l'equip heat from the bottom so it helps if your around for tye first few hours to swop top to bottom trays but as i recall they are a bit cheaper. What is it you would like to do with them? Dried individually or leathers?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46362
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 12:35 pm Post subject:
my excaliber gets a vote strong and long lasting,good at even drying ,quite quick etc etc not cheap though i think it was about �200 5 yrs ago with some extra silicone sheets for leathers etc

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 12:47 pm Post subject:
Yep thats about the price, the offer to use mine still stands.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45704
Location: Essex

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 5:09 pm Post subject:
I'm after drying whole will look at Excalibur thanks

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46362
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 5:33 pm Post subject:
they do seem good for largish batches i got mine online and it arrived quite quickly the silicone sheets are ace for leathers but they also are good for catching drips which saves on cleaning the racks and grids will go in a dishwasher but i usually give em a soapy spray and then hose em off in the shower that is fine for home use but an eho would have kittens

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 6:45 pm Post subject:
Yep, mine g through the dishwasher. Martin invested in some super duper stainless steel excalibers and racks and absolutly hates them. Stick to the plastic model and all ahould be good.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45704
Location: Essex

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 7:03 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

an eho would have kittens

Using kittens to clean your trays?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 7:04 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

Martin invested in some super duper stainless steel excalibers and racks and absolutly hates them.

To be fair to Excaliber though, what are the chances that Martin's actually looked at the user manual or anything?

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 7:09 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Pilsbury wrote:

Martin invested in some super duper stainless steel excalibers and racks and absolutly hates them.

To be fair to Excaliber though, what are the chances that Martin's actually looked at the user manual or anything?

strangely it seems he did, the manual says perfect for drying meat but it sticks to the metal, the distributors have told him to just buy the plastic mats thst he used in the ordinary ones but for him thst defeats the object of buying the more expensive stainless ones. Anyway for home use, even with tahir huge fruit production, a standard excaliber should be more than enough.

Midlandsman

Joined: 22 May 2014
Posts: 116

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 11:45 pm Post subject:
Whilst it's off topic, how difficult is it to make one? MM

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46362
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 11:58 pm Post subject:
fairly easy if you can make safe electrics,good temp control gear ,work out the airflow etc etc i sometimes use scrap/sticks/a cloth, wind ,sunshine and a small fire to keep the flies away but a decent ready made box is a lot less bother and soon pays for itself compared to buying jerky etc (sorry youse pro dryers)

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45704
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 14 9:52 am Post subject:
Cor, blinking nora! The 1st plums we've done are Gipsy, a cherry plum, edible but not brilliant, dehydrating has turned it into the most mouth puckeringly acidic thing ever. Like "Toxic Waste" if any of you have had the misfortune to try them

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 14 10:00 am Post subject:
Oh pooh - I've been counting the days till my Gipsy is ripe enough to try . . such a pretty plum and the first crop we've had. The only plum I dry is Anna Spath, its got a very rich flavour and becomes a good version of a prune. Just eating some that were frozen last year, I always forget how delicious they are.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45704
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 14 10:31 am Post subject:
I'll be trying any that we'll have surplus of. Only enough Herman to eat fresh, next ripeners will be Early Favourite and Early Rivers, then the Japanese don't think it's worth trying any of them.

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