What is your favorite item to dry in your dehydrator?

[Maelinde]

I love using my dehydrator, and I've made some yummy treats, and some flops.

So far, my favorite dehydrated treats are tangelo slices, Roma tomatoes, banana chips, and kale.

I have plans to dehydrate some beef jerky, Zucchini chips, and potato chips.

What are your favorites? Also, what have you been wanting to dehydrate and just haven't gotten that "round tuit" out yet?

 

[Dawgluver]

Looking forward to trying the tangelo slices! I've made some very pretty wreathes with orange slices.

Years ago, DH ran a tennis tournament, and came home with an excess of leftover bananas, which made awesome chips. I grow a surplus of cherry tomatoes and apples which dry well. I've also made raisins and dried peaches. Dehydrated watermelon takes ages, but the end result tastes like cotton candy.

 

[larry_stewart]

I always do the dried tomatoes when I have an abundance in the summer. I do a bunch of herbs and mint too.

 

[Cheryl J]

I'm going to have to get my dehydrator out and start using it again. I bought mine at a yard sale several years ago and dried some herbs in it, and some desert flowers for crafts, and that's about it. Lots of good ideas here.

 

[Selkie]

Thinly sliced pot roast (cross cut) for making beef jerk.

 

[Dawgluver]

Now that's it. Will have to hit the grocer for whatever lean beef is on sale tomorrow and make some jerky. We'll miss DH's Wednesday old fart discount, but oh well.

 

[Bookbrat]

We dry a lot, but favorites are cherry tomatoes, halved and cut side up - sprinkled with salt, granulated garlic and fresh ground pepper, and tomato paste leather. Kale...we crumble it in everything, like parsley. Mushrooms (especially morels when I can find 'em!). Huckleberries. Garlic, sliced thin,it rehydrates just like fresh. I like to keep chopped onions and sliced potatoes around, too.

 

[CWS4322]

I use my dehydrator all the time. One of the things I like to do is dehydrate mushrooms. I pick up mushrooms when they are on special and dry them. Tomatoes (love tomato chips), cherries, apples, extra stock (which I grind afterwards--takes up less real estate than freezing it). Garlic--which I grind for garlic powder.

 

[Dawgluver]

I forgot to mention mushrooms, I also get them when they're marked down.

 

[Maelinde]

I hadn't thought about sliced mushrooms! I need to put them on my list along with some cherry tomatoes. Hoping to do the jerky before the weekend, along with some Zucchini chips -both 1st time dehydrator treats. I'll keep you posted.

Do try the Tangelos sliced very thin with the skin still on at 125F. It tastes like candy. Randy prefers to take off the skin before he eats them, but I love it. I'll have to check my notes for how long I dried them, but I do know that times vary depending on heat, humidity and sea level. I do remember that I let them dry initially for 6 hours, and then checking every couple hours until done.

 

[bethzaring]

Garlic. In Ohio I couldn't keep garlic for very long so I dehydrated a lot of it. It will make a noticeable aroma in the house.. I have about 250 plants growing right now and plan on dehydrating again here in NM.

 

[Dawgluver]

I am very glad to see this, totally forgot about dehydrating garlic. I bought a big bag from Costco.

 

[callmaker60]

Deer meat, aka jerky

 

[Dawgluver]

Venison makes awesome jerky.

 

[Kayelle]

I'm going to have to look for a used one. I'm inspired...although I have no counter space for one, I could park it outside on a table plugged in, right?

 

[Dawgluver]

Kay, mine resides in the basement on a shelf with my canning supplies, along with all the extra trays. I don't leave it upstairs permanently, though I suppose you could.

 

[Cheryl J]

I'm going to have to look for a used one. I'm inspired...although I have no counter space for one, I could park it outside on a table plugged in, right?

You sure could, Kay - if you're in an area where critters aren't a problem and you can see your outside table from the part of your house where you reside the most, and can keep an eye on it. I have limited counter space too, and back a few years ago when I bought my used dehydrator, I put it on the patio table and plugged it into the outdoor outlets during the day. I could see it from the kitchen, dining room and living room, so it was easy to keep an eye on.

I've even plugged my Nesco roaster into the patio outlet during the summer and let dinner cook outside. I wouldn't leave anything overnight, though.

I'm getting inspired, too. I just brought my dehydrator in from the garage to clean up and use again. Thank you for this thread, Maelinde. There are so many good ideas here.

 

[CWS4322]

Kay, mine resides in the basement on a shelf with my canning supplies, along with all the extra trays. I don't leave it upstairs permanently, though I suppose you could.

Mine live in the basement. I bring them up when I want to dehydrate s/thing. Stinky stuff gets dehydrated on the deck. I hate clutter on my counter tops. I only have two knife blocks and my rack of cutting boards on the counter. Everything else has a place, and is in its place. And no, Andy, no kitchen items are stored in a powder room.

 

[Maelinde]

Mine is the size of a rather large microwave. Its an Excalibur 9-tray. I'm very fortunate to have counter space for it to live there permanently. I've seen many smaller models that people love, so there is something for everyone.

If you don't mind used, check your local thrift stores and yard sales. They most likely won't still have the manual, but those can often be downloaded online. A friend of mine found one at her local thrift store for $5 and it looked like it had never been used - box and manual with registration card all intact.

Got more tangelos done and I can't stop eating those. They taste just like candy! I wish we still had bananas, I'd make more banana chips. We just keep eating them fresh before getting a chance to dehydrate them.

We're going to freeze, slice and marinate the beef tonight and then dehydrate the jerky tomorrow to have some snacks for the Ren Faire this weekend. Hopefully we'll still have tangelo slices left to bring - that is if I don't eat them all.

 

[FrankZ]

I love doing pear leather with ours. And of course jerky (beef or deer)