 |
| That's Kale! |
That's my subtle way of saying I just got into the art of dehydrating food!
I was inspired to do so recently after reading a very, very short chapter on the subject in a book called, "
Raw Foods For Busy People" by Jordan Maerin.
Now, I am not a raw foodist, so why was I reading this book? Well, for one I received it as a gift from a friend and all things happen for a reason... Second, I'm open to all things healthy and as I suspected, this book taught me a thing or two, as well as inspired me - inspired me to include more raw foods in my diet and inspired me to get into drying foods!
So, I hit the internet, asked friends who I thought might be into this practice and collected data until I was comfortable in my decision to buy a dehydrator.
Selecting a dehydrator
I did not go with the Cadillac of dehydrators, which seems to be the
Excalibur; even the name sounds grand!
Instead, I was realistic in my newbie efforts and went with the second best kid on the block, a
Nesco. To be exact, the
Nesco/American Harvest FD-80 Square-Shaped Dehydrator!
After many hours of research, I figured out some key characteristics that would yield the best experience for me:
- Square shape: to maximize drying area and aid in storage
- Top down heating: top mounted fan eliminates liquids dripping into the heating chamber and making clean-up a pain in the ass
- High wattage: 700 watts of drying power, cuts down drying time
- Adjustable Thermostat: enables drying of different foods at the right temperature (95-160º F); taking the guess work out
- Downward Air Flow: hot air forced downward and horizontally across each tray (not through trays), eliminating the need to rotate trays and prevent flavor mixing when drying different things
- Expandable trays: ability to add additional drying trays should I become obsessed!
The
Nesco FD-80, nailed all these characteristics as well as had hundreds and hundreds of positive
consumer reviews!
Two things that I and everybody else wished this unit had is a timer and a on/off switch, but it doesn't seem like any unit out on the market has these features. So, I "MacGyvered" my way around this with an outlet timer and surge protector with an on/off switch.
One more thing, contrary to the box label, this machine is not made in the U.S.A. - parts may be, but the main heating element is made in China. (sigh)
What to make with it?
As I type, my machine is busy making Kale Chips, Banana Chips, dried Kiwi and Clementines!
I plan to make fruit leather, crackers, cookies and experiment with a wide range of produce. And of course, I keep researching for more ways to use it! My immediate goal is just to get some healthy, all-natural snack foods going, as my recent conversion to a whole foods, plant-based diet has left a void in this area.
I'll let you know how things go!
Eat Well!
The Hoff
