Dehydrators

[Guest guest]

I feel the same way. When I first went raw, I bought a dehydrator in

order to make all the recipes and I had a lot of fun doing them. But

the longer I'm raw, the less I find I want to make recipes or use the

dehydrator. Once in a great while, I'll use it for a treat, but

that's it now.

 

Carolyn

 

> A dehydrator may be something you would want to put at the end of

your list of 'must have's " ; some raw food teacher discourage the use

of dehydration anyway, seeing it as not really being an optimal way

of eating. The more I stick with the raw food diet, the less I seem

to be using it just naturally. They would encourage use of all fresh

foods instead. Again, it's one of those options.

 

> Peace,

> Valerie

[Guest guest]

I'm a raw newbie and want to get an Excaliber dehydrator (not cheap). I just

watched the A. Cohen video and have her book. I'm so bored of salads only and

want to make " crackers " and burgers and roll ups to go along with the fresh

fresh foods. My husband is going to definately need some exciting foods to eat

along with me because he loves SAD food. How abouf feedback on how great they

are? Or more feedback on why not.

 

Thanks, Diana of Dewberry Hill

 

> A dehydrator may be something you would want to put at the end of

your list of 'must have's " ; some raw food teacher discourage the use

of dehydration anyway, seeing it as not really being an optimal way

of eating. The more I stick with the raw food diet, the less I seem

to be using it just naturally. They would encourage use of all fresh

foods instead. Again, it's one of those options.

 

> Peace,

> Valerie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send a seasonal email greeting and help others. Do good.

 

 

[Guest guest]

While I am using my dehydrator less, it is an excellent tool for transitioning

into the raw lifestyle. I have made tons of crackes, dehydrated desserts,

patties, etc. with this dehydrator, and loved it. What is nice about the

Excalibur is the flexibility of use; if you have thicker items, just remove a

tray or two (by the way, I have the nine-tray). If you are making lots of

crackers, you can do nine trays of them at once. I found having the nine trays

helpful when preparing food for more folks, or doing fruit leathers, etc. The

temperature control is the key element there, and I found the drying was much

more even than with the Ronco dehydrator I used prior to that. I would recommend

it if you can afford it.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

Diana of Dewberry Hill <cozad76078 wrote:

I'm a raw newbie and want to get an Excaliber dehydrator (not cheap). I just

watched the A. Cohen video and have her book. I'm so bored of salads only and

want to make " crackers " and burgers and roll ups to go along with the fresh

fresh foods. My husband is going to definately need some exciting foods to eat

along with me because he loves SAD food. How abouf feedback on how great they

are? Or more feedback on why not.

 

Thanks, Diana of Dewberry Hill

 

> A dehydrator may be something you would want to put at the end of

your list of 'must have's " ; some raw food teacher discourage the use

of dehydration anyway, seeing it as not really being an optimal way

of eating. The more I stick with the raw food diet, the less I seem

to be using it just naturally. They would encourage use of all fresh

foods instead. Again, it's one of those options.

 

> Peace,

> Valerie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send a seasonal email greeting and help others. Do good.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Diana, I have been mostly raw not 100% since May. I absolutely love my

Excaliber. I know what you mean about getting bored. I also have to cook for

my kids. We have been vegetarian for years but this is a big step for me. I

have Alissa's book and dvd and they are both really great. One thing that

really keeps me going with the raw is to make a pate. I basically take

vegetables and process them into a paste. I usually take enough out for 2

servings to either eat alone or put on a salad or have with crackers.(Seems that

after a couple of servings I have had enough) Then I make little patties with

the rest and dehydrate them. They are so good! It makes it so easy to grab a

bag of these to take with me to work or when I run errands. I have a friend

that does this as well and we share with each other. It's great because we have

different ideas about what foods to mix and get each other excited about our

newest creation. My favorite right now is portabello mushrooms, a

bunch of arugula, a little lemon, some jalapeno pepper, a little krystal salt

and a few dates. It is so good. There is one catch though...when this gourmet

treat comes out of the dehydrator it looks like road tar. ;-) But it is

delicious. My other favorite right now is the banana one that someone posted a

few weeks ago. Very sweet and satisfies that sweet craving.

 

There are some days when vegetable juice, salad and fruit are just fine but

there are times when I need something more. And I find it really fun to just

create food. I usually spend and evening or afternoon and just make a few

recipes and then just eat those and simple things for awhile then the cycle

repeats itself. I hope some time soon I am just going to go through Alissa's

book and try each recipe! They all sound so delicious. Hope this is of some

help.

