Humid Climate Solar Dehydrator

Step 7 Using the Dehydrator

[This is an update in September after a summer of drying.]

I used the dehydrator extensively this summer (whenever we had more than one day run of sunshine -- I found that even a day and a half was serviceable.) Here's a list of things I dried:
- dandelion greens
- lambs quarters
- zucchini slices ("veggie chips")
- almond meal
- finishing stop top granola
- pita bread crackers
- oatmeal bread rusk
- cherries
- calendula flowers
- oregano
- garlic chives
- kale
- chard
- turnip greens
- bee balm flowers
- peppermint
- spearmint
- yarrow

The cherries took the longest to dry: 3 days. Everything else dried in a day or day and a half.

I never took anything in since the glass totally covers the frame unit. Dew would settle on the glass, but would not affect the items drying. Even a light shower overnight caused no problems (a good thing, since my area had a lot of rain this summer!).

I put curtain organza on the screen when I dried the almond meal (left over from making almond milk) and finished the granola (ingredients individually toasted then mixed with heated honey and oil). It kept the material from sticking to the screen and the finished product then easily poured into a jar from the cloth layer. Both things dried in less than a day. The organza allowed plenty of air to reach and flow through them.

I just bought The Complete Dehydrator Cookbook and look forward to further drying adventures through October. I may try drying a few "soppy" things like tomato paste on plastic cutting board sheets (available a many a dollar store).