Another gadget I found whilst decluttering the cupboards was my food dehydator. I bought it years ago when I had a large garden but I haven't used in a very long time. Things can be dried in the oven but as I have the dehydrator this is a cheaper method to use.
At this time of the year I have a glut of tomatoes, tomatoes are cheap in the shops, tomatoes can be bought from wayside stalls, and friends are anxious to give me tomatoes. That is a lot of tomatoes. I slow cook some and make a tomato sauce for pasta but I decided to have one last go with the dehydrator. What I am hoping is that if I add a few dried tomatoes to slow cooked foods they will absorb some of the excess liquid. Dried tomatoes also have a very intense flavour which may enhance some dishes.
We shall see.
I've spent about two years thinking about buying a dehydrator - confused by the mixed reviews. Would you mind telling me the make of yours? And what you have had the best - and worst - outcomes with? I don't know anyone else who has one!
ReplyDeleteTo be quite honest I don't think they are a good buy. I certainly wouldn't buy another but as I have one already it's OK to play with. Food can be dried in a very low oven - it takes more electricity but you could get quite a lot of power for the cost of a dehydrator. I seem to remember that I had very mixed success but that's a while ago. When I had excess garden produce that might otherwise have gone to waste it didn't matter so much. However, it is a bulky item to store.
DeleteMine is old and doesn't have a maker's mark on it.
I found this article from the Daily Wail. I'm certainly not as enthusiastic as the writer. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2436052/Is-gadget-make-kids-eat-day-Food-dehydrator-claims-turn-fruit-veg-irresistible-snacks.html
That was really helpful - and I clicked the link which made me realise that thinking sensibly I don't need one. The size is a bit daunting to start with and it does seem to take ages to dry things. Glad you wrote about yours though or I would still be dithering! x
DeleteI have NEVER seen one of those before.... Do you think you could dry mushrooms too? Jx
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you could, in fact I'm going to have a go soon. However, have a look at the messages between Kentish Maid and me. I'll experiment on your behalf!
ReplyDeleteI have a dehydrator too! We've used it once (my husband bought it ages ago). I haven't said it on my blog but I think my oven needs repairing. I was thinking of doing this with my tomatoes, inspired by you of course in my oven but, sigh. I have a dehydrator though!. Oh, I might be digging that thing out now!
ReplyDeleteWhy? If you are happier using the oven, get rid of the dehydrator!
DeletePossessions are not "neutral". Even when not in use they take up space. They also depress us if we don't like them. So if you don't want it, why not sell it?
My husband wanted the dehydrator to make jerky. Like I said he used it once. But I'm not one to get rid of "his" things despite how much space they are taking up in my kitchen :)
DeleteHowever with the oven being on the fritz I'm kind of glad to have the dehydrator because I can still try out these tomatoes and I was thinking I wasn't going to be able to. Yay!
(the oven turns on but when it needs to heat back up/ stay at temp it doesn't seem to be clicking on to heat back up :( I'm afraid we're going to have to call an appliance repair man. We have a wonderful, I'm talking really nice BUT really old oven. I'm a little worried about that wonderful issue one is always running into now a days with older items called "parts." No one seems to have parts to fix things in our home. I'm hoping for the best though. In the mean time I'll be using the stove top a bit more often and almost certainly pulling out the once used dehydrator to try making your tomatoes)