Woohoo, hubby got me an Excalibur dehydrator

[MountainMeg]

Finally!!     Ordered the 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator with timer this evening.

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/product.php?action=list&specials=yes&shopping_group=gardners

They are offering free shipping and a bunch of freebies with it until the end of August.  Got hubby some teriyaki jerky seasoning so I can reassure him it was a good move.

[Atash Hagmahani]

Keep us posted on how the drying goes.

[opsec]

Those work great for drying your socks too.

[Ryder]

Pick up the over ripe banannas when they get really cheap and make bannana chips. Sweet and tasty and soooo much cheaper than buying them already dried.

[MountainMeg]

LOVE banana chips.  Hubby was finally convinced when a coworker he respects mentioned HER Excalibur and how much she likes it.  He's also finally convinced that food storage isn't a "fad" here.  Guess putting up the 50# of tomatoes over the weekend showed him I was dead serious.   

[MountainMeg]

The dehydrator works well and is a real workhorse.  Picked up some over ripe bananas (Thanks Ryder).  4 lbs made 3 qt jars of chips.  1/2 bushel of gala apples filled up 7 qt jars.  My son really enjoys prepping the food and drying it.  (Too bad he won't eat it!  ) 

Put 6 lbs of assorted chopped onions in it this evening.  Poor hubby had to find the door through the onion-induced tears and put the dehydrator on the porch!  Oops...

[opsec]

Does the manual tell you what kind of shelf life to expect from the finished products?

[MountainMeg]

The guide I have doesn't.  But at www.dehydrate2store.com (wonderful site by the way) she claims up to 30 years with proper storage.  Her video recommends putting an oxygen absorber in the qt jar with the food to seal it, or vacuum sealing in plastic or in mylar for longer storage.

Edit: Whoops.  "A year or more in a glass jar" due to light.  Up to 30 for some foods packaged in mylar.

[Dame]

Glass jars work fine if you keep them in a closed cupboard to keep the light out.