by: Susan Gast / Author, Blogger at Beesville Books, Bored Boomers, and a Food Dehydrating Fanatic!
Welcome to "What are food dehydrators?" This post is about two of the best, most reliable dehydrator brands out there: Nesco and Excalibur.
What are food dehydrators?
Usually they are electric and dry food through warm air driven by air-circulating interior fans.
Food dehydrator recipes beef jerky?
Check out How to Dehydrate Meat where you'll find our Beef Jerky Recipe!
Food dehydrator best?
It's great how folks search for things, isn't it? And the best dehydrator is a very subjective thing. I love my NESCO and EXCALIBUR brand dehydrators, and my latest purchase: the ELITE GOURMET.
But there are many more brands on the market. Do your research: Visit Walmart, Amazon, eBay, et al.
Shown further down this page are various Nesco and Excalibur dehydrators available at Amazon.
Food dehydrators work by simply removing the moisture in foods with an air-circulating fan and a heating element.
They have
temperature controls ranging from 90°F to 160°F so you can choose the
appropriate setting. (Pick your fruit, veggie, or meat, or seafood for their individual settings via those links).
Use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!
Dehydrators are not silent-running—but they do run in the background. In fact, they create a good white noise! Beats hearing the neighbor's barking dogs and street noise!
The dehydrators for home use are lightweight—so they're easily portable. The two dehydrators I own are made from plastic. One is black (Excalibur) with molded panels that resemble leather-hide.
The other model (Nesco) is a speckled white/gray sturdy plastic. One dehydrator has its fan in the rear and the other model has its fan at the top in the lid.
Both of my dehydrators are starter models. What's that? They are both 4-tray models. I started out small as there were only the two of us (hubby and I).
If you've got a larger family, consider getting a dehydrator with far more trays. Farther down this page is info. on the two top-selling brands of dehydrators that I personally own: Nesco and Excalibur.
See our Podcast Page here on this site, or here on Buzzsprout.
Food Dehydrators have been around for a very long time. Read more on how they work farther down the page :-)
When I first saw
them back in 2010, I thought they were a fad, and who on earth would want one of those? (Turns out, I did!)
Foods can be preserved by canning, freeze-drying, smoking, or DEHYDRATING. See this page on 6 Different Ways. To me, the easiest method by far is dehydrating! The simplicity of it appealed to me more than anything.
There are two sections below,
covering the Excalibur and Nesco
dehydrators in more detail.
Click the big
links to learn more
right here on this site
about the dehydrators we use:
There are two sections below, covering the Excalibur and Nesco dehydrators in more detail.
Click the big
links to learn more right here on this site about the dehydrators we use:
For More Info. on the Excalibur
Dehydrator on Our Site, Click Here
...see you over there!
For More Info. on the
Excalibur Dehydrator
on Our Site, Click Here
...see you over there!
Use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!
Excalibur 2400 Food Dehydrator, 4-Tray Starter
This is a square-shaped food dehydrator, that boasts 4 square feet of drying space. Black textured plastic body. Remove the front panel for access to its four trays.
Excalibur 2900ECB 9-Tray Electric Food Dehydrator
This is a square-shaped food dehydrator, that boasts 15 square feet of drying space. Black textured plastic body. Remove the front panel for access to its nine trays.
Excalibur 3900B 9-Tray Electric Food Dehydrator
This is a square-shaped food dehydrator, that boasts 15 square feet of drying space. Black textured plastic body. Remove the front panel for access to its 9 trays. Has a built-in on/off switch.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase. Read disclosure here.
For More Info. on the NESCO
Dehydrator on This Site, Click Here
...see you over there!
For More Info. on the
NESCO Dehydrator
on This Site, Click Here
...see you over there!
Use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!
Nesco FD-80A Food + Jerky Dehydrator
This is a square-shaped food dehydrator, perfect for snacks, fruit, and beef jerky. White with a top black tray edge, with a white lid.
Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator
This round Nesco Snackmaster comes with a jerky gun kit and 5 trays. It has a very light grey body with a darker grey lid.
Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator
This is the new version of mine as it has an updated lid. It's a light grey body with a darker grey lid.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase. Read disclosure here.
But it wasn't through kitchen-gadget ads on TV or online that made me take the plunge—it was due to the very real possibility of a worldwide food shortage in the next 10 years or so.
If you read up on super-power China, about how much US debt they own, and how China must sustain a double-digit growth rate... it becomes obvious that to sustain a country that has four times the number of citizens than the US, there needs to be enough food in the world to feed China... and the rest of the world.
I wrote that last paragraph PRIOR to COVID-19... which has obviously made the situation worse; plus the war in Ukraine—a country that provides fertilizer, world-wide.
The reason I'm preparing NOW is because of the (continued) threat of inflation—or more likely hyperinflation... or even home quarantine (again!) because of vicious viruses running rampant.
And what about the possible collapse of our economy?
Every time more money is printed by our government, it dilutes the buying power of the dollars that are already in circulation. It takes MORE of your dollars in your wallet to buy things now than it did six months ago. Who knows what the food prices will be six months from now? It all sounds a bit scary?
Yep. But, if the people predicting all this are right... I'll gladly start putting food away NOW, here and there, if/when it goes on sale—before inflation skyrockets—take it home, dehydrate it, and store it! (Again, this page was written pre-Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine).
What's sad is that 'both sides of the political aisle' love to spend taxpayers' money.
And if the people predicting all this are wrong? I'd rather look silly later on than be starving later on.
This way, we can help friends and relatives who did not
prepare and thought that food shortages in the USA just could not
possibly happen! But it DID happen... Covid-19 took everyone by surprise.
Thanks for stopping by "What are food dehydrators." I hope you learned "the why" behind my purchase; that was over a decade ago and we've come full circle.
Don't forget to get your free "Six Simple Steps" eBook where I share how to dehydrate food safely!
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Hi, I'm Susan Gast and I've been making food preservation simple since 2010.
Let me show you how to keep your food pantry full, whatever the reason or season!
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Hi, I'm Susan Gast and I've been making food preservation simple since 2010. Let me show you how to keep your food pantry full, whatever the reason or season!
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THANKS for your support! Read full disclosure here.
easy FOOD DEHYDRATING: Making food preservation simple since 2010.
I show you how to keep your food pantry full, whatever the reason or season!
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: I am an Affiliate for Amazon, and other sellers of quality merchandise.
Should you purchase an item through their links, I may receive compensation. The price you pay does not increase.
THANKS for your support! Read full disclosure here.
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