Dehydrator now at ALDI.

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Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby John Sheridan » Sat 17 Dec, 2011 9:04 pm

From the 21st there will be a Dehydrator for sale at aldi, not sure how Powerful it is as the info given is limited, just says it has 3 large transport trays, variable temperature control, ideal for drying fruit and vegetables, nothing about meat, so will have to go and see what the real specs are.

The sunbeam Dehydrator was about 109 bucks from a department store, not thinking the aldi one is up to it really going by the price.

Just a heads up.

Cheers.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby Nuts » Sat 17 Dec, 2011 9:07 pm

You want a constant high heat for meats John, iirc abt 70C but someone may know more? That seems like a bargain for the sunbeam (5 tray?)!!
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby John Sheridan » Sat 17 Dec, 2011 10:11 pm

How much usually is the sunbeam ???
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby Nuts » Sat 17 Dec, 2011 10:23 pm

Not sure, sounds cheap, this is the one i use (iirc i paid $200 odd locally) the number of trays (more the better) and the inserts are handy.http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ezi-Concepts ... 27bd17f7fd
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby John Sheridan » Sat 17 Dec, 2011 10:37 pm

I looked around and he 109 seems to be full retail, so not a good deal, but it does 75c so I guess it's good for dehydrating meat, might look around for others or wait till I see the sunbeam on sale, that should be soon.

Cheers.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby HitchHiking » Sun 18 Dec, 2011 12:06 am

I snapped one up the last time around and its has served me very well. At the price they offer it, the amount Ive used and the fun Ive had its been well worth it.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby John Sheridan » Sun 18 Dec, 2011 6:53 pm

Was it the same brand and model ?????

Luminia !!!1

http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_20214.htm


Cheers.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby Leppy » Sun 18 Dec, 2011 9:57 pm

I have never used these before.. Is this one ok for mince?
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby Nuts » Sun 18 Dec, 2011 10:43 pm

Might be ok but fowlers, ezidry, sunbeam have a good rep. Consider that the motor works Long hours.. They are the sort of thing that come up for sale 'used' regularly..... :wink:
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby HitchHiking » Mon 19 Dec, 2011 7:24 am

John Sheridan wrote:Was it the same brand and model ?????

Luminia !!!1

http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_20214.htm


Cheers.


Yeah same one as the picture execpt that mine does not have clear sides.

Works fine for me. I dehydrate beef and roo for pemmican alot as well as soups, stews, and curries. Worth a bit more then 40 bucks to me now. 8)
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby Nuts » Mon 19 Dec, 2011 8:36 am

No doubt it 'works' but i'd be looking for the specs. For example ezidry makes a 'classic', which is the base model, 500w and a set temp averaging 55w. Not recommended for meats.. Also, economy wise keep in mind the number of trays supplied (or ability to add others). Even 500w over 8/9hrs is a fair current draw. There are other considerations with the design of trays, cleaning and unloading, included or optional accessories. Nothing against the aldi, just saying..
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby icemancometh » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 3:02 pm

picked up an aldi one today
says it can do 70C for meats

my Q is how can one do precooked liquidy meals when the trays are all grid bottoms (ie holes in it?)
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby John Sheridan » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 5:00 pm

Does not come with any inserts for meat ect in the box, LOOK HARD :)

No expert, but to do certain things you need certain types of trays I guess, EXPERTS !!!!

Cheers.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby icemancometh » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 5:38 pm

meat would be fine, just not liquidy/soupy stuff
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby icemancometh » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 5:41 pm

meat would be fine, just not liquidy/soupy stuff
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby Mark F » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 5:45 pm

For hummus and sloppy foods I spread it very thinly on baking paper while for dishes like spag bol I cook them on low heat until all free liquid is gone then spread it out on aluminium fly screen cut to fit the trays. You can also start drying on baking paper and transfer the food to mesh once it has started to congeal enough.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby icemancometh » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 5:47 pm

cheers Mark

Did think about the baking paper but not the al foil

And yes spag bol was going to be my first dish to try...roo mince
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby hikingoz » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 8:53 pm

John Sheridan wrote:From the 21st there will be a Dehydrator for sale at aldi, not sure how Powerful it is as the info given is limited, just says it has 3 large transport trays, variable temperature control, ideal for drying fruit and vegetables, nothing about meat, so will have to go and see what the real specs are.

