First off, Deb and I are fixing to purchase a dehydrator, and would like your opinions of our choice. We are hearing, and have read reviews of the different makes of dehydrators offered. Our conclusion is our purchase will be the Excalibur brand.
We're really leaning towards the Excalibur model 3926T, which is located below on the right hand side of the page.
We're considering this model simply for the amount of produce we reap during our growing season, and by this being a larger, 9 tray model, we feel it will fit our needs better. This being with more room, you'll be able to dehydrate more volume per process.
We've also decided, this depending on you guy's input as well, on getting the built in timer. We just feel that if you were processing a dehydrator full of vegetables, etc., then having to get up at 2, 3, or 4 o'clock in the morning wouldn't be really all that much fun.
When we read about this point, I looked over at Deb, and she was already saying, "Forget it buster!" I don't know what's wrong with our "womenfolk" these days! I distinctly remember the wording..."To honor and obey, don't you other men out there remember this as well? I'm beginning to feel "our gals" may be coming down with a bad case of selective hearing syndrome!
Excalibur makes these two models both with the option of having the built in timers or not. The two models
without the timer are the 3526 (5tray), and the 3926 (9tray).
The two models
with the timer are the 3526T or the 3926T.
If you guys would, please get back with us as quickly as you could, simply because we'd like to go ahead and purchase one. Prior to our gardens coming into production we could be trying out some fruit and beef jerky. I'd really like to try that out!
Any input you guys have, once again, would be greatly appreciated, because in regards to this subject, with Deb and I it's kinda' like "the blind leadin' the blind!" Neither of us have any knowledge what so ever of this, and not only that, if you don't ask questions, how you ever gonna' know?
You guys in the past have all been outstanding in sharing your thoughts and knowledge with us, and we know this topic things will be no different! With that being the case, we're thanking you in advance...right now!
Excalibur 3000 Series Models
| This 5-tray size is the most popular choice for small families who want convenience of counter top use. | The 9-tray models are the perfect size for large families, gardeners, and crafts people. |
| 5 Polycarbonate Trays with Polyscreen inserts: 8 square feet of tray space | 9 Polycarbonate Trays with Polyscreen inserts: 15 square feet of tray space |
| Adjustable Thermostat: 85º - 145ºF | Adjustable Thermostat: 85º - 145º F |
| Cabinet: 8½" H x 17" W x 19" D | Cabinet: 12½" H x 17" W x 19" D |
| Built in on/off switch | Built-in on/off switch |
| Heavy Duty 5" fan, 400 watts | Heavy Duty 7" fan, 600 watts |
| Convenient Removable Door | Convenient Removable Door |
| Model #3500- Without Timer Model #3526T: with-26-hour Adjustable Timer | Model #3900 Without Timer Model #3926T: with-26-hour Adjustable Timer |
| 10 Year Extended Warranty Available | 10 Year Extended Warranty Available |
Durable American Made All components are made and assembled in the United States of America.
For the readers who are like Deb and I, who are not very knowledgeable with dehydrators, check out the last couple of sentences below the Excalibur photos...Made in America!
Of course to all of our friends outside our borders, if you'd order your Excalibur's through Deb and I, we could have little stickers made up to place on each dehydrator box. For example, if you were one of our friends from Canada, we could make up our own sticker and where it says Made in America, we could place our sticker over America, and put in its place...Canada! LOL!
No seriously, we here in America have lost so much of our manufacturing capabilities through government regulation, taxation, and unionization, we're surprised to see a product that still bears Made in the U.S.A. on them period! Sad, but true!
Okay, you guys have just seen that Deb and I know absolutely ZERO in regards to dehydrators. So you guys ought to be intelligent enough to see where this conversation is headed now. Once we have one...what do we do now?
Honestly, you all can be a great help to not only Deb and I, but our other friends that are in the same boat as us. Would you people that have been dehydrating for a period of time supply us with some information of what you do with your dehydrators?
Jerky as an example, I love jerky and know that the amount of different techniques and recipes are probably endless. With this being the case, would you be kind enough to send in some of your favorite recipes, drying times, etc.? This would be a tremendous help to "the rookies," like us.
