We Got a Dehydrator!!!!

The dehydrator, a tool every homestead NEEDS! Whether it’s a store bought, electric dehydrator or a homemade solar version a dehydrator is a must for any serious homesteader. Dehydrating is less work, takes up less space, conserves energy and because it dries at a cooler temperature more of the nutrients are preserved. What better way to preserve herbs and make your own spices than dehydrating?

(This is the model we picked out, the Presto 06301)

Since our garden did poorly this year we didn’t have much to put up for the ‘winter’. We did save catnip, coriander and cucumbers. The coriander dried on the plant, the cucumbers were made into refrigerator pickles and the catnip would have dried just fine hanging. The push for a dehydrator right now came down to our dogs. We are trying to train them and dehydrated chicken makes a perfect treat! Plus it’s cheaper than the store bought kind. I also prefer to make things myself, not just because that’s the homesteading way but because it’s safer. There was a horrible dog treat scare from 2007-2015 (you can find that article here) which killed over 1,000 dogs. Needless to say I feel better making my own from human grade chicken!

Of course we didn’t get a dehydrator just for the dogs. We will be using it in the future to dehydrate peppers to make spices such a crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, a jalapeno powder, garlic powder, turmeric, you get the idea. My goal is to produce as many of our spices as I can and a dehydrator really helps with that. Not to mention all the fruits and veggies we can save!

(We store the final product in mason jars)

I decided to go with a Presto 06301 . I don’t love that it’s plastic but the manufacturer says is BPA free. In the future I would like to get an all stainless steel model. On the plus side it was only $60 and came with 2 fruit roll up inserts, 2 mesh inserts and has 6 stacking trays. I’ve used it a few times and it works great. Though I’m sure a model with a fan in the back vs on the bottom would work better overall I have absolutely no complaints with how this one functions. I never noticed a severe difference in drying time among the trays though I have only used 4 at a time so far. If you can’t afford a 100% stainless steel version this is a great compromise!!

We are chugging right along here on Mini Georgian Homestead! Stay tuned for (hopefully) a ton of winter projects!