Excalibur Food Dehydrator

The Excalibur food dehydrator company has been in the business of making dehydrators for over thirty years! They offer four-tray starter models all the way up to nine-tray models, and they make Commercial dehydrators too.

I own the one above, namely the 4-tray Excalibur dehydrator shown in the photo.

This Excalibur dehydrator is the four-model tray but sadly has no on/off switch. Higher grade Excalibur food dehydrator models DO have an on/off switch.

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Food Dehydrator Pros and Cons

Dehydrator Accessories and
Tips for How to Make Your Own

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The Excalibur Food Dehydrator Models Have Parallexx Airflow

Excalibur food dehydrators are the only dehydrators that have a unique "Parallexx Horizontal Airflow Drying System." This basically means that the circulating fan is at the rear...

The larger the capacity Excalibur dehydrator you buy, the larger the circulating fan and wattage will be.

Obviously, larger capacity units means you'll be able to dehydrate more food in one sitting!

The plastic exterior body of the dehydrator is molded to look like leather (I think!) but admittedly my images make it look like it's dirty (it's NOT!)

Temperature Selector Is On the Top

Shown in the image above is the Excalibur food dehydrator temperature selector. The range is from 85°F up to 155°F - as indicated by the "marked dots."

Use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!

The Excalibur Food Dehydrator Features Pull-out Trays and Rear Fans

I find the pull-out trays to be a really handy feature/bonus of the Excalibur dehydrator.

We can proof our bread dough in it, simply by taking out the top trays and just leaving in the bottom tray. Beneath that bottom tray, add a shallow foil (or glass) pan of water.

NOTE: Don't try proofing bread in a four-tray dehydrator model. There's not enough height to the unit—unless you're baking not-so-tall hot-dog buns; use a 9-tray model for proofing loaves of bread!

You can find this starter Excalibur dehydrator I use on Amazon.

Excalibur 4-Tray Loaded

In the image above, I have filled four Excalibur dehydrator trays with frozen diced hash brown potatoes.

Notice that I took the time to spread them out so they would dry more evenly. Remember to rotate your trays - up and down - and turn 180 degrees. Why?

Look, even though just about ALL dehydrators on the market today state you don't need to rotate trays due to their 'superior fancy fans,' I still find that the food closest to fan dries out faster. That makes total sense, right?

In this case, the Excalibur's fan is at the rear. So that's why I say turn your trays around 180 degrees, i.e. put the current fronts of the trays to the back - rotate them every hour or so.

That's why I take the time to rotate my trays, whether I'm using my Excalibur dehydrator or my Nesco dehydrator (where I rearrange/reorder the stack) - so that the food on the trays dries evenly.

9-Tray Models are Great For Proofing Bread!

As I said earlier about my 4-tray model , 9-tray models are great for proofing bread. Simply set the dehydrator temperature to 115°F and let it warm up. Here's our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter again. Place a shallow pan of water on the very bottom and put one tray directly above it with the bowl of dough placed on that tray.

Cover your dough with a cloth to keep it from drying out! Let it sit for up to an hour—whatever your bread recipe calls for!

Keep on scrolling to read more about rotating your trays for even drying!

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Rotate the Trays (Reminder!)

I have noticed that the trays in the middle dry faster, so, like the other Nesco® dehydrator, I rotate Excalibur trays too!

Not only from top to bottom, etc. but also turn the dehydrator trays 180 degrees as the fan is located at the back of the machine and obviously dries out the food faster because it's closest to the fan.

The Excalibur food dehydrator company offers spices and jerky supplies, along with books, and "raw & living food helpers." You can also purchase ParaFlexx non-stick drying sheets for making fruit roll-ups!

Does Size Really Matter?

What size dehydrator you choose largely depends on how much and how often you want to dehydrate fresh fruits and vegetables (and cooked meats). There's only me and my hubby at home, so the starter models fit our needs perfectly.

Don't forget, when you buy a Nesco, though, you can easily add trays. I can't say the same thing for an Excalibur dehydrator. All you can do is eliminate trays!

And that simple tray elimination is one of the bonuses of using an Excalibur - as in the bread-proofing I mentioned earlier.

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to learn more about the Excalibur food dehydrator!

If you have any questions, feel free to write to me here.

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