Dehydrators

A German friend dries all sorts of veg and pulverises into veg powders to use in soups, stews etc through the winter. I have dried apple slices in a borrowed dehydrator and was snacking on them for quite a while through the winter. I liked the idea, but it took up quite a bit of space. I am going to see if DD’s air fryer has a dehydrator setting.

I have one with lots of extra trays- and share it around with friends. Not expensive at all and so useful. I use mine to dry herbs, medicinal and for cooking, but mainly for foraged mushrooms.

I’ve done apple slices and oranges and lemon slices. The citrus are great at Xmas for the tree and fireplace. I put raffia or string through and hang them around. Bought it years ago good investment. Dried lots of stuff.

Some not all that expensive air fryers can dehydrate too.

Small tomatoes, halved with dressing of salt and oil, can be " sundried" in an oven with very little cost.
Heat the oven to 225, place the tray of tomatoes on the top shelf, close the door, wait a few minutes, turn the oven off, and leave them in overnight with the door closed.
I expect that this would work with other fruit/ vegetables.
Thanks to Nigella Lawson.

I made flax crackers in the oven on low because they are so expensive and I'm frugal. I've just got a second hand dehydrator cheap off eBay with metal shelves. It's barely been used by the previous owner and looks like new. I'm going to try yoghurt in it. Interested in instant rice, do you cook it then dehydrate it? How do you store it & how long does it last? Thanks all

I've dried cherry tomatoes in a slow oven then stored them in olive oil in Kilner jars, with a bay leaf. They did dry, not hard, and kept well.

karmalady

I used to have a very good quality excalibur dehydrator and used it a lot, cheaply when there was electricity supplied by my solar panels

I gave it away, not everything dried right through to the centre and occasionally that became bad, even if stored in air tight containers. I moved, no solar panels now

You have to be very very careful when packing, to ensure that all moisture is out, I would never have dried cooked rice, it freezes very well and can be quickly cooled.

I dried all sorts, would never have another dehydrator, not worth the hassle nor expense nor the space it took up

Did you slice the fruit and veg karmalady? I wouldn't expect thicker pieces to dehydrate well, not things like cherry tomatoes if their skin was intact as the water would be held inside.

My ninjas do it too (default temperature is 60 degrees centigrade) but I'd expect that a normal oven set at the same temperature would work perfectly well, particularly if you put the fruit or veg on a rack of some kind?

You can use an air fryer if you have one

ViceVersa

Usedtobeblonde

My original small ninja air fryer has this facility but I’ve never used it.
Has anyone tried it with theirs?

Yes, my Ninja has the dehydrate feature and I've used it - making 'sundried' tomatoes with it worked particularly well, so I do this any time we have a glut of tomatoes from our greenhouse.

thank you for this. I've never used the function either but have a lot of tomatoes so will try it

Yes,waste of time...🤣

You might find an air fryer with a dehydrator setting more useful. I have a dehydrator and I use it for all sorts of things, including healthy dog treats.

I’ve used one of my air fryers (one with shelves not drawers) to dehydrate slices of oranges 🍊 , lemons 🍋. Brilliant 🤩

I'm in the US and I had an air fryer that has a dehydrator function. It cost me about $100 USD.

I am hoping for lots of cherry tomatoes, maybe wishful thinking but I can hope.
I shall try tomatoes in the Ninja.
Has anyone then done them in oil with maybe garlic and herbs?
I could get excited now.

imaround

I absolutely love mine! Currently it has sand/glue "excavation" sites in it currently so they dry quickly because I need them for an event on Saturday.

We dry:

fruit
fruit leather (a recipe made with honey as the sweetener)
vegetables
cooked rice (makes instant rice)
cooked beans (makes quick cook beans)
jerky
random craft things

I have also used my oven set at 200f with the door cracked overnight, but that all depends on the cost of electric or gas. A small dehydrator would be much more cost effective in the long run I would think.

fruit leather (a recipe made with honey as the sweetener)
imaround I'd never heard of this until last week when DD made some in my oven. She left it on about 50C for several hours including overnight.
It was very tasty.

Other DD has dehydrator as they grow a lot of fruit.

Usedtobeblonde

My original small ninja air fryer has this facility but I’ve never used it.
Has anyone tried it with theirs?

I have successfully dehydrated a glut of chillies in my Ninja Air fryer.

Bought a fairly inexpensive (£30ish) dehydrator a couple of years ago. Works a treat on some things but takes a bit of experimentation. We grow various garden fruit. Not great with raspberries (moisture) but was really good with drying figs and strawberries, kept well in jars for months! Don’t have an air fryer - yet - but that sounds a fab alternative.

I used to have a very good quality excalibur dehydrator and used it a lot, cheaply when there was electricity supplied by my solar panels

I gave it away, not everything dried right through to the centre and occasionally that became bad, even if stored in air tight containers. I moved, no solar panels now

You have to be very very careful when packing, to ensure that all moisture is out, I would never have dried cooked rice, it freezes very well and can be quickly cooled.

I dried all sorts, would never have another dehydrator, not worth the hassle nor expense nor the space it took up

My latest gadget, an airfryer, a cheap Dunelm own brand one, has a dehydrate setting/program. I've bought a set of 3 shelves from Amazon to use inside it. I am finding it a useful addition to my kitchen. As well as actually cooking things in it I used it to sterilise jam jars earlier this week.

Allsorts

Coukd you do dried tomatoes on one of our heatwave days, I don't want another gadget so will google.

Not sure, to be honest - but worth a google for sure! I only tried doing it in the Ninja after reading a post where someone else had done it successfully. I don't think I'd buy a separate gadget for dehydrating though, as I wouldn't use it often enough to justify it.

Coukd you do dried tomatoes on one of our heatwave days, I don't want another gadget so will google.

Usedtobeblonde

My original small ninja air fryer has this facility but I’ve never used it.
Has anyone tried it with theirs?

Yes, my Ninja has the dehydrate feature and I've used it - making 'sundried' tomatoes with it worked particularly well, so I do this any time we have a glut of tomatoes from our greenhouse.

I absolutely love mine! Currently it has sand/glue "excavation" sites in it currently so they dry quickly because I need them for an event on Saturday.

We dry:

fruit
fruit leather (a recipe made with honey as the sweetener)
vegetables
cooked rice (makes instant rice)
cooked beans (makes quick cook beans)
jerky
random craft things

I have also used my oven set at 200f with the door cracked overnight, but that all depends on the cost of electric or gas. A small dehydrator would be much more cost effective in the long run I would think.