What should I look for when buying a food dehydrator?

Hi dragon. I've only had a couple of dehydrators. My first was a Ronco. It did the job okay, but it did it so slowly. Okay, so it hardly used any power at all, but still, it took a lot longer than I would have liked. The thing I really didn't like about it though was that the trays had to be rotated here and there or it wouldn't dehydrate things correctly. Even then sometimes it wouldn't turn out right. My second, and current, is a Nesco American Harvest. I like this one a lot better. It may use a bit more power than the Ronco, but I don't have to worry about rotating the trays and things get dehydrated quickly (a few hours as opposed to a day or more). Here's a link to the one that I have. There's even reviews on it, if you're into that sort of thing. LOL I hope this helped! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Snackmaster-Express-Food-Dehydrator/1120727

I have a dehydrator but haven't used it yet. I bought it last year but my garden was pretty much a disaster because of all the Spring rains we had so I really didn't get enough to dry. I couldn't even tell you, offhand, which kind I bought. It's tucked away in the basement, somewhere. I do know that mine has 4 or 5 levels but that's all I can tell you right now. However, this discussion has made me think about it so now I'll have to get it out. I want to make some jerky, too, so I'll head to the store to get some beef and give it a whirl. If it turns out okay (i.e., edible), I'll let you know what kind it is. I know I didn't spend too much on it, though. It was on sale and, of course, I just HAD to have one at that very moment. Hopefully, this year's garden will be much more productive and I'll get some terrific dried fruits, veggies and meat. I saw instructions on how to make a solar food dehydrator but it seemed like an awful lot of work. I believe the instructions were on the Mother Earth News website. They have tons of cool information, recipes and instructions.

Excalibur is the Cadillac of dehydrators, but you may not need one as expensive (and quality) as that, just starting out. Look for one with a fan and a thermometer, but if you have to get one without a thermometer, you can get by. There's a good article about them here: (Not a referral link!) http://www.stretcher.com/stories/09/09may18a.cfm

I use my dehydrator allot, but unfortunately it was discontinued shortly after I bought it. I was able to find extra trays after much searching, but this has proven a real pain. I would suggest that you search for one which you can add or remove trays from, so that you can dry more or less stuff depending on what you have available. Obviously, it costs you the same in power whether you have one tray loaded or lots, but it´s handy to be able to take some out if they´re surplus to requirements. Also look for one which is easy to clean. Mine has an edge to the trays which is a pig to clean if fruit accidentally gets squashed into it. I wish I´d thought to check before I bought it! Finally, a dehydrator which has trays with a very fine mesh, or inserts to put inside them with a fine mesh, will allow you to process a wider variety of produce. Some of them have an insert which is solid based and allows you to make your own fruit leathers. I´ve never tried it myself, but I´d be interested to hear from anyone who has. I dehydrate an awful lot of apples and pears in mine. My kids use it for their school snacks, and it´s great to keep about for snacking on. Far healthier than most other snacky options! This summer we have a new solar drier to use, so I´m really looking forward to some sustained sun in order to try it out. Enjoy using your new machine!

It all depends on how much you plan on dehydrating as to the best unit. I know the units from American Harvester are good. I have attached a link to a site that did a write up on some units. Maybe this information will help you out. Just copy and paste it to your browser. www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2003-06-01/Choosing-a-Food-Dehydrator.aspx

Mine is the rectangular type with 6 trays. Its made by le'quipe but looks similar to the excalibur models It really needs to have a thermostat but I suppose most of them do nowadays. I found the 6 trays are adequate for most things although I think you can buy extra trays if you have a lot to do. They have seperate inserts as you cant put the rays in a dishwasher and I find that to be quite useful,the inserts can go in the machine and are flexible so no worries about misshaping them with hot water. You really need to have somewhere where you can put it permanently else you will avoid getting it out to use and it will be wasted so if you dont have a biggish area to accomodate it, maybe the smaller models would suit better.