I Just Ordered a Excalibur 3900 Dehydrator!

[baymule]

I have been drooling over the Excalibur dehydrator for over a year. I just ordered one and it will be here the middle of next week. I am so excited! Can't wait for it to get here!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

CONGRATS - I am officially jealous!

.......shuffles off thinking I needa do a better job of keeping up with the jones'.....

 

[Corn Woman]

You made an excellent choice. I have had my Excalibur for 31 years and it still works beautifully. Money well invested and the things you can do......

 

[txcanoegirl]

I have one, too. It's worth the money. You will get a lot of use out of it. Buy extra sheets for the trays if you're drying small things or fruit roll-ups. They are worth the money, too. Mine came with two of them, and I finally bit the bullet and got 7 more so I can use them in all of my trays if I want to.

 

[Corn Woman]

Oh yes those sheets are fantastic love em.

 

[Marianne]

Congrats!
I remember reading that you can use that plastic canvas (in the crafts/sewing aisle) for sheets. I haven't tried it yet.

I really pondered the Excalibur, they are so nice! But I got the bigger Nesco, it does a good job for what I want done.

 

[txcanoegirl]

I'm not talking about the mesh sheets...those come with the trays. The paraflexx sheets are non-stick and fit on top of the mesh ones. If you are pouring liquid for fruit roll-ups, you need the solid sheet. Also for small stuff like herbs that can dry powdery sometimes because they'll fall through the mesh. As for the needlework mesh, I don't know if they are food safe or not.

 

[cheepo]

congrats!!!!!i remember how excited i was when i convinced hubby to buy me one...
and a good time to get it before grow season...

I have been to cheep to pay for the sheets....I reuse parchment paper..for rolls ect
i also have heard of people using plastic sheets from the dollar store...but i haven't seen them
when i have been...

 

[txcanoegirl]

They aren't cheap, that's for sure, but I tried a lot of different things, including parchment paper. Parchment paper works really well for some things, but other things stuck badly. I make some candies in the dehydrator and they are particularly bad about sticking. I can't give a recipe, because it's been trial and error, but sometimes it is just jam or jelly dehydrated until it soft and sticky, sort of like a tootsie roll. The paraflexx sheets last forever and are a snap to clean up. I won't use non-food grade items, but I'm more cautious than many about food safety.

 

[baymule]

I bit the bullet and ordered 9 of the solid sheets. I got the ultra sheets. The lady on the phone was very helpful and explained the choices to me. They had $5 offbrand sheets and $7.50 for the paraflex and $10.50 for the ultra sheets. The offbrand and the paraflex both are teflon. The ultra is silicone. The silicone is not as sticky-free as the teflon, but I an a teflon phobic.

frustratedearthmother......how funny.......my name is jones