anyone care to share their experiences? are they worthwhile? useful? waste of $$?
hephzibah
Food dehydrators
system
#2
The only stipulation is time. You need plenty of time to experiment with these things. When I bought mine, about a year ago (for the AT), I knew absolutely nothing about the process. There are several “how to” books which may or may not serve useful, depending on your adventure or needs.
From the research I’ve done and people I’ve spoken with, the Nesco seems to be the most popular choice. I love mine, and dehydrated many different fruits, vegetables, “leathers” i.e. applesauce and yogurt, and meats. Because of the many variables associated with the process, there is much practice involved. I had to make a chart, which was kept near the dehydrator, of the items and the amount of time they were kept in (so as to not pull out too late or too early- too early and they will eventually mold). Hope this helped.
macgyver
system
#4
I had mine only 2 months before and had my mom do A LOT while on the trail. You should be able to get a good deal done with 3 1/2 mos… what are you preparing for?
macgyver
system
#5
by asking what you are preparing for, I should have asked what kind of food do you plan on eating/dehydrating, since some cannot be dehydrated together (meats and veggies for example).
macgyver
system
#6
We fixed all of our dinner meals for our thru hike last year. We had people waiting for what we didn’t want at each of our mail drops. We actually fixed too much food. But is was great and very good. We had 3 dehydrators with between 4 and 8 trays in each. We made about 30 lbs of vension jerky also. Enough to have jerky everyday on the trail!! It was the treat of the day. Flame made up about 12 different meals. So we were never bored with our food. The greatest advantage for us was our food did not have the high sodium content that you find in packaged foods. There are several good trail guides on how to prepare dehydrated foods. We just took the foods we like to eat at home and figured a way to make them for the trail. Thus, not have to “adjust to new menus.” Good luck on your hike. Papa Smurf and Flame GA-ME '02
Papa Smurf
system
#7
I have the 9 tray Excalibur. It does a great job first time and everytime. I had the $39 variety and couldn’t do much with it.
footnotes
system
#8
I found my food dehydrator very useful. It does take a little time; but its well worth it; and also if people at home are willing to dehydrate for you while you are hiking; that is very helpful. I had people willing to carry some of my food in exchange for dehydrated pineapple slices (very yummy). I always seemed to have to much beef jerky; and there was always someone willing to take it off my hands or even trade for a snickers (im tempted to try dehydrating one of them some time). The great thing about a dehydrator is you can experiment at home and rehydrate something; try it and then see if it really works. like tacos or chili con carne? dehydrate ground beef–cook it; drain the fat; dehydrate. works wonderful-just add to a little water and heat. The dehydrator works even better when paired with a food sealer. Dehydrate ham; seal. unseal on the trail make some mashed taters and heat the ham. Yum. Same with Turkey. Buy Bannanas at 29 cents a pound and make your own banana chips. Fruit cocktail. Apples (sprinkle on a little cinnamon or cinnamon sugar). Cherries (in season–wonderful). I recommend getting some dehdrated cherries off the net. expensive; but tasty in your oatmeal for a change. I only have a 4 tray 40$ nesco from walmart but it is wonderful. Good luck and use your imagination!
Big Boy
system
#9
Just wanted to mention a good book with great tips and recipes for dehydrating. Its called “Dry It, You’ll Like It” Bye Gen MacManiman. You can order the book online from www.dryit.com Also the author has plans for making your own food dehydrator, which is what we did before our hike. We dehydrated food for our entire hike before we left, but didn’t use a sealer. We just put the stuff in ziplocs. You will find that ziplocs don’t tend to allow the food to stay fresh over the several months on the trail, so I would recommend a sealer too. But, if you are having someone dehydrate food for you throughout your hike, then I don’t think a sealer is necessary. Also, just a tip on dehydrating things like chili or anything with chunks, rehydrating goes much quicker if you throw the dried stuff into a blender to make a finer powder before packaging.
Budder Ball
system
#10
We got ours in preparation for the 2001 hike. As with most new “toys” we really use it a lot. The hike began and the dehydrator got stored away. Now in preparation for this years thru I have dug it out again but I’mnot going nuts like I did back in 2001. Truth be told, anything that you dehydrate in large quantities you WILL get tired of. What I plan to dry this year will be mainly jerky and fruit that my partner can put in with my mail drops. I’m buying food as I go this year to save on postage and to vary my diet. Having said that though …dehydrators are really a nice luxury. Only suggestion I’d make (which was made to me thank goodness) is to get one with a high output. Otherwise you’ll find yourself running that thing for hours and hours.
Footslogger
system
#11
I have just begun to think of dehydrating food for my 2004 hike. I’ve never used a dehydrator, and I was wondering if you can dehydrate things like soup…like a minestrone with pasta and beans? I’m a vegetarian, so I’m thinking this could really help make sure I have enough food I’ll eat.
I’ll check out the www.dryit.com site too.
angie
system
#12
My biggest food concern for my thru hike this spring has been getting fresh veggies and variety… I know the feedbakc from so many who say it won’t matter so long as it is food… but I have been dehydrating veggies (green and red peppers, spinach, brocholli) to mix in with my Raman and Lipton dinners.
Also want some fruit out there and dehydrated granny smith apples ROCK… trying pears tongiht!
Tenderfoot