Same thing in regards to the drying of your own fruits and veggies. What are the best ways you've found to do such as this? Do you flavor any of these prior to dehydrating? Are there some fruits or vegetables that maybe don't do as good as others, and possibly steer us clear of the ones you guys have found that don't do quite as good?
If there's anything you can think of in the do's and don'ts department, please don't hesitate to chime in. You'd be doing us all a great service by doing so! Plus, I'm sure there may be topics in regards to food dehydration I'm not even asking about, and through the experience you've already gained, you can probably tell us things, that again I may not even be asking about!
Here's a good example of my inexperience.
I've read recently, and have a friend we've met through our columns, Craig, that's just tried this. We'd been hearing and reading about the dehydration of eggs.
Basically what Craig and I had been discussing was again the recipe for dehydrating eggs, and it is as follows.
Scramble your eggs in a skillet making sure that they're completely done. Take out of the skillet and pat dry. You then place the eggs, spread evenly on the dehydrator trays, and dehydrate about 10-12 hours. Once dehydrated, put them into a blender and blend until they're a powder form. At that point Foodsaver them, once again they'll be in a powder form.
To reconstitute them, you take one teaspoon of your egg powder, and add one teaspoon water, or two teaspoons egg, to two teaspoons water, etc. I've also heard using 1 teaspoon egg, to two teaspoons water, so, which is correct?
I've heard as well that this is a safe method, but also have heard it is not a safe method? Help us out, is it safe or not?
The naysayers talk about salmonella, and the possibility of this happening through the process of dehydrating eggs. Is this true or not? My feeling is if the eggs have been scrambled, and made sure they're completely done, could this happen?
So please advise in this regard. Miz Bonnie, where are ya? Anyone of our other friends as well, Sandra, Kathleen, Kunoichi, MizVonDerW, Kimberly, etc.
On the other hand, many claim this process to be completely safe, and honestly I thought it to be so, BUT, what do I know? If I did know I'd probably not be asking so dern many questions, huh?
Our good friend Craig took me at my word that this would work, so I'm really hoping it does. Here's some photos of Craig's dehydrated eggs, and his rundowns to boot. Again, I've heard this is safe, but others say no.
His First Batch: Which came out more yellow.
Hey Dub, Here are the first 18 eggs. You know how the food saver bags have marks on them. This is a small bag from one mark to the next. Dehydrated food takes up a lot less space but I suspect when reconstituted is actually like a concentrate. I have heard that drying eggs like this leaves them tasteless. I meant to add some # such as oregano and kept forgetting. Tomorrow when I do the other 18 I think I will add. Not sure whether to do it while cooking or when blending it to powder. By the way, when I took the egg out of the dehydrator it was hard like china. Ground up to a nice powder. So far, so good. I'm looking forward to the cheese and potato.
His Second Batch:
Ok Dub, here it is. First, this batch is twice as dark as the first which came out more yellow. This one is more green, no doubt because of the added oregano. After I ground it up I added 2 table spoons of powder to a bowl and 4 of water. Was I suppose to let it sit in that for a while? I put it right in the pan and fried it for a minute. It didn't reconstitute near to what I expected. It's texture was somewhat grainy like nuts and didn't have a lot of taste on its own. Did I make a mistake here by not letting the powder soak for a bit in water? As a source of protein, I could live with the results. You can always season it and add ketchup but I wouldn't call it a culinary delight. It is survival food at this point. Help me big guy!
I believe I'm gonna' close it down for now guys. You see above Craig's efforts. He's asking for advice as well.
If this will work, from a food safety standpoint this probably would be much better if hamburger was added after reconstituting the eggs and scrambled together, rice too.
Once again my friends, thank you for coming by to see us! Please take care and God Bless!
Keep your eyes open, and your nose in the wind!
Dub and Deb
The Older Gent's Weekend:
An older, white haired man walked into a jewelry store one Friday evening with a beautiful young gal at his side. He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend. The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring. The old man said, "No, I'd like to see something more 'special'." At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. "Here's a stunning ring at only $40,000," the jeweler said. The young lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement. The old man seeing this said, "We'll take it." The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the old man stated, "By check. I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I'll write it now and you can call the bank Monday to verify the funds and I'll pick the ring up Monday afternoon," he said. Monday morning, the jeweler phoned the old man. "There's no money in that account," he said. "I know," said the old man, "But let me tell you about my weekend!"
