kudos on trying to dry the peppers with other things....Let me know how it turns out. I think the covered porch would be fine to dry the peppers as long as you have electric out there. I would just rotate the trays more frequently (bottom to middle, middle to top etc).. :)

dehydrators
 

Been looking at different dehydrators and it seems like Nesco is the best bang for the buck. Does anyone have any experience with these or can you recommend any other brand. I don't want to spend over $50 if possible. I'm not looking to feed an army just to preserve stuff for my wife and I.

Mike in Chicago

I definitely recommend the Nasco. I have it going right now, as a matter of fact (drying some sliced bananas). They're easy to use, wash, expand or contract, have adjustable temperature. The dehydrator I had before was a homemade job my husband made and while it was adequate, the Nasco is way better.

I just ordered the Nesco Snackmaster Express. It's a middle of the road model. I hope I got the right one. I had a hard time choosing the one I wanted. I just want it for tomatoes, peppers and herbs. I used to use the oven but you have to leave the door propped open and that bothers me now with the kids' little hands around. The dehydrator seems safer and maybe faster.

I have a Harvest Maid [Nesco American Harvest Maid] dehydrator, it has round trays, a fan, and adjustabe heat. Works great. Good for drying peppers too. I smoke them in the smoker then move to the dehydrator to finish off.

Mine sounds similar to the one Earl has. The fan is on top, also has round trays, adjustable thermostat and it's some kind of system that eliminates the need to rotate the trays. I think this should work well for us.

Just got the Snackmaster from WM.
Works great. Dried some onions as an experiment. Took about 10 hrs. Threw them into my Magic Bullet and voila-onion powder. Can't wait to dry some maters and make some jerky.

Oh, good. I'm glad to hear you liked yours. It makes me feel better about my choice. :)

I got my dehydrator at Wally World...believe it is the Nesco model. Has worked great for me...and I should use the thing more. I used it to dry cherry tomatoes, paprika peppers and some herbs last summer.

I just bought a load of bananas at 25 cents per pound...maybe I will make some chips:D

Mine was just delivered yesterday and I don't want to wait until something is ready from the garden so I'll have to buy something and experiment a little bit. Maybe some herbs or fruit.

Shelley- just blend some applesauce and a couple pear halves and dump it in the fruit tray. in about 6-7 hrs you have some great tasting fruit roll ups.

Thanks. I just happen to know a four year old and a one year old who might like that. ;)

I picked up another dehydrator today for $2.50 on half price sale. It is square and I think 10 shelves. Has control for low, med and high heats. Gives what temp they are. equi-flow I think brand. No book with it. I will have to figure out what heat to use for what. I do have electric to use on my porch. Maybe the pull out trays will work better as not have to take the thing apart each time.

I have made dry soup mix with tomato and peppers and other things.

Drying Garlic?
 

I decided to dry some of our harvest for powder and for garlic chips. I think the chips would make a great addition to soups and stews in the winter, adding the chips just prior to serving.

I slice the cloves as thinly as possible and lay them out on the trays. The problem I'm running into is the garlic is sticking to the trays of the dehydrator. I have to use a lot of force to loosen them and doing so is crumbling them into really small pieces. Any suggestions on how to minimize the garlic sticking to the trays?

Thanks

Mesh screens
 

We use an American Harvest dehydrator and use mesh screens over the trays to hold the garlic slices. The drying takes two days at 135 F. The slice will be stuck together but come off the screen easy, when we want to use it we grind it up in a blender.

Henry