Tuesday’s Tools of the Trade - Food prep

This is the Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator and it’s the third Excalibur I have purchased.  We bought a 5 tray a few years ago to have in Encinitas and when I moved back to Vancouver I couldn’t go without so I bought a white 5 tray.  I would say we easily use the dehydrator at least once a week either making big batches of raw crackers, kale chips, tortilla’s, granola, various fruit or falafel’s and burgers for dinner.  JP has an apple tree in his backyard in Salt Lake and he used to send apples to me in Encinitas so I could dehydrate apple rings.  I would usually do 2 or 3 batches back to back.  When he mentioned wanting a dehydrator for Salt Lake I thought it was time for an upgrade and I bought him a 9-Tray for his birthday.  We decided to leave the 9 tray in Encinitas since that’s where we use it the most.  The 5 tray is sufficient but with the 9 tray we can easily double recipes for things like kale chips and granola that we go through very quickly. I have never had a single problem with any of my dehydrators, Excalibur is the best high quality brand out there. If you peak in the kitchen of any raw food restaurant you will see stacks and stacks of Excalibur dehydrators.  You have the option of getting one with or without a timer, all mine have timers.  I find it’s more convenient to be able to turn the timer dial to the time needed and then you don’t have to keep an eye on it or remember to check back as it will just turn itself off.  Dehydrating takes a long time, for instance fruit can be anywhere from 7 - 12 hours on average, raw crackers can take up to 24 hours, so to be able to just turn the dial and go about your day is great!