The sunbeam Dehydrator was about 109 bucks from a department store, not thinking the aldi one is up to it really going by the price.

Just a heads up.

Cheers.


Thanks John for the heads up. Picked one of these up and putting it to good use.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby hikingoz » Wed 28 Dec, 2011 8:57 pm

I should add my old dehydrator caught on fire. It was an ebay model with four drawers and an element at the back. The plastic fan overheated, struck the element and went up in smoke. No serious damage done to the house, but the dehydrator was ruined. Burnt plastic over everything
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby John Sheridan » Fri 30 Dec, 2011 10:54 pm

Any feedback on the Dehydrator would be nice, I will buy the sunbeam, I need one that is better to counter my lack of skill :)


Cheers.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby hikingoz » Sat 31 Dec, 2011 4:23 pm

I've done some banana chips in it already and it seemed to work effectively. It took the best part of a whole day. It has no timer just an on/off switch and a thermostat. The racks stack on top of each other and the motor sits on top. You can pull racks out to make the whole system smaller. For the price, the Aldi version does the job, at least in the short term. I'll just have to wait and see how long it takes to break down.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby corvus » Sat 31 Dec, 2011 9:45 pm

With respect that sounds a bit of a worry ! all day to do banana chips seems like if that is that case it would take two days to do meat :shock:
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby hikingoz » Sun 01 Jan, 2012 6:06 pm

It was on 70 degrees which is full tilt. I made sure they were very dry for safe storage.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby cdg » Sat 07 Jan, 2012 4:38 pm

i always use my dehydrator resting on a large terracotta tile. if it catches fire - and thats a chance - i dont want the bench to catch fire.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby icemancometh » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 5:35 pm

So finally pulled my thumb out today and did my first batch

Roo mince (dry-not rinsed) and a sundowner apple and a granny smith in the 3 different trays
Baking paper for the roo.
5 hours later, apples looked pretty good and tasted good too.

Mince ok as well but now onto second batch and going to leave this first lot of dry mince in for a bit longer to see what happens.

Second batch: button mushrooms, orange and roo bolognaise (not too saucy, again on baking paper)

Q: manual suggest adding fruit juice./lemon juice to pretreat the fruit before drying...what are people's thoughts?
Wouldn't this 'dilute' the flavour, make it different?

So far I'd have to say I'd rather pay for the fruit from a shop as it's not efficient doing an apple or two a tray if you cut it so fine.
Mince is the big one though...will know in a couple more hours!
Then I'll have to rehydrate before passing verdict
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby gayet » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 5:55 pm

the fruit juice or lemon juice is to stop the fruit oxidising - turning brown. If you dunk apples slices in apple juice there is no dilution and it is just to acidify the surface to precent the browning.
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby icemancometh » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 8:48 pm

6hours at 70C to dehy roo mince is about right if you spread it thin

Mushrooms (raw) going well and probably in the 3-4hr range I'd say for the thickness I've got them at. Will have to try some cooking and seasoning next time to add some flavour but reckon they'd be good as is in some soup. I reckon they will be the pick of the lot so far.

Q: are people just ziplocking these dehy goodies or are they also vac sealing them?

Also thinking of doing eggs I'd say. I remember Tinderry Foods doing some eggs which people seemed to love. Any ideas there?
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby Eremophila » Sat 10 Jan, 2015 10:18 am

Anyone have more feedback on the Aldi dehydrators? I've noticed they come into stock a couple of times a year, and keen to try one if they're ok.
Edit: I see someone is selling this model on Gumtree for $45. Good try. :roll:
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby perfectlydark » Sat 10 Jan, 2015 11:31 am

I grabbed one last time they were in but only used it once, and that was my first dehy experience. Seems yo work fine but i need to really practice more and get some snacks done
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Re: Dehydrator now at ALDI.

Postby walk2wineries » Sat 10 Jan, 2015 1:58 pm

Some foods are cheaper to dry yourself; probably not sultanas but dried mango and watermelon both of which are great snacks when walking. Fruit dried without sulphides can be difficult and/or expensive to buy; if you are sulphide intolerant - or have a sulphur intolerant walking buddy its absolutely worth doing just for this. Can't remember where I read about dried watermelon - was it here? Bit fiddly but just as good as jellybeans for a quick hit of sugar, and tastes great!
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