Room For Several Dehydrators?

[Tristan Mitchell]

You finally have your dehydrator and are ready to have fun. No longer
will you have to rely upon the grocery store for your needs as you can
dry just about everything from regular tomatoes to the popular sun
dried versions, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, bananas, pineapples,
strawberries, peppers, jerky, herbs, meats and more. One of the great
things about dehydrating foods is the decrease in waste. The skins and
ends that you would normally toss into the trash can be dried and
ground into a powder for use in your normal everyday cooking. These
powders will add some extra flavor to your foods when it is needed.
  Once you have found and experimented with your new found
dehydrator you will find that you are quickly accumulating many jars
of dried foods ready for your next soup. These products can be kept in
any container that has a tight fitting lid. Most are stored for some
time in a dark, cool location. Naturally your storage location will
need to be dry otherwise mold will quickly set in. When using your
older dehydrator make sure that you allow plenty of time for the dried
foods to cool properly before packaging them.   Often times
beginners that are first becoming familiar with the skill of
dehydrating start out with an inexpensive small dehydrator and then
eventually they end up buying one of the Cadillac's of dehydrators.
These top of the line items have all the fancy bells and whistles that
any one could possibly desire. Naturally they come with an equivalent
price tag as well.   I personally began my dehydrating process
with a Ronco dehydrator many years ago. Since that time I have
acquired several additional machines and have set my goal on obtaining
an Excalibur sometime this year.   The main question that is
generally posed is what do I do with the old cheap dehydrator when one
gets a new one? These machines are not by any stretch of the
imagination the ideal machine however there are several things that
you could so with it. You could give it to some needy home that would
appreciate the thought of getting one however the more logical thing
to do would be to keep it as a backup.   There are often times
during the growing season when you could make very good use of more
then one dehydrator to accomplish your food storage goals. There will
more then likely be many times when even having two will not be enough
but we often have to make due with what we have at hand.  
Another reason to keep the older machine is onions. Onions you say?
Yes, onions tend to add a scent to the dehydrator that is extremely
difficult to get rid of. By using the older machine strictly for
onions you can save your self a lot of hardships in the future. No
longer will your dehydrated apples have an onion flavor to them.
  If you don't have a second dehydrator you can readily find one
at a local yard sale or on sale at one of the department stores
nearby. Take a look at the areas thrift stores as often they appear in
there for less then $5.00.