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Frugini
Raw Newbie
I found a non-electric food dehydrator on craigslist for an affordable price. My question is, does this actually work? Could I make pizza crusts, breads, crackers, brownies and other yummy recipes or would the food just rot in there? I live in Oregon, in a very rainy place that gets little sun except in July. I kind of think that this wouldn’t work here, but I’d like to know if anyone has had experience with it. Thanks!
Comments
I’m no dehydrator expert but without a fan to carry away moisture, I think it wouldn’t work. I know even in the middle of summer there it’s very humid so I wouldn’t recommend it. Keep watching Craigslist and eventually you’ll find an Excalibur. It took me a few months but I found a 5 tray like new for $75! The used ones on Ebay go for way too much when you consider the shipping. If you end up getting a new one then definitely get it directly from excalibur. They’re only about $10 more than the cheapest new ones on ebay and they come with more stuff and free shipping. Check out their special which is always the same, lol!
Thanks! I’ve been looking on craigslist like every day! I really want to get one soon though, to help my partner stay raw. He really craves bread-like substances and more traditional protein sources.
I thought about a solar oven and read about it and learned that you can’t really regulate the temp very well and could end up with temps above 125F or more depending on where you live. Here in AZ a car with the windows rolled up can clear 150F, so imagine concentrating the temps even more.
I live in a cooler place in AZ now and I did some Dashboard Dehydrating, regulating the temp by opening and closing the windows a bit. I had a thermometer in there to check. It worked great! Grawnola, flax crackers, mushroom fajita mix, all in two days max.
Rainiest place in OR here. Tillamook OR that is. Solar dehydrating. Bad idea. The only time it may work is in August on a south wall, checking the temp.often. You would also have to bring it in at night due to the dampness we get. The whole thing would be a real pain. Save your bills and get the best dehydrator.
The idea was that we could hang it up in our room. With the unpredictability of the weather here (Eugene), there is no way we could put it outside. Over the summer I was able to dehydrate things pretty successfully on they roof, but now that the rainy season has descended upon us that time is over. I’ll just have to start saving for a real, plug-in dehydrator and in the mean time find some non-dehydrating recipes that will keep my partner happy. I found some almond bars that you put in the fridge that should do the trick :)