Excalibur Dehydrator, opinions please

[Laura]

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/Dehydrators-37-cat.htm

I am reading that dehydrating food is not only easy but a great way to put away A LOT of food.

I have never dehydrated anything and would love your input on the Excalibur, and, or any other dehydrator out there....

ALSO: forgot to ask, Once you have dehydrated the food, what do you store the food in? Do you need a "Food Saver" vacuum sealer?

http://www.foodsaver.com/Index.aspx

Are these little gadgets worth owning? If so, would you then need to store up the bags, so that you have plenty of 'back up'??


Thanks!
Laura

[CapeCMom]

The Excaliber is next on my list of must haves. I am very interested in making dried things that usually go bad in my refrigerator before I use all of it-like Vidalia onions, celery, etc. I also want to make jerky. Regular onions kill me and my digestion, but sweet onions like vidalia are OK. I hate it when they go out of season. For right now I have bought dried onion flakes, but they seem salty to me.

[sissy]

I have one, It is a refurbished one. Found it on ebay. Excaliber has a store front there. Much cheaper for the refurbished. I chose one without the timer to save some money I love it. (9 trays) I have used 4 others & they don't compare. I dry lots of stuff & still trying different things. It has been busy this summer.
I WILL NOT DRY ONIONS IN THE HOUSE AGAIN. I tried them for the first time the other night. Boy was it rough.
On the food saver working on my third one a must have for me. I reuse a lot of my bags. depends on what they are used for. I also use a lot of wide mouth canning jars to vacuum seal my dry stuff in. I got that attachment with my first one.(way back when you could only get them off tv)
Hope this helps.
Sissy

[NCLee]

I absolutely recommend the Excalibur and the FoodSaver! Both are well worth the investment.

I started out with one of the cheap round dehydrators. It was money thrown away as I couldn't get anything to dry properly in it. Those without a thermostat are set to dry jerky that requires a much higher heat than fruits, vegetables, and herbs. I tried it several times to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. Finally after I'd wasted too much food, I gave the thing away.

Borrowed a neighbor's old Excalibur model. The FIRST time I used it I immediately saw the difference. Bought the 9 tray version with the thermostat and timer. The timer is worth the extra cost, since I don't have to get up at 3:00 am to turn it off.

The square trays of the Excalibur are easier to load than the round ones. And since they are individually suspended in the case, there's no stacking and restacking of trays every time something has to be checked during the drying process. Round dehydrators with the heat source at the top or the bottom requires re-stacking the trays for even drying.

I like the fact that I can create extra space between shelves, simply by leaving out one or more, when I have something that needs extra space. This could be bunches of herbs on the stem or a craft item.

Did you know that you can make yogurt in an Excalibur? And can use halfpints, pints, or quart jars, depending on how you like to use/store your yogurt in the refrigerator.

Recently I looked up one of the more highly recommended round ones and did a price comparison. It sounded like a better buy, from a cost standpoint, until I added up the additonal trays and tray liners needed to equal 9 trays. Ended up with a higher cost and less square footage for drying. If you're considering another dehydrator, check this out for yourself.

Now to FoodSaver... :) First, it does work as claimed. I'm on my second one and my neice is still using my old model. It's the best way I've found to freeze fresh fish, hands down. And, I've tried just about every method that's been suggested over the years.

I does prevent freezer burn on meats. And, they can be kept in the freezer longer than any other wrapping method I've tried.

Have had several friends and family try the inexpensive sealer options on the market. Each one has been disappointed with the results. Mainly the vac seal doesn't hold. Each one either gave it away or simply threw it in the trash. They're probably OK for short term storage, but based on what I've seen first hand, I couldn't recommend them for long term use.

One of the best features of some foods vac sealed with a FS is the heat and heat factor. Simply drop a sealed package into a pot of boiling water. I use this when I make pulled pork BBQ, and spatchcocked BBQ chicken. Don't have to wait for it to thaw. Can do it in the microwave if a corner of the bag is clipped to let out steam. But, in general, I prefer boiling water.

And, before I forget.... corn on the cob! Blanch and vac seal. Later drop a meal sized bag into boiling water. That corn tastes like it was picked that morning.

With the jar sealing attachments, IMHO, it's the best way to store dehydrated foods and other dry products to lengthen their shelf life, pest free. When sealing anything that's small enough to be pulled into the pump, cover it with a coffee filter prior to sealing. Or, put a zip lock in the mason jar, then fill, close the bag, seal the jar. In fact you can store small amounts of compatable products in individual bags in a vac sealed jar.

I'd better close before I ramble on forever on the advantages of these two products when stocking a pantry. Standard disclaimer - I'm not associated with either of these companies. Just a long time customer of both.

Lee

[NCLee]

I WILL NOT DRY ONIONS IN THE HOUSE AGAIN. I tried them for the first time the other night. Boy was it rough.

Same with peppers! NEVER AGAIN! I learned that lesson the hardway, too. For drying those things, the Excalibur goes on the back porch on a day when the humidity is lower. Or, it goes to my shop for those. I can stay out of the shop for the duration. :)

Lee

[CanNerd]

Hee! Hee! I dehydrate onions at least once a month in the house. I tried it once outside and realized the aroma was carried by the wind directly to my neighbors 20 ft away, so I brought it back inside.

