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Do I reeeeally need a dehydrator??

SamiliciousSamilicious Raw Newbie

Please help out guys,

Its next on my dad’s “to do” list: ‘Order Samira’s dehydrator’. But I’m kind of panicking because I don’t know if I’ll use it as often as I use my blender. So I need some of your opinions on the following questions:

1. How often do you use it? 2. Is the 9 tray excalibur dehydrator too noisy? 3. Should I get the 5 tray instead? 4. Is it worth it?

Please reply to this guys. I don’t want to regret it!

Comments

  • MOTHMOTH Raw Newbie

    I don’t think you reallly need one. I have one, but hardly use it. I prefer to eat high-water content food, since that digests easier for me. Honestly, most food I dehydrate ends up in the trash.

    Some people use their quite often, so I read.

  • Sabrina1979Sabrina1979 Raw Newbie

    i am not 100%raw, no vegan and no vegetarian..i have a 4 tray excalibur i bought from ebay NEW for 100 dollars i believe and i use it several times a week..which i think is quiet a lot for me not being 100% or even 50% as of right now…I love it and would not want to miss it..i make crackers for myself and my kids, cookies, breads….to me its worth it and the 4 tray is just right….hope this helps…and the 4tray hardly makes any noise..heck my AC is louder than the dehydrator

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    I love my Excalibur 9-tray. It isn’t too noisy, but it’s fan is louder than my previous dehydrator. If you love cookies and crackers, then get it. Even if you don’t use it that often, it’s still a great thing to have. Perhaps my favorite thing to do is make Banana Pancakes. Just puree some bananas in a blender (I used a vita-mix) until completely smooth, slightly liquidy, and pour it all on a teflex sheet. I flattened it out slightly, but not much, and it was a soft, warm, bread-like banana pancake in the morning! I couldn’t believe it. It was amazing. I am going to do it again tonight and eat the pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

    Anyway, enough of my blabbing. Like MOTH said, I love a lot of fresh fruits and a few greens. The noisiness of the dehydrator isn’t enough for me AT ALL to say don’t get it. It’s the least of my problems. Even my mom sleeps on the couch sometimes in the living room which is practically right nex to the kitchen and never complains of the dehydrator’s noise. I’m not sure about the amount of trays. If you want to dehydrate A LOT of food, get the 9-tray. But I usually only need 3 or 4 trays at a time. I just got the 9-tray because it was a better deal.

    Before with my L”EQuip dehydrator, it was such a pain that I almost hated dehydrating foods. Now, I love it. It’s so easy. If you like a lot of dehydrated food, go for it. If not, get the smallest number of trays possible and you will be happy. I don’t know about how the noise level decreases with the amount of trays, though. I don’t get addicted to dehydrated food, but it’s really fun to dry some stuff.

  • SamiliciousSamilicious Raw Newbie

    Thanks guys. I’m considering the 9 tray for two reasons. One, its a better deal. And two, I want to encourage my family to eat more healthier and raw so I think I should get the bigger one so I can share with everyone.

    The thing is, lately, I’ve been eating simpler and simpler. For example, I eat mangoes and young coconuts on thier own without mixing anything like in smoothies because I think they taste better on their own. I want to include more variation into my diet so that would be another reason for the dehydrator.

    Also, I’m so on and off about getting a dehydrator. One day I will be so eager to have one, the next day I will start doubting I need one. But for the reasons I stated, I’ll order one. Rawkidchef, wow those banana pancakes sound amazing! Remind me to make it when I get the dehydrator!!

    Oh yeah, so about the noise of the 9 tray. Our living room is right next to the kitchen and my grandma and brother sometimes likes to take a nap there or when have friends come over, we sleep in the living room. Do you think the noise will be a problem at all? And what about when watching TV? Will the noise be as irritating as someone vacuuming the living room/kitchen while watching TV (Probably not that bad though)?

  • NO, not at all :)

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    Samilicious – our home is open plan and I can hear my dehydrator from upstairs. I have to admit, part of the reason I don’t use it that often is the noise, my husband also finds it annoying. If you tend to congregate in the kitchen it might be a problem, but if your kitchen is far removed from where you hang out then you might be all set. I’ve heard it suggested that a good solution is to do your dehydrating all at once – load it up, which saves on electricity too. I use it once a week at the most, usually less.

  • bananaboybananaboy Raw Superstar

    I agree with jaymz72 and Moth. Even though I have a 9 tray Excalibur, I don’t consider dehydrated foods truly raw. My definition of raw means “as nature provides it”.

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    I use mine once a week. Could live without it… but it preserves raw food longer. Freezing (on average) only denatures enzymes about 5%. If you need food that preserves well outside of the refrigerator/freezer for more than 4 days (like for traveling), a dehydrator is almost a must…

  • I really, really want one. I don’t feel that I can make 100% without it. It has to wait a little while though. $300 is a lot of money.