Melody

 

Diana of Dewberry Hill <cozad76078 wrote:

I'm a raw newbie and want to get an Excaliber dehydrator (not cheap). I just

watched the A. Cohen video and have her book. I'm so bored of salads only and

want to make " crackers " and burgers and roll ups to go along with the fresh

fresh foods. My husband is going to definately need some exciting foods to eat

along with me because he loves SAD food. How abouf feedback on how great they

are? Or more feedback on why not.

 

Thanks, Diana of Dewberry Hill

 

> A dehydrator may be something you would want to put at the end of

your list of 'must have's " ; some raw food teacher discourage the use

of dehydration anyway, seeing it as not really being an optimal way

of eating. The more I stick with the raw food diet, the less I seem

to be using it just naturally. They would encourage use of all fresh

foods instead. Again, it's one of those options.

 

> Peace,

> Valerie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send a seasonal email greeting and help others. Do good.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I'm finding I use my dehydrator more than I did when I first went

raw. In fact, the dehydrator was the first thing I bought (I

already had a juicer). I always have a tray of onion petals, banana

chips and apple slices going. What I've cut down on is difficult,

involved recipes (for the time being anyway) ... am sticking to

basic salads and fruits pretty much.

cheers

 

rawfood , " carimom2000 " <tncnavarra@a...>

wrote:

>

>

> I feel the same way. When I first went raw, I bought a dehydrator

in

> order to make all the recipes and I had a lot of fun doing them.

But

> the longer I'm raw, the less I find I want to make recipes or use

the

> dehydrator. Once in a great while, I'll use it for a treat, but

> that's it now.

>

> Carolyn

>

> > A dehydrator may be something you would want to put at the end

of

> your list of 'must have's " ; some raw food teacher discourage the

use

> of dehydration anyway, seeing it as not really being an optimal

way

> of eating. The more I stick with the raw food diet, the less I

seem

> to be using it just naturally. They would encourage use of all

fresh

> foods instead. Again, it's one of those options.

>

> > Peace,

> > Valerie

[Guest guest]

I use my dehydrator all the time, but I agree that it is less important to me

than the vitamix and cuisinart food processor. I also agree that dehydrated

food does not make me feel as " sparkling " as blended foods/soups or raw salad

type food, or even pates. I think it's the moisture loss and the hardship to

rehydrate them in the body.

That said, playing with cracker recipies is fun, and if you overbuy produce in

season (now I have some yellow and orange tomatoes in there), it's fun to

dehydrate them (rather than wasting it if it were to go bad). We also use it to

dehydrate soaked almonds, that, after soaking in water, are soaked in namah

shoyu and curry, and they get RAVE reviews--great travel snack. hth/michele

 

Diana of Dewberry Hill <cozad76078 wrote:

I'm a raw newbie and want to get an Excaliber dehydrator (not cheap). Thanks,

Diana of Dewberry Hill

 

 

 

 

 

Jazz up your holiday email with celebrity designs. Learn more.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Diana

I LOVE my Excaliber dehydrator. I have the 9-tray, with a timer

(and temp control of course). I ordered it direct on line from

excaliber and got a good price, shipping, and warranty. The thing

is huge, takes up a lot of counter space, but I wouldn't give it up.

I only have 3 teflon sheets, but use parchment paper when I need

more.

 

I need chip type food to munch, I've always been a muncher, and

going raw hasn't changed that. When I first purchased the

dehydrator, I was so busy learning about stuff, I really didn't use

it much. Now (five months into this) I continually have a batch of

something going ... onion petals, apple slices, and especially

banana chips.

 

Hope this helps.

cheers

terry

rawfood , Diana of Dewberry Hill

<cozad76078> wrote:

> I'm a raw newbie and want to get an Excaliber dehydrator (not

cheap). I just watched the A. Cohen video and have her book. I'm so

bored of salads only and want to make " crackers " and burgers and

roll ups to go along with the fresh fresh foods. My husband is going

to definately need some exciting foods to eat along with me because

he loves SAD food. How abouf feedback on how great they are? Or more

feedback on why not.

>

> Thanks, Diana of Dewberry Hill

>

> > A dehydrator may be something you would want to put at the end

of

> your list of 'must have's " ; some raw food teacher discourage the

use

> of dehydration anyway, seeing it as not really being an optimal

way

> of eating. The more I stick with the raw food diet, the less I

seem

> to be using it just naturally. They would encourage use of all

fresh

> foods instead. Again, it's one of those options.

