Thinking of using my dehydrator

[birdlover82]

So after reading some of the threads on here I'm thinking of breaking out my dehydrator and giving it a shot. Thinking of trying to make veggie leather for the fids too.
But I was wondering what veggies and fruits are the best to do for just dehydrating them.
Can I do bell pepper?
I don't have a book for my dehydrator it's my moms old one that she passed on to me when she got a new one. So it's ancient, like 20 years old. And I actually haven't even used it since I have had it. Need to because I loved dried fruit from it when I was a kid.
So any beginner tips you have to offer I'm all eyes.

 

[piercesdesigns]

Bell peppers work great. I dice them and lay them out in a single layer and dehydrate at about 120. It does not take long at all. They make a great sprinkle for food (or your own salad).

 

[birdlover82]

Can you dehydrate greens? Like during the summer when I have my garden can I dehydrate kale and stuff instead of freezing it?

 

[BraveheartDogs]

I got a dehydrator for Christmas so I am interested in this too! I am waiting for the Farmer's Market to come in April to use it!

 

[Sharpie]

I don't have a dehydrator, but want one (and a blender/processor) so I'm watching this thread.

 

[zoomama]

I have an old dehydrator too, but mine just has an off-on switch, there is no temperature setting. Does that mean it won't be good for dehydrating fruits and veggies for a bird? I don't mean to hijack your thread, Susan. Let me know if I need to move this question to a new thread, okay?

 

[birdlover82]

I have an old dehydrator too, but mine just has an off-on switch, there is no temperature setting. Does that mean it won't be good for dehydrating fruits and veggies for a bird? I don't mean to hijack your thread, Susan. Let me know if I need to move this question to a new thread, okay?

No you are totally fine. To be honest I'm not sure what type of switches mine has. It's out in storage.

 

[Tamara]

Oh golly! Totally take Debbie's advice! I've seen her dehydrated things. She knows her stuff!!!

 

[allison]

Try not to dry foods high in sugar. The sugar content will be concentrated and will be even higher in sugar. I have a cheap dehydrator from Wallmart and had a lot of trouble with it. The things looked dry but were still gooey on the inside. I mixed it all together and in a few days it started getting smelly which is when I figured it out. I had dried them almost an entire day, so there was no reason for them not to be dry all the way though. Also, the trays had too large of holes so if I tried to cut any small pieces, they fell right through to the bottom. I have just resorted to buying all of my dry veggie mixes for this reason. I think if I tried it again, I'd have to get a more expensive model. I just don't have the patience. I'm bad enough with waiting for seeds to sprout. And yes, you can dehydrate greens. That's just about the only thing that worked for me.

 

[birdergirl]

I tried drying greens and it didn't work well. I wouldn't advise it, at least not until you had more experience with the dehydrator. I make homemade banana chips, carrot chips, apple chips. I dried green beans - they came out kind of weird, but Keiki chewed them a little, so they might work out. I might try beets (one more way to serve them!)

My dehydrator (try camping supply places- mine came from Bass Pro Shops) came with a plastic ring that you lay on the rack and you can use to make "roll-ups" from applesauce or other purees. You can dry a puree to a powder and reconstitute it later. As a method of preservation, freezing's better for something like that, but hey, it makes storage a breeze.

Combine this tool with a food sealer (another Bass Pro find) and you can stash away a lot of snacks for the whole family.

 

[WenM]

Oh, I tried posting on this yesterday and my computer was being bad. We have a large Excalibur 9 rack dehydrator - darn things the size of my microwave lol.

We have done lots of greens and they turn out beautifully, you just have to be sure that you do them a specific way. Only dry similar density items together. Herbs, spinach, etc dry well if spread thin - never overlap anything. Some herb type consistancy items dry very well just out on a plate - no dehydrator needed as long as it has air flow. I have an Aerogarden and just pick and dry the stuff on a plate unless I am doing a lot of things. Put the plate on the top of your oven if you ever have a pie or something else baking in there - that heat that shoots out the top of your oven is great for drying items like herbs and greens.

My birds like dried fruit as well as the fresh so I do a lot of fruits. I do not add sugar but sometimes add cinnamon. Lemon juice can "R" word some of the browning. We do not use sulfates so they don't look as fancy as store bought but then no sulfates either. They taste as good - for us and the birds. Veggies are the same. The trick is drying same density/moisture content items at the same time, not over crowding, not overlapping and making sure they are completely dry before storage.

 

[Lobby]

I use mine all the time to make apple chips, sweet potato chips and banana chips. Strawberry will not eat the commercial ones now because she likes mine better. The banana chips can take a while to dry because they are too soft to use my slicer on so they are not as consistent as my other chips. With my Walmart dehydrator I will say that the thinner the thinner I can cut the items the better.

I check the items often and if they don't feel crisp I just leave them in the dehydrator. If they seem to soften after removal back they go. It took a little trail and error but I'm pretty good at it now.