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i wish i had 70 dollars to spend. I love to cook, make all kinds of food, but i cant afford the ingredients or the tools to do some things. I have to spend my money on cheap calories to get through the week. Ramen, berries and things i can pick from the trail by the water front, that sort of thing. i improvise most of the time and its a lot more work, like making bread, people always tell me,"oh, just push the blah blah blah button on your machine" my oven lacks those buttons.

thanks for the help guys. I am going to try the oven thing first, if that does not work out well I will pick up something from amazon with a top mounted fan with my rewards check from my CC.. tuition at least gets me lots of points. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> any tips on what to try drying first? i was thinking apples and bananas, some cherries off our tree ( bumper crop this year). I will freeze what i am not going to eat in the next few months. how well does freezing work for preserving the stuff without vacuum sealing it? I am asking around to borrow a vacuum sealer, but have not found one yet.

thanks for the help.


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ah yes - I remember what it was like being a student

keep an eye out at garage sales.... sometimes you can pick them up for $5

also - if you buy from Amazon don't buy the Ronco or any of the models with the clear trays/sides. I had a Ronco and it took forever - almost twice as long as the Nesco models.

the oven works well although you have to keep a closer eye on things. prop the door open with a wooden spoon and use your lowest temp setting

things to try first? well you are on the right track with the fruit. when you do the bananas be sure to marinate the slices in something citrus (lemon, lime) for about 5 minutes. A friend of mine uses honey and lime juice and I use pineapple and lime juice. Same deal with apples and anything that will turn brown.

Spaghetti sauce and chili are also great things to dehydrate. Being a student you'll find it helpful to make a recipe and have it for dinner a couple nights and then dry the leftovers. It makes things so much more economical.

Freezing will extend the shelf life considerably - for fruit around 8 months before any noticeable flavor loss and sometimes even longer than that. You don't really need a vacuum sealer. I just use freezer grade ziplocks and make sure I get the air out of them.


Edited by WildChild (08/07/08 06:49 AM)
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