>

> > Peace,

> > Valerie

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Send a seasonal email greeting and help others. Do good.

>

>

[Guest guest]

also, the beauty of the dehydrator is that you can leave stuff in there for

awhile. No freaking out if you forget it for a few minutes

 

 

 

 

 

Meet the all-new My – Try it today!

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone who answered! I copied the recipe for those Nama Shoyu almonds,

y'all! And ooh, Terry...good info! I'll check at Whole Foods tomorrow and

Excaliber's site and compare if W.F.'s carries them. Someone on this list had

one but (no offense) one wants a warranty and to send a check to the company.

Allison Cohen says to buy the teflon sheets. This is one investment I don't

think I want to blotch on lesser equipment. I want to make fruit roll-ups and

crackers for sure. Some cookies, etc. I can do without a few other

non-essentials for items like this. Fine new friends I have here.

Diana of Dewberry Hill

 

Diana

I LOVE my Excaliber dehydrator. I have the 9-tray, with a timer

(and temp control of course). I ordered it direct on line from

excaliber and got a good price, shipping, and warranty. The thing

is huge, takes up a lot of counter space, but I wouldn't give it up.

I only have 3 teflon sheets, but use parchment paper when I need

more.

 

I need chip type food to munch, I've always been a muncher, and

going raw hasn't changed that. When I first purchased the

dehydrator, I was so busy learning about stuff, I really didn't use

it much. Now (five months into this) I continually have a batch of

something going ... onion petals, apple slices, and especially

banana chips.

 

Hope this helps.

cheers

terry

 

 

 

 

 

Read only the mail you want - Mail SpamGuard.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Diana,

Alex from raw guru.com gives you teflex sheets with the purchase of the

dehydrator. I just received the 5 tray with 4 teflex sheets.

 

Diana of Dewberry Hill <cozad76078 wrote:

Thanks everyone who answered! I copied the recipe for those Nama Shoyu almonds,

y'all! And ooh, Terry...good info! I'll check at Whole Foods tomorrow and

Excaliber's site and compare if W.F.'s carries them. Someone on this list had

one but (no offense) one wants a warranty and to send a check to the company.

Allison Cohen says to buy the teflon sheets. This is one investment I don't

think I want to blotch on lesser equipment. I want to make fruit roll-ups and

crackers for sure. Some cookies, etc. I can do without a few other

non-essentials for items like this. Fine new friends I have here.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Valerie,

 

The last batch of fruit leather I made stuck to the teflex sheets. So I had

five trays of pink glue that I had to dissolve with boiling water. What a

mess! How did you make your? I really think I need help on this one.

Sasha

 

----

 

rawfood

12/22/04 23:39:00

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Dehydrators

 

While I am using my dehydrator less, it is an excellent tool for

transitioning into the raw lifestyle. I have made tons of crackes,

dehydrated desserts, patties, etc. with this dehydrator, and loved it. What

is nice about the Excalibur is the flexibility of use; if you have thicker

items, just remove a tray or two (by the way, I have the nine-tray). If you

are making lots of crackers, you can do nine trays of them at once. I found

having the nine trays helpful when preparing food for more folks, or doing

fruit leathers, etc. The temperature control is the key element there, and I

found the drying was much more even than with the Ronco dehydrator I used

prior to that. I would recommend it if you can afford it.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

Diana of Dewberry Hill <cozad76078 wrote:

I'm a raw newbie and want to get an Excaliber dehydrator (not cheap). I just

watched the A. Cohen video and have her book. I'm so bored of salads only

and want to make " crackers " and burgers and roll ups to go along with the

fresh fresh foods. My husband is going to definately need some exciting

foods to eat along with me because he loves SAD food. How abouf feedback on

how great they are? Or more feedback on why not.

 

Thanks, Diana of Dewberry Hill

 

> A dehydrator may be something you would want to put at the end of

your list of 'must have's " ; some raw food teacher discourage the use

of dehydration anyway, seeing it as not really being an optimal way

of eating. The more I stick with the raw food diet, the less I seem

to be using it just naturally. They would encourage use of all fresh

foods instead. Again, it's one of those options.