If you dehydrate celery at the same time you will find the harshness of the onions is reduced, but I've never really complained since the aroma dissipates greatly after the first hour or two. Better than any store-bought air freshener. :wink:

I have used a American Harvester/Nesco "GardenMaster" for years and have about 10 trays for it. I would love an Excalibur but it is out of my price range.

[Laura]

OOOO Never thought about the 'smell'......I am guessing by the CAPS it's pretty stinky.

What are 'stinky's' (onions, peppers....)??
Does the manual tell you what is super smelly?
I don't want to freak my family out!!
thanks
laura

[NCLee]

"Stinky" isn't as good a word as overwhelming.

Onions and peppers are the two worse ones in my opinion. The peppers make my eye's water.

Most foods will give off an odor of some kind as they are drying. Some are mild and barely noticable. Other's have a pleasant aroma. Most are OK and don't cause any problems. Plus, it all depends on how much you're drying and how sensitive you are to the aroma.

I may be more sensitive than most, as I don't like those auto air fresheners or scented candles either. A brief whiff smells good, but it isn't before long that the lavender, spring rain, apple blossum, or whatever becomes overpowering to me. Sorta like having to work beside someone who took a bath in perfume before coming to work.

If you have to dry foods with an overpowering aroma, another option is to open a window and set a fan in front of it that blows the air to the outside. Turning on the stove's exhaust fan helps, too.

When you start dehydrating, do a small batch of anything that normally has a high aroma, such as onions. That'll help you judge if you need to move the dehydrator to the porch. My mistake was to fully load the 9 tray with peppers with the AC recirculating the aroma all through the house.

And, as CanNerd indicated you can start the process outdoors, then bring inside to finish the batch. After a while the aroma does lessen. I'm going to try the suggestion of combining celery and onions.

In any event, don't be afraid of using a dehydrator. You'll adjust things to suit your needs as you become accustomed to using one. Oh, and be sure to keep the family involved. If they're helping with the process, you'll hear less complaining as they don't want to complain about their handiwork. Start out with drying treats before moving on to the hardcore stuff. Fruit rollups are just one of the treats that a dehydrator can yield.

Lee

[sissy]

Quote: My mistake was to fully load the 9 tray with peppers with the AC recirculating the aroma all through the house

That was my mistake with the onions. (they were strong to start with) Hubby turned off AC opened doors & windows, & turned attic fan on. :) I have not had a problem with anything else. But still trying new things in between regular stuff.
NCLee, thanks for the heads up on the peppers. I'm getting ready to try some hot peppers soon. Done some sweet peppers not long ago.
Sissy

[Laura]

Where is the best place (cheapest price) to buy an Excalibur?

Thanks
Laura

PS Found this......
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dehydrator-Limited-Offer-Excalibur-3900-R_W0QQitemZ120453736542QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSmall_Ki tchen_Appliances_US?hash=item1c0b9a285e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Is this a good deal on the Excalibur?

Now look at this:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0019202515819a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=dehydrator&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

For an extra 100, is this the better deal???
Which will last longer??

I am not afraid to spend money........if it's gonna last.


Thanks

[sissy]

I found my on e-bay. The Excalibur store runs refurbished ones on there.
Hope this helps
Sissy

[nhlivefreeordie]

I have used a American Harvester/Nesco "GardenMaster" for years and have about 10 trays for it. I would love an Excalibur but it is out of my price range.

I have used this one as well without a hic-cup, but up to this point the majority of my dehydrating has been mushrooms, in fact during morel season they run 24/7 for a week or so. As I get into this method of preserving more, I may need to look to step up, ...in the mean time, this has worked beautifully for what I have used it for.

[LJH]

I love my Excalibur. Yes, they're spendy, but when the produce is ripening at warp speed or you want some awesome jerky it pays for itself in no time. A couple of months ago the local grocery sold me a giant box of ripe bananas for $2.00 (I could hardly lift it!). I ran home, fired up the machine and have enough banana chips in my freezer to last all year for snacks & baking.

The other kitchen item I don't think I could live without is my Vitamix. Another (initially) costly item that IMO is worth every cent. Mine's been doing almost daily duty for over 8 years.

I don't have a foodsaver but it's next on my list too. Once in a while Costco has them on sale and I'm waiting for the next one.

[mtwildflower]

I have a Living Foods Dehydrator and I LOVE it.

http://www.dryit.com/

I ordered it in the kit form for pretty much the same price it is now, ( maybe about $50 less....I have had it for about 10 years now) and it was easy to put together. It's been an indispensible item.

[NCLee]

The site must be down this morning. Even googling the link didn't work.

I'm interested in this because Excalibur has increasng their emphasis on the "living foods" trend for several years now. Was just wondering if the dehydrator in the link has a high enough temp to cover the range of recommended temperatures for best drying of everything from herbs to jerky.

Lee

[pcrowder]

My Excalibur will do everything from herbs to meat. I LOVE IT! I bought it "refurbished" on EBay - it was refurbished due to a costmetic flaw, not an electrical one. By buying it directly from the company, I saved over $100.00, so that made it "doable" for me. Otherwise, I couldn't have afforded it.