CookingWithPam ... food dehydrator suggestions from the kitchen of Pamela Rice Hahn --drying, preserving foods

	Food Dehydrators:
			American Harvest Gardenmaster Model FD1018P For a few pennies an hour, you can operate a food dehydrator and use it to make your own (healthier, and free of nasty preservatives) snacks and jerky.
	If you want the convenience of being able to dry more than one type of food at once, you'll love the American Harvest dehydrator's Patented Dehydrator Airflow, double outside wall design. This distributes fresh air equally to every tray, which eliminates the need for tray rotation. (The Opaque Vita-Save™ Exterior also blocks outside light, which cuts down on discoloring that can occur from oxidation.) With the American Harvest Gardenmaster Model FD1018P you get: 8 (1 sq. foot) trays (You can purchase addition trays because this dehydrator will expand up to 30 trays for huge 30 square feet of food drying area!) 8 mesh screens 8 fruit leather/jerky sheets An excellent, informative owner's manual A free cookbook (details below under "Free Bonus" info) The American Harvest Gardenmaster Model FD1018P combines a large fan with a 2400 rpm motor and 1000 watt heater, so you can dry food gently in hours instead of days. Temperature can be adjusted between 90° and 150° F. Air pressure adjusts automatically to number of trays used. Footprint: 15" diameter X 14.5" high (with the 8 trays)
			FREE BONUS: With the American Harvest Gardenmaster Model FD1018P, you get a free copy of the $15.95 160-page book, How to Dry Foods. (If you already have a dehydrator, you can order this book from Amazon.)
			Planning on drying herbs? Then you'll love the temperature control possible with the American Harvest Gardenmaster Model FD1018P or the L'Equip 528 Food Dehydrator. (As one person said on GardenWeb's forum, "...with temperature controls, just set them at 105-115, and dry away. If you have a less expensive dehydrator, with no temperature controls, it might still be possible, but you would need to keep a close eye on what is going on to be sure they dry and do not burn."
			L'Equip 528 Food Dehydrator

	With this dehydrator, you get: 6 trays 6 mesh screens 2 fruit leather sheets A dehydrator guide Full 12-Year Manufacturer's Warranty The L'Equip 528 Food Dehydrator has a stable drying environment; you can set the temperature range from 93° to 158° F. Foot print: 17" long X 11.75" wide X 10.4" high (with the 6 trays)

	Kids love fruit leathers!

	Check out these book excerpts: The Everything Diabetes Cookbook by Pamela Rice Hahn Finger Foods Food Festival, U.S.A. by Becky Mercuri Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio Index of Other Excerpts Also check out this page for baking pan suggestions for cooking with kids.

(No artificial sweeteners used in the recipes -- anywhere, anytime!)
Index of SAMPLE RECIPES

Sample Recipe Index

Lazy About Grilling:
the feet up, hands down easiest ways to barbecue
by Pamela Rice Hahn

This classic by the Rodale Food Center is now in its 3rd edition. In addition to dried and drying foods information, it'll also give you details about freezing and other food preserving and storage methods.

Other books about drying and using dried foods include:

Related Web pages:

Whatcom County (WA) Cooperative Extension's Considerations When Selecting a Food Dehydrator

U of Utah Extension's Drying Foods at Home

Michigan State University Extension's Instructions for:
DRYING FRUIT IN THE DEHYDRATOR

Michigan State University Extension's Instructions for:
DRYING VEGETABLES IN THE DEHYDRATOR

Dehydrator Recipes

If you have more ambition than money in the budget (and like to tinker and do things the earth-friendly, yet harder, way, take a look at this page of instructions on how to build a solar chimney dehydrator.