A look at two dehydrators.

You are a gardener and serious about preserving the food you grow, or perhaps you are someone who has no garden but is serious about healthy eating and buy bulk at the Farmers' Market, or you are a bargain hunter and buy bulk vegetables wherever you can. Whatever your motivation you have decided that one of the ways you want to preserve your food is to dehydrate. You may have already discovered that the oven is not for the serious project, and that circular dehydrators are not all they are cracked up to be, they don't give you the space and they don't give you the accuracy of temperature. Their life expectancy is also disappointingly short.

So, what should you do?

Word has it that the Excalibur is the 'Mother of all dehydrators', and a year ago we would have agreed with you without any reserves, but we came across a contender. We started off thinking that the Excalibur was going to win hands down, and we have had the LEM for almost a year now, working side by side, and here is what we found.

The product details tell us that the surface area of the shelves is exactly the same, but the LED shelves are half an inch narrower. Both prices refer to models with a timer and 15sq feet of drying space.


Excalibur: $299.95 -$349.95               LEM: $189.99
Excalibur: 9 shelves                             LEM: 10 shelves
Excalibur: Screens included                LEM: screen sold separately, 2 rolls @ $12 each
Excalibur: Need to turn temp. to zero to check contents.
                                                             LEM: Handy stop/start switch
Excalibur: Easy to leave door open a fraction by mistake.
                                                             LEM: Door closure more secure
Excalibur: Gap between shelves is 1/8th inch
                                                             LEM: Gap is 1" making air circulation better

• Side by side, vegetables, herbs and fruit all took the same time to dry, with no difference in texture, colour or taste.
• We would not pay extra for timers as there are too many variables in drying time e.g. weather. All LEM models include the timer, while Excalibur is reduced by $50 for no timer.
• Using the dehydrator for large quantities of yoghurt in quart jars, the LEM was more stable, and because of the increased height allowed more jars to be loaded.
• Excalibur offers more options (for a price) such as stainless steel models, clear doors etc, but that is a matter of choice and depth of pocket, and does not affect the non-stop drying they withstand here all summer and autumn.

In conclusion, there is very little difference in performance, except if you use your dehydrator for yoghurt. There is a considerable difference in price. Next time we buy, we will buy the LEM and that has to be our recommendation for others
.

Health Elixir

Add a couple of tablespoons in a mug of tea or hot water, add some more honey to taste, and this will keep you feeling good all winter long.

The zest of 3 organic lemons
3 organic zested lemons (with tips cut off and pith removed) each cut into 6 pieces
3" of ginger (peeled and sliced)
1 teaspoon of dried ginger
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (don't skimp, this is your decongestant)
2 Tablespoons turmeric 
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (natural with mother)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup honey (or more to taste)

Blend all ingredients together in blender or food processor, put in quart jar and keep in the refrigerator. Shake well before use and add 3 tablespoons to a hot mug of tea, adding extra honey if you like it sweet.

Enjoy a daily mug all winter long but especially if congested or sick. The ingredients are specific to building up your immune system and lowering inflamation.

Cole slaw recipe

We have a new way of making cole slaw that we discovered by accident, maybe everyone makes it this way but I don't think so. It is so good that we feel we should share.

Vegetables:

1 head of cabbage
2 large carrots
1 teaspoon of freshly ground pink Himalayan salt (believe me, it is worth the investment and it is full of good minerals that regular salt misses out on)

Remove core from cabbage and slice remaining cabbage finely.
Using a vegetable peeler, slice carrots and add to cabbage
Add salt and massage vegetables until they wilt and start to release liquid (they will remain crispy). Depending on the freshness of the cabbage this can take 5-10 minutes.

Dressing:

1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp fish sauce
1 teaspoon of prepared mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
black pepper to taste

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and add to the vegetables. Refrigerate to allow flavours to combine before serving.

The dressing we make changes a little each time, sometimes we will use horse radish rather than mustard, play around with it, own it and make it your own. The important part of the process is massaging the vegetables, it changes everything and you will wonder why you never did this before.