Dehydrating Stuff

I searched the internet high and low for a clip from the episode of Friends where Chandler gets a new roommate-Eddie.  Eddie was a little weird (to put it mildly) and I don’t remember a ton from the episode, other than a dehydrated cantaloupe being used as a foosball ball.  When I told my friend I had gotten a dehydrator, she asked if I was going to do that.  While I think it would have been fairly entertaining to try and dehydrate a whole cantaloupe, I am fairly limited, even with a trusty dehydrator.

CSN stores offered to send me one to try out.  You should really check out their site, they have over 200 online stores packed to the brim with anything you could ever want or need, including a dehydrator.

I got this bad ass machine.

 
It has 5 trays, and I could get even more trays and expand it.  It is fairly easy to clean, being top rack dishwasher safe, or cleaned with soap and water.  Once you set it, you can basically forget it, just like a crockpot!  It was fairly quiet (maybe because I had it on at night?!?!) and worked really well. 

I chopped up and put in a whole pineapple, whole cantaloupe, a banana and 4 kiwis (with the skin on).  Solomon asked me if we could dehydrate grapes.  I told him that would make raisins.  We decided against grapes. 

I spread them out amongst the trays, flipped the switch, and went to bed!  I let the machine stay on a few more hours once I woke up.  The only thing was my house smelled soooo sickeningly sweet in the morning!  I wasn’t expecting that, but it was a fun surprise.

Everything turned out much chewier than I expect, almost the texture of taffy or something.  The taste of the fruits was nice and strong though, definitely a fun toy! 

The next night I tried to make vegan eggplant bacon.  I hated the way it made my house smell, and quite honestly was a little to grossed out by it to eat it.  What a waste, it sucks!

Que sera, sera, right?

Anyone have any advice on making my fruit a little more crispy, and less chewy?

I think next I want to attempt some potato chips in it.  I bet they would come out amazing!  I also want to try some baking, but I can’t decided what to make (Averie, any ideas?  I feel like you are my go to girl for this!)

Maybe some macaroons next?  Any ideas?

I have a huge list of other fruits I want to try too (obviously apples!) so I think this will be getting a ton of use soon.  Thank you so much CSN! 

If you are interested in getting your own dehydrator, the model I have is available in my OpenSky store!  Check it out!

Do you have a dehydrator?  What’s your favorite thing to make?  What’s your favorite dried fruit?