Food Dehydrator

As we have a lot of fruit this year, especially apples, I was thinking of dehydrating some of it to keep for later in the year. Has anyone had any success with this? Any recommendations on brands or models to buy? Thanks!

I have an Ecalibur Food Hydrator with 5 trays and teflon sheets for sale because I am moving. It works well. Mostly I use it for dehydrating seed crackers, fruits and vegetables. The size is 18" (L) x17" (W) x8" (H). These are $350.00 new but happy to negotiate a reasonable price. If you are interested please contact Jean at (250) 830-7488.

1 Like

I dehydrate apples frequently. They dry nicely. You can dry them so they are soft and chewy or you can dry them so they become like an apple chips - both are very good. I don’t do anything special to prepare them- core, slice (about 1/8"), peeling is up to you. My dehydrator takes anywhere from 5-8 hours depending on the apple moisture and how thick I cut the slices. You can do them in the oven as well. Enjoy!

1 Like

I dehydrate apples and Italian plums every year. It works beautifully for fruits and herbs. Mine is an Excalibur as well. The one for sale above sounds like it might be a great deal for you :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like

I have a 12 tray Cabela food dehydrator. It cost about $500.00 from Cabela’s, purchased 2 years ago and hardly used. It has the manual and selling for $300.00 on face book Marketplace. All the photos and details are there, including the maunfacturer’s plate on the back of the model.

And I’ll chime in too. My dehydrator is probably 25 years old. Its an American Harvester. Works excellently for many things. I even make raisins from our grapes. Apples dry wonderfully. I usually dip in lemon (10%) and water (90%) before drying.

https://www.hunker.com/13409092/american-harvest-snackmaster-dehydrator-instructions

We use a Nesco with up to 12 trays. We dry fruit leather, cucumbers, apples, leeks, anything really! Works great for everything e dry.

For apples we peel and core, slice in the round, soak in a water and citric acid mixture to prevent browning, then dry.

Looks like you have lots of options, and even some machines to purchase.

Good luck!

I have a NESO also and am very happy with it. I use a dip of weak lemon juice/water
or apple cider vinegar.

Thank you so much to all of you for the info and suggestions about food dehydrators. This is such a helpful community. :slight_smile: You’ve given me a lot to think about. It seems like a food dehydrator is a good way to preserve the harvest from the garden. Thanks again!

1 Like

Just to chime in here, I have the Nesco model as well. I started with four trays and now have eight. That is, in my opinion, the nice thing about the Nesco - you can just keep adding trays (they are available on Amazon). I dry apples, but unlike others, I slice them them very thin and then do a ‘shake and bake’ kind of coating of Stevia and cinnamon. Sweet, cinnamony, crispy goodness. I use whatever apples I can get or the cheapest I can buy.