 

> Peace,

> Valerie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send a seasonal email greeting and help others. Do good.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I don't know why that would have happened; what did you make the leathers out

of? I do mine mostly out of bananas and apples, usually combined with some other

fruit like berries or peaches. One thing is to make sure they are really dry,

and the other is to not make them too thin. Mine is usually around 1/8 to 1/4

inch thick (more toward the 1/8). They should be flexible but not sticky (they

might be just a little tacky to the touch). I roll mine up in parchment when

done, so it doesn't stick to itself.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

Valerie,

 

The last batch of fruit leather I made stuck to the teflex sheets. So I had

five trays of pink glue that I had to dissolve with boiling water. What a

mess! How did you make your? I really think I need help on this one.

Sasha

 

 

 

Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I made one Blackberry recipe with 2c fresh blackberries, 1 banana, and 2Tbl

honey.

I made another with 6 strawberries, 5 apples, 1 banana and 1Tbl honey. I

poured them on the teflex sheet, dehydrated them at 105 degrees for about 12

hours. Where I went wrong I think, was in spreading them real thin. Do you

see anything else I could have messed up? That was way to expensive for my

taste to mess up with another experiment!

 

From Feelin'RawGood to

Feelin'RawStupid.

Sasha

 

----

 

rawfood

12/23/04 09:04:45

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Dehydrators

 

I don't know why that would have happened; what did you make the leathers

out of? I do mine mostly out of bananas and apples, usually combined with

some other fruit like berries or peaches. One thing is to make sure they are

really dry, and the other is to not make them too thin. Mine is usually

around 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (more toward the 1/8). They should be flexible

but not sticky (they might be just a little tacky to the touch). I roll mine

up in parchment when done, so it doesn't stick to itself.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

Valerie,

 

The last batch of fruit leather I made stuck to the teflex sheets. So I had

five trays of pink glue that I had to dissolve with boiling water. What a

mess! How did you make your? I really think I need help on this one.

Sasha

 

 

 

Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I might do these proportions:

 

4 bananas, 2 c. blackberries, no honey

 

6 strawberries, 5 apples, 2 or 3 bananas, no honey

 

It should be a fairly thick mixture, and I dry mine at 105 for anywhere from 24

to 36 hours, depending on how quickly they dry. Spread it a little more thickly

than you did last time, and to test it, when you pull out the tray, try to

separate the edge from the teflex; if it comes off easily, and does not stretch

apart as you pull it off, it is dry enough. Mine always dries on the edges

before the center is done, so I make the outside couple of inches a little

thicker than the middle.

 

Hope this helps; I never use honey, since the bananas are usually sweet enough,

but if you want it sweeter, maybe throwing in a couple of dates would work

better. Honey is very sticky, and that may have been an issue as well. Just

guessing there...

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

I made one Blackberry recipe with 2c fresh blackberries, 1 banana, and 2Tbl

honey.

I made another with 6 strawberries, 5 apples, 1 banana and 1Tbl honey. I

poured them on the teflex sheet, dehydrated them at 105 degrees for about 12

hours. Where I went wrong I think, was in spreading them real thin. Do you

see anything else I could have messed up? That was way to expensive for my

taste to mess up with another experiment!

 

From Feelin'RawGood to

Feelin'RawStupid.

Sasha

 

----

 

rawfood

12/23/04 09:04:45

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Dehydrators

 

I don't know why that would have happened; what did you make the leathers

out of? I do mine mostly out of bananas and apples, usually combined with

some other fruit like berries or peaches. One thing is to make sure they are

really dry, and the other is to not make them too thin. Mine is usually

around 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (more toward the 1/8). They should be flexible

but not sticky (they might be just a little tacky to the touch). I roll mine

up in parchment when done, so it doesn't stick to itself.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

Valerie,

 

The last batch of fruit leather I made stuck to the teflex sheets. So I had

five trays of pink glue that I had to dissolve with boiling water. What a

mess! How did you make your? I really think I need help on this one.

Sasha

 

 

 

Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Valerie,

 

I think you are right. It was more than likely the honey that made it stick

and the thinness didn't help. I dried them for about 38 hours. Also, if I

recall, I didn't have enough fresh so I added frozen berries. I don't know,

maybe that didn't help. Can you use frozen?

Sasha

 

----

 

rawfood

12/23/04 22:11:32

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Dehydrators

 

I might do these proportions:

 

4 bananas, 2 c. blackberries, no honey

 

6 strawberries, 5 apples, 2 or 3 bananas, no honey

 

It should be a fairly thick mixture, and I dry mine at 105 for anywhere from

24 to 36 hours, depending on how quickly they dry. Spread it a little more

thickly than you did last time, and to test it, when you pull out the tray,

try to separate the edge from the teflex; if it comes off easily, and does

not stretch apart as you pull it off, it is dry enough. Mine always dries on

the edges before the center is done, so I make the outside couple of inches

a little thicker than the middle.

