Kitchen Garden Forum

Has anyone got any experience with using one of these dehydrators. I am looking into purchasing one, but would like to know if they genuinely work before parting with my money! I want to use it for soft fruits mainly - any tips would be gratefully received.

I am in the same position thinking of getting a hydrator but don't know where to start. Hope by posting will encourgae others to give any feedback on hydrators they have. I'd like to know the capacity - ie how much can you dry at once???

I bought a L'Equip a couple of years ago, it has 12 sq feet of drying space, I was quite happy with the cherries tomatoes, courgettes I dried, but it takes ages to do it.

Jeanne

i did mean dehydrator - Thanks Jeanne - how long is ages - could you set it to go over-night or does it take longer than that?

I have one that I bought from Tchibo (very good value at about £20 as I recall; they do them each January) and have so far only dried chillies. It dried them beautifully but it did take arund 18 hours to do so.

Hello Chantal
Some of the things that puzzle me about these machines are once the food has been dried how are you supposed to store it safely and how long will it keep? Also how do you know when the material is dried properly - do you just follow the instructions?

John

Hi John

I dried these until they were crispy and there was no soft bits whatsoever. These were Scotch Bonnet chillies so I cut them in half first. Some dried a lot quicker than others and I took them out as they were ready. You can easily tell what's dry and what's not just by the feel.

Once dried I've stored them in a kilner jar and they're keeping well. They have retained a fabulous colour.

Instructions are minimal and drying times are guidelines only. I think it'll be trial and error for the first batch of everything.

Thanks, Chantal.

Hi CJ,
Our tomatoes took about 48hours if I remember correctly, there are five trays, and it is a good idea, to swap them round during the drying period. The cherries also took 36 to 48hrs. You are supposed to be able to make fruit leathers etc, but I have not adventured that far.

Jeanne

What sort of power rating do these machines run at? (There should be a label on the back somewhere specifying 230V a.c., fuse rating etc - we're interested in the number of Watts).

I'm minded to convert an old laboratory box with a couple of lightbulbs, and an old computer fan, as an experiment. I've tried the fan oven, which goes down to 50 degrees C, but found it tied the oven up for too long.