Home Dehydrators

I have a home dehydrator. I purchased it at K-Mart for $60.00 and it saved me a fortune. I dehydrate almost all my trail food for next to nothing. Food left over from family meals is refrigerated - then once a week I organize it then dehydrate it. I also cook expecially for the trail then dehydrate it for later.

Your favorate meals can be dehydrated, packaged then saved. Rehydration is simple and only takes ten minutes. A small spice kit adds flovour that might have been lost. Your best using a camp stove that can simmer. When I can, I use my trailstove, burning small chips. I eat lots - and dine like a king on the trail.

I got into it when I planned long distance canoe trips. Lots of food is required, in small light packages. To buy large quantities of commercial trail rations is expensive for - poor folk.

Much of my dehydrated trail food is two years old and still good. Are there many other's that do this?

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No need to buy a home dehydrator. For years, we have just used the oven. Gas ovens work better (and cheaper) than electric ovens. Or, do as people have done for thousands of years - use the sun.

The Foxfire books have good descriptions of dehydrating food. This is a series of 12 books, gathering the folk wisdom of Appalachian folk handed down through a few centuries. I lack a couple of the books, but have referred to them many times, often for things I learned when growing up, but have forgotten the details.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxfire_books

You can also do searches on Yahoo or Google for information on what the old Mountain Men did (Barb and I do historical re-enactments from that era - lots of fun, and maybe good preparation for the coming petroleum-less era).

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For sure you don't necessarly need a dehydrator to dehydrate. In the past I've also used the kitchen oven. Basic, homemade, dehydrators are not hard to make. I've seen a plan using (I think) a cardboard box and a light bulb.

My dehydrator is a Nesco by American Harvest. I often dehydrate in the basement in the corner of my work bench. Nicely out of the way. I can easily and rapidly dehydrate almost anything, and in quantity. Fruit leather is especially easy to make - and good on the trail.

It's harder to use the sun in a cold climate. When it does get hot we have lots of bugs here. It can be done but dehydrating traditionally is lots of work. I agree it is fun to do things the old fashoned way - if you want to take the time.

I too enjoy the Foxfire books. They also a chapter - and plans - on how to make your own backyard still.

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I've heard of and been looking forward to trying a different kind of homemade dehydrator design for jerky. You get a couple (or more) PAPER HVAC filters, place your marinated raw meat in between them, and bungie cord them to one of those square window fans and turn it on. Anyone try that before?

Also, somewhat related... I use a Food Saver to vacuum seal my dehydrated trail food. Couldn't be more pleased. Something that really works well with the Food Saver: I cut up a shop-grade paper towel into ~1 X 2 in. strips, soak them in Tea Tree oil, and vacuum seal them two per compartment. On longer hikes, I wipe down my feet with the Tea Tree oil at night... no more fungus, pleasant smelling, have never attracted bears even in high bear activity areas, and my socks don't become a bio-hazard!

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I am familiar with dehydrators. I mostly use it for beef jerky. I can use an electric oven but I find the dehydrator works better. I would suggest the book Lip Smackin' backpacking for recipes. Banana and Apple chips are also pretty good. For backpacking or any trip a dehydrator is defiantly a good way to go.

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