DEHYDRATER

You mean one of these??
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Or did you mean one of these Link
or one of these Link
or perhaps even one of these Link
as you may have gathered by now, there are heaps of choices in the market place. Have a look on Google (or any search engine) and just type in Food Dehydrator - you'll see what I mean.
Good luck with it.

Al, I'm in the process of using one (as we speak) preparing vegies from my garden for our trip at the end of this month. We'll be away fishing and dune driving for about a month. I wasn't prepared to buy one of the 'fantastic' ones I saw on the net and luckily my kids had an old Sunbeam one and I'm using it. So far I've done mushrooms, carrots, capscium - next banana chips, pineapple (yum), strawberries, apples, peaches. Then I'll do the various herbs I've got growing.
We like stews and casseroles - and if we don't catch any fish - we'll be needing it. As we will not be where there are shops and space is limited - and seems the fridges are always needed for grog and fish I'm going to give this a go.

spookey. Here I am looking for one and then this forum comes up. I am also looking at getting one (ezidri snackmaker). My problem is I don't know the basics of it. What I mean by this is that once I have dried food do you need to carry extra water to make it eatible again? Dumb question but there is lots on the internet on buying them but nothing about how to use the food and what to do with it (recipes etc). I am wanting one for the same reason as Alcoz, crossing the simpson in July.
Alcoz a link that I have is www.hillmark.com.au

Cheers,

Thanks for that! We take off for the GRR in 18 days so i'll have to get a move on!
cheers Al

It is worth establishing if the dehydrator can do meat at the right temp, remembering that some claim to be for meat but may not reach and sustain adequate temps. See the USDA guidelines (relevant excerpt and link given below):

“ for making jerky safely is to heat meat to 160 °F and poultry to 165 °F before the dehydrating process. This step assures that any bacteria present will be destroyed by wet heat. But most dehydrator instructions do not include this step, and a dehydrator may not reach temperatures high enough to heat meat to 160 °F.

After heating, maintain a constant dehydrator temperature of 130 to 140 °F during the drying process is important because:
• the process must be fast enough to dry food before it spoils; and
• it must remove enough water that microorganisms are unable to grow.
Why is it a Food Safety Concern to Dry Meat Without First Heating it to 160 °F?
The danger in dehydrating meat and poultry without cooking it to a safe temperature first is that the appliance will not heat the meat to 160 °F and poultry to 165 °F — temperatures at which bacteria are destroyed — before it dries. After drying, bacteria become much more heat resistant.”
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