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Emergency Essentials/BePrepared

Dehydrating Liquids in the Excalibur Dehydrator

I really love my Excalibur, but not so much the flat trays. While circular dehydrators (like the American Harvest) have a small rolled edge that prevents a small amount of liquids from dripping off, the Excalibur Paraflexx tray liners are completely smooth and flush with the edge of the tray. I prefer the Excalibur for a lot of reasons, but the flush edges means anything that is not solid will run right off the tray :-( This post demonstrates how to make a "bowl" from the drying sheets available from Excalibur or purchased from third-party vendors.

I have been dying to find a way to dry soups and stews, but the mess just isn't worth it! So far the only suggestion I have found is to use parchment paper to make a bowl, but almond milk (and a lot of other foods) stick to the parchment, making a huge mess and wasting a lot of the food.

Finding a way to dry liquids has been a special challenge, but I have finally come up with an easy way to dry any liquids with the dryer! Using the Paraflexx liners (or the generic ones from Amazon), and a few binder clips at the corners of the flexible liners, you can make a "bowl" that will fit your tray perfectly!
A Paraflexx Liner and four binder clips is all you need





Simply pinch the corners and clip to make a bowl as deep as you like


Now you can dry liquids very easily with no mess!
In this video, I demonstrate drying almond milk and an awesome mushroom and beef gravy.


11 comments :

  1. AnonymousApril 29, 2015 at 1:31 PM

    Thanks Demeter,

    I am a food geek and am always trying to see how I can make foods from scratch - especially portable ones. I was looking for Apple Cider Vinegar Powder online just now to flavor some dried chips etc and was pondering whether I could make it myself with my Excalibur and ... voila! ... you came up with a solution.

    Thanks! :)

    FoodNerdGrrl

    ReplyDelete
  2. DemeterMay 10, 2015 at 7:03 AM

    Thanks for the props, FoodNerdGrrl. Let me know how your Vinegar powder works out! Always on the lookout for ideas! :-) Ciao

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 12, 2015 at 1:07 PM

    Demeter, What setting did you use to dehydrate the almond milk on the excalibur, and how long did it take to dry? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DemeterMay 14, 2015 at 5:18 AM

      I can't exactly remember, but I think it was medium heat (100°)? Took about 6 or 7 hours total, but I recommend peeling it and flipping once it is tacky dry.

      Delete
  4. redmustang97May 12, 2015 at 2:10 PM

    Demeter....do you powder this dehydrated almond milk and put it in mason jars? Can you store this milk in Mylar bags with O2 absorbers for long term? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DemeterMay 14, 2015 at 5:21 AM

      Yes, I powdered this in a food processor and stored in mason jar. I don't see why you can't use mylar bags - I use them all the time. I would recommend first putting it a ziplock inside of the mylar because the powder stuck to everything with static electricity. I find some of my dehydrated powders do this, probably from rubbing against the mylar sheets...

      Delete
  5. AnonymousMay 12, 2015 at 7:44 PM

    Yes! What setting did you use?

    ReplyDelete
  6. LindaNovember 10, 2017 at 9:27 AM

    I dehydrate lot of food on regular basis But never explored dehydrating liquid food items. Seems like you have great solution! I definitely give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SarahMarch 24, 2018 at 6:01 AM

    Sporadically spotless the dehydrator utilizing lukewarm water especially close to the base of the dehydrator where little bits of sustenance may have gathered..dehydrator drying times for fruit & veg

    ReplyDelete
  8. Richard H. BlackJanuary 12, 2020 at 12:13 AM

    I am impressed. I don't think Ive met anyone who knows as much about this subject as you do. You are truly well informed and very intelligent. You wrote something that people could understand and made the subject intriguing for everyone. Really, great blog you have got here. Dehydrator Combo

    ReplyDelete

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