Dehydrator question

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   Like a fool, I gave our dehydrator away after y2k. Can I dehydrate food in our oven and if so, how? -- Libby

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libbyalex Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Adviser Group Joined: December 20 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 795	Post Options Post Reply Quote libbyalex Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Dehydrator question Posted: March 24 2006 at 6:46pm
	Like a fool, I gave our dehydrator away after y2k. Can I dehydrate food in our oven and if so, how? -- Libby

asatrape Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: March 16 2006 Status: Offline Points: 110	Post Options Post Reply Quote asatrape Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: March 24 2006 at 7:15pm
	I'm afraid to dehydrate food in my oven because I don't have any sure recipes, and raw meat, cooked at low temps, can do an awful lot of harm. I am, however, a big fan of thrift stores, and they are always full of dehydrators. If you don't want to spring for a new one, get a used one. Growing up, we lived in a farming community in central CA, and it always grossed me out to see fruit and veggies laid out on tarps letting the sun dry them out (welcome to world of raisins), but that worked, so you may be able to find some great ideas just by doing a simple google search. Good luck!
	Frodo failed.... Bush has the ring.

omega Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: March 16 2006 Status: Offline Points: 183	Post Options Post Reply Quote omega Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: March 24 2006 at 7:22pm
	What I've read about dehydrating foods in the oven simply turned me off, you have to keep the food at very low temperature for such a long long time. I'm interested in learning how to dehydrate foods in the microwave - cuz they are ready, all finished in MINUTES, not days. And yeah, like already said, humans have been drying foods in the sun for who knows how long... even nowadays, there are photos of roofs filled with chili peppers drying in the southwest sun.

Spoon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: January 29 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 607	Post Options Post Reply Quote Spoon Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: March 24 2006 at 8:38pm
	Hi Libby, Check out this article on Mother Earth News. http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1975_July_August/We_Preserve_Foods_The_Natural_Way Here's an excerpt... Drying can be done in the oven when you want quickest results (fruits are ready to pack after only about six hours of such forced heat) . . . and we do fall back on our indoor facilities occasionally when the sun gets sulky. (To us dehydration specialists, that's an emergency!) Oven drying, however, causes a greater change in color and flavor than does the heat of the sun, and we prefer to use the latter whenever possible.
	It's not so much the apocalypse... but the credit card bills ;-)

libbyalex Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Adviser Group Joined: December 20 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 795	Post Options Post Reply Quote libbyalex Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: March 24 2006 at 8:54pm
	Thanks, Spoon!

roxy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: February 27 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 534	Post Options Post Reply Quote roxy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: March 26 2006 at 8:12am
	i have a banana ? , i thought i read some where that they would be better if they were on the green side before dehydration any body know before i go out today and buy them,sister and i had plan to do that today thanks roxy

Daydreamer Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: February 24 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 439	Post Options Post Reply Quote Daydreamer Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: March 26 2006 at 1:48pm
	My experience with dehydrating bananas is that as long as they don't have the sugar spots (brown spots) on them yet, then they will dehydrate just fine. The drying causes them to turn a bit on the brown side anyway but the ones that were more ripe got really dark and didn't seem to keep as long. This is just my experience with it anyway.
	Don't put off tomorrow what you can PREP today