A Modern Gaia's Gadgets: My Newest Obsession... TSM D10 Stainless Steel Dehydrator

After quite the search for a dehydrator, I am one happy camper! I have wanted to try to dehydrate food for a long time now. It is extremely healthy, and part of the raw foods diet. I was hoping to get some new healthy and yet appetizing snacks for my entire family, as part of our New Year's Resolution. According to thehealingjournal.com. "Living foods are uncooked foods. They are easy to digest, rich in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, and are highly nutritious"(healingjournal.com).

Sure, you could just give your kids fresh fruit, but the truth is that snacks get boring, especially healthy ones. I wanted to give my kids something that they hadn't had before. Plus, with dehydrating, you don't have to worry about the fruit spoiling as quickly as it does (especially when it's organic). That article from healingjournal.com that I referenced above, also discussed this fact.

"If stored properly, dehydrated foods have a longer shelf life than any other preservation methods. When sealed properly and left unopened, dehydrated foods can sit on your shelf for up to 20 years making them excellent for disasters and hard times" (healingjournal.com).

There were quite a few things that I took into consideration while searching for the right dehydrator for my family's needs. I knew I wanted to buy a high quality dehydrator that was ginormous. Once I become less of an amateur, I plan on having a dehydrating week every month in which I can stock up on snacks for my family. That being said, I wanted something big enough to accommodate my lofty ideals. I also wanted something that would look good in my kitchen, since this is a pretty big, small appliance purchase. My kitchen is mostly stainless steel and I wanted my dehydrator to be attractive and match everything else (yes it's quite petty, *shrugs* I'm nothing if not honest).

I like to try to support local businesses if I can (plus I was not that interested in paying shipping on an item that could weigh upwards of 10 pounds). The other benefit to buying locally, is that if there is a problem, the facility is close and it will be easier to take care of. So there you go, size, design, number of trays, and ethical reasoning went into my decision-making process. Also, the fact that I researched forums and narrowed it down to 4 eligible "bachelors" that were reviewed pretty decently:

Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Express All In One Food Dehydrator:
Ok,so this dehydrator was a little on the tiny side in terms of what I need. It was also the cheapest on my list. It comes with 5 trays and you can always purchase more to add onto it. I would rather just buy it all together in the first place, although I am sure that this dehydrator is decent, it just was not for me.

L'Equip Dehydrator:
This dehydrator was a teensy bit bigger, having 6 trays- still not quite big enough for me though!

Excalibur 3900 Deluxe Series 9 Tray Food Dehydrator:
This one seemed really nice, it was large and the design was ok... but it was shipping from California. The shipping... *shudders* Also, this dehydrator had Polycarbonate Trays with Polyscreen inserts. Heating plastic is not healthy for anyone, or the environment. I wanted a stainless stell model, so I kept searching and was glad that I did!

The Sausage Maker (TSM) D10 Stainless Steel Dehydrator:
*Le sigh* Is it so wrong that I am in love with a piece of Stainless steel? This dehydrator is AMAZING. It's the kitchen version of my Mr. Right, and everything that I was looking for! The TSM D10 Stainless Steel Dehydrator has 10 shelves, and it's a digital model.

There is a timer and automatic shut off, as well as an on and off switch. The entire thing is stainless steel, including the brackets and shelves which are dishwasher safe, making clean-up a breeze! It comes with a very informative manual that has the cook times for almost any fruit and vegetable that you could possibly think of. Also, the design of it is phenomenal, it looks really nice in my kitchen, I love the stainless steel (have I said that already? *shrugs*). It has a modern, industrial look to it. The other thing that made me excited about it, was knowing that it is a local business. I was able to order online and pick it up in the store (perfect for me given that my two-year-old is more patient than I am!).

When I had a question about the product, I called and ACTUALLY SPOKE WITH A PERSON almost immediately! I am a huge sucker for a prompt and courteous customer service staff- which "The Sausage Maker" certainly has! If you have never checked out their website home-food-processing.com Go. NOW. They have some really cool kitchen items, I am already eyeing a few of their other products. Their phone number is 1-716-824-5814.

So, my first project was "apple chips." I made what I thought was enough for a few weeks (two bins full) and they were gobbled up in two or three days!

I started out with organic red delicious apples, cleaned them up, cored them and sliced them into 6 mm slices (per the manual). Since I know apples will brown easily, I dipped them into some juice so that the citric acid would help distract mother nature for a bit (I mean come on, she has more pressing things to concern herself with!) After slicing and dipping, I laid the slices out on the shelves and set the timer for 15 hours at 135 degrees.

The next morning when we woke up, we had a yummy addition to breakfast (and basically every meal throughout the day). I added them into organic yogurt with some flaxseed cereal, it was a delicious breakfast! My daughter loved it too! "Appo Chips," as she has dubbed them, were a success! ;)

She couldn't get enough of them!

My second project was "Banana Chips." My toddler was really excited about these! The kid would live off of bananas alone if we would let her. I used organic bananas. All you have to do is peel the banana (duh.) and then cut them into 3 mm slices. We let them dehydrate for 10 hours at 135 degrees. Once more in the morning there was a yummy addition to cereal, yogurt or as a stand alone snack!