Posted on 06/28/2009 1:24:17 PM PDT by appleseed
We have accumulated probably 3-6 months worth of stuff thus far, a good chunk of it being dry and canned goods, but more and more I am eying that deep freeze and all the food in it, because although there have been discussions of a generator purchase, we still don’t have one and I am very wary of the possibility that a power loss will render most of it useless. Another motivation is the fact that dried food lasts for so much longer and loses far less nutrients than canning, and I would like to use or save every bit of every vegetable currently growing in our yard.
Therefore I am looking to buy a smallish yet efficient food dehydrator and before I blindly buy one off something like walmart.com, I’d love to hear recommendations from others. I am looking to spend between $50-100. What can you all tell me?
Second question - any good online how-to resources for food dehydration? Or books? This is an entirely new area for me.
And while I have you all - speaking of that generator...what should we look to buy for a family of five in a largish colonial (it’s not huge, but it’s 2700 sq ft)? Keeping in mind of course that we would be limiting our space and consumption in such a situation.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/dry.html
From the Nation Center for Home Food Preservation..lots of info about canning on there too.
A website for the Amish seems a tad oxymoronish, don’t you think?
Somewhat but they also have a catalog and i think that is what most of the old order Amish use.
If you ever worry about living without power they have a lot of stuff just be careful about letting the little woman see the oil lamps and such.
1 Box fan
4 paper HVAC filters
8 “dehydrator sheets” (?)
2 Bungee cords
He builds and uses the thing on the episode “Withering Bites” and (IIRC) one on drying spices ... or maybe jerky.
The LDS Church knows about this stuff:
http://www.providentliving.org/channel/1,11677,1706-1,00.html
mark for later reading
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/2006-08-01/Build-a-Solar-Food-Dehydrator.aspx
Dang dude be careful with that chain saw........I have used one since ripe old age of 12 and have had kickbacks and such yet now I wear the kevlar when cutting wood. It’s there use it ! Too old and heal a lot slower in my case....;o)
Hope yer ok !
This dehydrator is a MEN design and works well. Friend has one ...... I sun dry tomatos and chili peppers and that is all.
STAY SAFE !!
Yikes! My knee hurts just thinking about it.
I, too, have an Excalibur. The 9 tray model.
Love it so much that when my ex tried to sneak it out of our house as part of his “personal effects” I made my lawyers file the papers to force him to return it to me.
And the judge agreed! :)
I have an ancient one from Ronco like from the 70s that has stood the test of time and looks just like a new one on their site except mine is black. Slice some beef thin with an electric knife, dip into some soy sauce (and a spoon of brown sugar if you want sweet) and sprinkle with pepper - the best jerky ever. Fruit does well, too. It comes with little plastic containers to make yogurt but I’ve never done that. I make my yogurt in a mayo jar on a heating pad and covered with a crockpot. If you want the instructions, ping me.
https://www.ronco.com/FoodDehydrator
If you like to build stuff, check out:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Cooking/cooking.htm
Using your oven works great, but you would want to do that in the winter and not heat up your house during the summer.
Wow, do I like the idea of only spending 40 bucks! :) Thanks to all for the responses, they are greatly appreciated.
Great link with great information, thanks. Could you post or freepmail me the model details of your generator? That price, compared to many, isn’t too bad.
We got the 6500elp for the price of the 5500elp. We looked at many different ones and this was the least expensive propane model. Fired right up after delivery.
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