I don't know if it was Bellota, but it's an improved Lucky Tiger (except for the very thick skin). It was a very healthy plant, and so productive that I had a ton of tomatoes to dehydrate

Linda

Tomatoes at 125 deg. in a Gardenmaster for 10-12 hrs. Fred Hempel F1's; Grn. Bee, Lucky Agi, Madera, Agi Red and a few Sungold in the bowl. His thick skin varieties do great in a drier.

This is getting out of hand Mixed veggies (from frozen, they dried so fast!), mushrooms, lemons, tomato slices, halved small tomatoes, tomato powder, and raspberries.

I have used such cheap round dehydrators with plastic trays and after few years of use, the trays are becoming brittle and breaking. I have been looking for a dehydrator with metallic trays for a long time and now such came on sale. Original price is 299€, but now it was on sale for 50% off, which was too good offer to pass up. This is my Christmas present this year and it was a lot cheaper than DH's new chain saw, which he got for himself.

This is not the best season to start using new dehydrator, but I have now been testing it with leeks, kale and currently there are apples, which all are our own harvest. I may have to buy tomatoes and try dehydrating those and later will use it to make jerky from moose meat.

The dehydrator has 10 trays and temperature can be set from 35 to 75°C. It is quite large and currently I am running it on top of the wood burning stove, which is used just occasionally. The fan makes a bit more noise than the round ones, but it is still quiet enough to be used in the kitchen.

Sari

I found that the brand I purchased is made for the Finnish web shop which sold it. Searching the internet showed it been sold under many names like Aroma, ChefWave, Ivation and many more. I searched to read the reviews, which are mainly good, but there are some bad ones too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ivation-10- ... /311361580

I wanted to get an Excalibur like Marsha and others suggested, but I ended up getting this one, for some reasons. I got a warranty, too. I like the dehydrator, and am happy.

I've never done jerky in it, and I haven't tested the temperature to see if it runs cool, but it works great for the things I've been drying in it.

There's no tray to catch stuff that drips, and it can drip through the bottom vent on occasion, but it's easy to clean. Don't put foil in it as one person suggested. That's an electrical hazard, and slows down the process. Just let it drip, and don't stress. It's easy to clean.

It has six 15"x13" metal trays, and room for six more (so, the six trays aren't cramped).

It doesn't come with mesh inserts, nor with fruit leather sheets.

I like the temperature range, and how long and precise the timer can be set. It doesn't turn off when finished though (it goes on warm mode; so, I still make sure to check it when it should be done). You can see through the door, which is a feature I really like that I didn't previously consider high priority, but it doesn't light up inside.

Quality seems decent. It looks nice, too.

It's easy to slam the door shut on accident (don't flip it shut).

It's very quiet, but it does warm up the house (and yes, that's nice when it's cold!) I should really dehydrate something. The ground is frozen, though (otherwise I'd want to dig up some horseradish or sunroots).

https://cosori.com/products/premium-sta ... r-cp267-fd

Anyone have experience with this Cosori dehydrator?

From my dehydrator groups. Look for one with a temperature control, Timers are a nuisance as food is dry when it is dry not when some book says it should be. Look for a fan in back it is the most efficient. Fan in the bottom means you have to be careful not to drop food, etc into the fan opening. Most folks like the upright ones as you can tell from the fan in back statement.
HOWEVER I did get a Garden Master from Nesco when I got mine. I was looking for affordable and liked the fact that all the silicone sheets I would need were included ie smaller holed sheets and the jerky/fruit leather sheets. Those sheets for the upright ones would nearly double their price... I also like the fact I could go from 8 shelves to 30 shelves if I really wanted to so plenty of room to expand. It does take longer according to folks who test it but I am lazy and tend to set it up at night and let it run all night after making sure nothing is close to it. Even with the limited use it has gotten I would say it has paid for itself in connivence and probably funds also.

@karstopography I bought the 6 tray Cosori last Fall and I had good results with it, although my primary focus was drying peppers. I did seem to extend the recommended drying times to ensure the peppers were dry enough to grind up.

pondgardener wrote: ↑Thu Oct 27, 2022 6:40 pm @karstopography I bought the 6 tray Cosori last Fall and I had good results with it, although my primary focus was drying peppers. I did seem to extend the recommended drying times to ensure the peppers were dry enough to grind up.

Good to know. What is your preferred drying temperature for peppers?

@karstopography I have been using 130˚F, which I believe the manual recommends but looking at a dehydrating book that I have, they recommend 125˚F for 4 to 15 hours, depending on size, thickness and cutting method.

I use around 120° to dry my peppers - takes a little longer, but they remain bright red, and keep their flavor better than at higher temps.

We came real close to getting a consori but caught a deal aways back on an excalibur so went with what we were more sure of. It pretty much can dry anything, and even some wet wet tomatoes come out well done for storing.

For those very wet tomatoes, I put the pieces on waxed paper on the shelves on the Excalibur, and it dries them out easily. If any liquid leaks out onto the paper, it dries out, then peels off no problem.