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Food Dehydrators
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This month's notes: May 2013: This winter has been very mild, so expect an early Spring. Easter Egg hunts at farms and community churchs are the first activities, followed soon by strawberry picking. Click here for strawberry facts and picking tips, and this page for easy strawberry jam making directions. See this page for hundreds of easy canning and freezing instructions/recipes, canning equipment guide! Also make your own ice cream - see How to make ice cream and ice cream making equipment and manuals. Then see each state's crop availability calendar for more specific dates of upcoming crops. Organic farms are identified in green! See our guide to local fruit and vegetable festivals!. Please tell the farms you found them here - and ask them to update their information!!
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Drying foods is one of the oldest and safest ways to preserve food. And while that often conjures up images of tough beef jerky; there are more gourmet dried foods appearing in fancy restaurants these days, such as "sun-dried" tomatoes!

Food Dehydrators

A food dehydrator is a small electrical appliance for drying foods indoors. A food dehydrator has an electric element, similar to a a hair dryer) for heat and a fan and vents for air circulation. Dehydrators are efficiently designed to dry foods fast at 140ºF.

Costs vary depending on features, from a low of about $35 to a high of $200. Most models are expandable and you can purchase additional trays later. Twelve square feet of drying space dries about a half-bushel of produce. The major disadvantage ofmany dehydrators is their limited capacity.

Dehydrator Features to Look For

Double wall construction of metal or high grade plastic. Wood is obviously not recommended, because it is a fire hazard and is difficult to clean.

Enclosed heating elements.

Counter top design.

An enclosed thermostat from 85ºF to 160ºF.

Fan or blower.

4 to 10 open mesh trays made of sturdy, lightweight plastic for easy washing.

UL seal of approval.

A one-year guarantee.

A dial for regulating temperature (the low end models only have a fixed temperature setting).

A timer. Often the completed drying time may occur during the night and a timer could turn the dehydrator off and prevent scorching and over-drying.

Types of Dehydrators

There are two basic designs for dehydrators. One has horizontal air flow and the other has vertical air flow. In the units with horizontal flow, the heating element and fan are located on the side of the unit. The major advantages of horizontal flow are: it reduces flavor mixture so several different foods can be dried at one time; all trays receive equal heat penetration. Vertical air flow dehydrators have the heating element and fan located at the base, which is normally on the top, so that liquids will not drip into the electric components. If different foods are dried, flavors can mix.

Here are a variety of food dehydrators, at the best prices I could find. Scroll down this page for photos, descriptions, prices and ordering information. For more information about drying food see our directions here and this pdf file from UGA. Also, see this page for Canners (all types).

All can be shipped by a variety of methods, including overnight, if you have a canning emergency!

For more information, and NO obligation to buy, just click on the links in the Amazon boxes on the left!

Strainers for Canning and Cooking
	Aroma Food Dehydrator (10 customer reviews) About $35 Features	Won’t overheat
	Five reversible, rotating stackable trays
	One roll-up sheet for fruit leathers
	One drying screen
	Instructional cookbook

Well, it's inexpensive, but since the temperature is not adjustable, I'd recommend one of the ones below if you can afford them.

Nesco Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrators - FD-60

About $60 to $65 (click links at left for current price or more information)

Features:

Adjustable Thermostat

500 watts (generates 95F to 155F temperatures)

New-Powerful Top Mounted Fan

Expandable FD-60 comes with 4 trays, but is expandable to 12 trays with optional Add-A-Trays

Vita-Save Exterior

Patented Converga-Flow drying system forces air down the exterior pressurized chamber (

Nesco American Harvest FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator

About $65 to $70 (click links at left for current price or more information)

Blake: I think this one is the best value!

Features:

More powerful than the model above (FD-60)

700 watts (generates 95F to 160F temperatures)

Sleek contemporary design

Adjustable thermostat

Converga-flow drying system

Vita-Save exterior

Nesco American Harvest FD-1010 Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator

About $130 (click links at left for current price or more information)

Features:

1000 watts of power dries foods, flowers in hours, not days

Use for fruits, vegetables, herbs, jerky, granola--for camping, hiking

Four trays included; expandable to 30 trays; 64-page recipe book included

Patented system pressurizes heated air up through and across each tray

Thermostat adjusts from 95 degrees up to 155 degrees

Excalibur 5 Tray Dehydrator - ED 2500 Dehydrater - Jerky Maker Food Dehydrator Excaliber
(1 customer review)

About $180 (click links at left for current price or more information)

OK, this is the professional model. If you plan to do a lot of drying, this the the creme de la creme!

Features:

Thermostat adjusts from 95 - 155 degrees

8 Square Feet of drying space

Trays can be removed to expand the drying chamber

Each tray is supported on its own 'shelf' making it easy to slide in and out

Made of FDA Approved polycarbonate plastic

And for more information about food dryers, see Food Dehydrator information

Canning Jars

Canning jars delivered to your doorstep and guaranteed! Any size you need. Click on the links below

Canning jars: quart (32 oz) jars

Canning jars: pint (16 oz) jars

Canning jars: 8 oz jars

Quilted Canning jars: 4 oz glass jars

8 oz canning jars shown below:

Quilted 4 oz jars below:

Books

Canning books

Canning & Preserving for Dummies
by Karen Ward
Average Customer Review:
Usually ships in 24 hours

Price:		$11.89
You Save:		$5.10 (30%)

The Ball Blue Book of Preserving

This is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child. It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jam, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc. If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy)

Click here for more information from Amazon.com about the
Ball Blue Book of Preserving

Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving

by United States Dept. of Agriculture

Practical, easy-to-follow guide contains virtually everything consumers need to know about home canning: how to select, prepare, and can fruits, vegetables, poultry, red meats and seafoods; how to preserve fruit spreads, fermented foods and pickled vegetables; how to prepare foods for special diets, and much more. Also includes scores of simply written recipes that even beginners can handle (smoked fish, turkey-tamale pie, chicken croquettes, more. It's the second book to get, after the Ball Guide. Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy)

More Canning Supplies

Lids, Rings and Jars

Need lids, rings and replacement jars?

Get them all here, delivered direct to your home, at the best prices on the internet!

Pectin, Pickle Mixes and Sauce/Salsa Mixes

Making Jam? Need Pectin, but the local store is out?
Is your jam too runny? Pectin enables you to turn out perfectly set jam every time. Made from natural apples, there are also low-sugar pectins that allow you to reduce the sugar you add by almost half!

Get them all here at the best prices on the internet!

Pickling Mixes and Pickling Supplies

Pickles
Whether you want dills or sweet pickles; canning them or straight into the refrigerator; there is a mix for every taste and need here!Get them all here, delivered direct to your home, at the best prices on the internet! Get everything you need to make pickles: mixes, salt, brine, etc. here!

Sauce and Salsa Mixes

Get ready season mixes for tomato sauces and salsas here. They make it simple to get it right every time!

Remember to ALWAYS call the farm or orchard BEFORE you go - weather, heavy picking and business conditions can always affect their hours and crops!

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