Dishonest Company – Excalibur Dehydrator 3500 Critique
It comes with 2 fruit roll screen and 2 easy clean screens and 5 normal trays. The fruit roll screens are awesome. All told, if you’re just looking for a decent, solid, cheap dehydrator and you don’t mind the above issues for whatever reason, this is a great machine. I just wonder if maybe I should have spent a little more to get something a little more user-friendly as far as my own personal specifications go. This is an excellent price; just make sure you get all your accessories at the same time because you will need them once you get going! I have to say I am impressed with this machine. The fruit roll sheets and clean screen trays were extremely helpful and I have already ordered more. I would not recommend drying fruit without the extra screens as they do get sticky and hard to peel off of the regular trays.
The Nesco beef jerky spice is really great and so easy to use. I use my dehydrator at least twice a month and had no problems so far.
I had an older model Nesco that finally had the fan motor burn out after many uses. The trays from the old unit fit perfectly on the new unit.
You can use other spices that you like. I made meringue cookies, tossed in a few mini choc chips, made little dollops & set machine on 160 degrees; I couldn’t resist eating them warm-they tasted like smores.
They will lose their crisp unless you vacuum pack them. I purchased the food saver brand based on its reviews & have been happy with my choice. It’s so slow and so unpractical for raw cookies, crackers and other raw food items, that I just can’t really recommend it. So, the Excalibur does cost four times as much. I purchased extra screens and now find that I don’t use them, the dehydrator is really not hard to clean if you clean it right away, but I do wish I had more trays. I’ve only had this dehydrator for a little over a week and already I’ve been able to make beef jerky, turkey jerky, sweet potato chips, and dehydrated celery to make a salt substitute. This is wonderful for making beef jerky. We use their Nesco homemade beef jerky spices, variety pack, and mix the flavors to our taste. I am quite pleased! First, there is nothing physically wrong with this dehydrator. Also when dehydrating onions or garlic, it’s best to do it outside or in the garage, as the scent can be overpowering indoors. When drying apples or potatoes, soak them in lemon water first to prevent browning. Not to mention the high sodium contents and many use monosodium glutamate (MSG)! I found this one to be a good mid-priced dehydrator – it would allow us to make meat jerky, dehydrate fruits and vegetables, as well as make our own fruit roll ups. Two thumbs up on this one. Way better than Ronco brand.
I saved more than that making my first 1 pound of jerky! Cabinets Laundry Room.
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