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    I have an open plan house like amysue and the 9-tray was too loud for me. I sold it and got a 4-tray instead. I’m a single person living alone. The 4-tray is usually plenty for me and it’s much quieter. I have a door to my bedroom and when I close the door, the noise is not too bad.

  • geniusrawmodel23geniusrawmodel23 Raw Newbie

    I think a dehydrator makes transitioning easier. That’s what I’ve heard anyway. I wouldn’t know as I don’t have one. I reeeeaally want one though.

  • SamiliciousSamilicious Raw Newbie

    Whats an open plan home?

    I mostly spend time with my grandma and brother at the basement of our house even though my room is upstairs. As you can imagine, the kitchen down there is kind of attached to the living/family room , if I explained it right. Its a common hang out and get together place at our house and I don’t want to drive everyone crazy because of the noise. Now I’m starting to lean more towards a 5 tray dehydrator. What do you guys think? Is it going to be that bad?

  • nycgrrlnycgrrl Raw Newbie

    i bought a 4 tray one about 2 weeks ago and i really love it. I’ve made some easy granola (oats, sunflower seeds, chopped almonds, apples and cinnamon, with some molasses and agave) and YUM. It’s so good. I am going to make banana pancakes, and I am making some carrot-walnut burgers now (carrots, walnuts, namashoyu, cilantro, onion, a bit of olive oil, salt) and they are good ‘raw’ so they’ll be even better after 10 hours in the dehydrator.

    Mine is not loud at all. it sounds quieter than my air conditioner on low. I am annoyed it doesn’t have an off-on switch but that’s about it. Otherwise i really like it. I use it 2 times a week or so.

  • I’ve been wanting to get a dehydrator for a while but I can’t justify the cost so I use the sun! I made my own solar dehydrator but the Sun on its own works better in my expirience. Just put what you want to make on a baking tray and some parchment and set it out in the sun early on a sunny morning. Bugs never bothered the food and it dries in one or two sunny days. Last week I made flax bread that was about 1/2 inch thinck and it took two days of partial sun. Try it out!

    James

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    i like to have a few crackers here and there so i really have liked it. but i could probably do without, i just might buy more raw stuff at the store (like lara bars and flax crackers). i figure i will save money in the long run. and it adds some yummy textures that i might miss otherwise. i think it is key for staying ra in the long run to keep me interested. and un-cooking is sooo much easier than baking. but if i had to choose between the blender and the dehydrator, i would for sure pick the blender. because the green smoothies are soooo good for you.

    i have the 4 tray excaliber and it is not that noisy. it’s like a small fan on medium to give a comparison.

  • i don’t use my dehydrator that much, but it’s still worth getting one. I would suggest with getting a smaller one at first and upgrading later on if you feel the need to. Run the thing at night away from the sleeping quarters of the house and you will never notice it, otherwise it can be a bit loud during the day!

  • JDJD

    I don’t have one and totally want one. Gets boring eating salads, soups, tacos. I think a dehydrator adds more meals of substance…lasagna, bread, chips, cookies…come on, yummy!

  • daniefondaniefon Raw Newbie

    I have a 9 tray Excalibur. When I first got it, I kept thinking I was hearing the microwave! That is about how loud it is, not too bad. I love having it. I make sure I have it full when I run it. So, on the weekends, I stock up on crackers, bread, dried eggplant (my fav), onions, nuts, etc. I use these foods to supplement plenty of fresh produce. I like having the variety of foods available.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Something to remember – most dried fruit at the store isn’t raw (unless it’s sold as raw by some online raw store). If you plan to be 100% raw, you may want to make your own dried fruit. I got my dehydrator and didn’t like the first 5 recipes i made. But then I got better at making food. Now, I use it 2 times a week – I recently made amazing jalapeno walnut burgers (recipe on goneraw). I use it to make delicious No Schicken Nuggets (recipe on goneraw) and to make stir fried broccoli (broccoli soaked in nama shoyu/oil/spices overnight then dehydrate 2 hours) and i love buckwheat pizza crusts. For me, being new to raw, the dehydrator really is great for staying 100% raw – and I have only learned 10 dehydrator recipes out of the thousands that are out there!

    However, if you’re uncertain, don’t purchase it yet – wait and see. If you eat mostly whole foods, then perhaps you don’t need a dehydrator. You can make many raw patties and cookies without drying them – the texture is the biggest thing the dehydrator gives you.

    I have and like the 9 tray cause it takes up the same amt of counter space but you can do a huge load at once.

  • anngoingrawanngoingraw Raw Newbie

    I don’t have one (perhaps that is why I eat baked wholemeal organic bread or essene bread…) At first, looking to those increible recipes I thought that it would be hard not to have one. But now (2 months more or less later) I am not sure about the real necesity of dehydrator. I will try to eat as natural as possible, I mean, simple, and look what happens…

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