 

Hope this helps; I never use honey, since the bananas are usually sweet

enough, but if you want it sweeter, maybe throwing in a couple of dates

would work better. Honey is very sticky, and that may have been an issue as

well. Just guessing there...

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

I made one Blackberry recipe with 2c fresh blackberries, 1 banana, and 2Tbl

honey.

I made another with 6 strawberries, 5 apples, 1 banana and 1Tbl honey. I

poured them on the teflex sheet, dehydrated them at 105 degrees for about 12

hours. Where I went wrong I think, was in spreading them real thin. Do you

see anything else I could have messed up? That was way to expensive for my

taste to mess up with another experiment!

 

From Feelin'RawGood to

Feelin'RawStupid.

Sasha

 

----

 

rawfood

12/23/04 09:04:45

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Dehydrators

 

I don't know why that would have happened; what did you make the leathers

out of? I do mine mostly out of bananas and apples, usually combined with

some other fruit like berries or peaches. One thing is to make sure they are

really dry, and the other is to not make them too thin. Mine is usually

around 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (more toward the 1/8). They should be flexible

but not sticky (they might be just a little tacky to the touch). I roll mine

up in parchment when done, so it doesn't stick to itself.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

Valerie,

 

The last batch of fruit leather I made stuck to the teflex sheets. So I had

five trays of pink glue that I had to dissolve with boiling water. What a

mess! How did you make your? I really think I need help on this one.

Sasha

 

 

 

Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi, Sasha,

 

I've only used fresh, but frozen might work if you let it thaw completely and

then blend with enough bananas to make sure it is thick enough; if you blend it

when frozen, the mixture would melt and release more liquid in the dehydrator,

and not work so well, at least that's what I picture.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

Sophierose <sasha wrote:

Valerie,

 

I think you are right. It was more than likely the honey that made it stick

and the thinness didn't help. I dried them for about 38 hours. Also, if I

recall, I didn't have enough fresh so I added frozen berries. I don't know,

maybe that didn't help. Can you use frozen?

Sasha

 

----

 

rawfood

12/23/04 22:11:32

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Dehydrators

 

I might do these proportions:

 

4 bananas, 2 c. blackberries, no honey

 

6 strawberries, 5 apples, 2 or 3 bananas, no honey

 

It should be a fairly thick mixture, and I dry mine at 105 for anywhere from

24 to 36 hours, depending on how quickly they dry. Spread it a little more

thickly than you did last time, and to test it, when you pull out the tray,

try to separate the edge from the teflex; if it comes off easily, and does

not stretch apart as you pull it off, it is dry enough. Mine always dries on

the edges before the center is done, so I make the outside couple of inches

a little thicker than the middle.

 

Hope this helps; I never use honey, since the bananas are usually sweet

enough, but if you want it sweeter, maybe throwing in a couple of dates

would work better. Honey is very sticky, and that may have been an issue as

well. Just guessing there...

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

I made one Blackberry recipe with 2c fresh blackberries, 1 banana, and 2Tbl

honey.

I made another with 6 strawberries, 5 apples, 1 banana and 1Tbl honey. I

poured them on the teflex sheet, dehydrated them at 105 degrees for about 12

hours. Where I went wrong I think, was in spreading them real thin. Do you

see anything else I could have messed up? That was way to expensive for my

taste to mess up with another experiment!

 

From Feelin'RawGood to

Feelin'RawStupid.

Sasha

 

----

 

rawfood

12/23/04 09:04:45

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Dehydrators

 

I don't know why that would have happened; what did you make the leathers

out of? I do mine mostly out of bananas and apples, usually combined with

some other fruit like berries or peaches. One thing is to make sure they are

really dry, and the other is to not make them too thin. Mine is usually

around 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (more toward the 1/8). They should be flexible

but not sticky (they might be just a little tacky to the touch). I roll mine

up in parchment when done, so it doesn't stick to itself.

 

Peace,

Valerie

 

 

Essentially Sasha <sasha wrote:

Valerie,

 

The last batch of fruit leather I made stuck to the teflex sheets. So I had

five trays of pink glue that I had to dissolve with boiling water. What a

mess! How did you make your? I really think I need help on this one.

Sasha

 

 

 

Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.