Remember those Ronco Food Dehydrator infomercials that were inexplicably hypnotizing? We do, and we’re here to tell you that dehydrated food really is as cool as Ron “But Wait!” Popeil  made it look. But, like all other kitchen gadgets, not all dehydrators are created equally. If you’re going to invest in a food dehydrator, you might as well go all out and get the best option – the Excalibur 3900 Deluxe Series.

This beast of a machine is the top-of-the-line when it comes to dehydrators. We know what you’re thinking… how much difference can there be between brands and models? The Excalibur brand has a patented system that blows air from the back outwards, as opposed to the bottom-up airflow of most round tower dehydrators. The back-forward airflow means even drying of all trays, eliminating the need to periodically rotate your trays.

 

Other perks include durable, easy-to-clean trays and mesh liners, temperature controls, timer and a quiet motor. We’ve already tried quite a few things in our black box, including cauliflower, turkey jerky, and a ton of different fruits and vegetables…crunchy kale chips for healthier snacking, candy-sweet dried tomatoes, and tart dried strawberries to toss into a bowl of cereal.

With all of the fresh summer produce coming, dehydrating is a great way to preserve all of the goodness without added sugar and keeping most, if not all, of the nutritional value. And beef, chicken and venison jerky make the perfect, satisfying camping snacks.  Our next adventure is homemade crackers in the dehydrator (really!). There are an endless number of foods that lend themselves to being dried, so if you’re up for some dehydrating fun, go with the Excalibur 3900 Deluxe… you won’t regret it.