http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry.html

That should get you started. No videos but lots of info.

Rodney

YouTube isn't the best or most accurate source of info anyway so you aren't missing much. The link Rodney provided has the best info and covers dehydrating of most all foods. Have any specific foods you want to do?

Dave

If you are interested in a book on the subject I heartily recommend this one.

Ultimate Dehydrator Cookbook

I like researching on Pinterest. I think it takes practice and experimentation. For example, I made a recipe for a vegetable bouillon and, finally, used it for the first time yesterday (12/17). I think it was good but not sure it was worth it. The mixture is thick and moist so it dehydrates into little hard puddles. I'm going to try to chip them up in a coffee grinder. In the current form, they are too hard to use. I used it to flavor a gravy I was making for turkey pot pie. So far I have been most impressed with dehydrating paste tomatoes half way then running them through a food processor to make "tomato paste". I haven't made any leathers yet but I was sure this was something I wanted to try. I also need to dehydrate celery and parsley before they goes bad in the fridge.

Don't forget to use the book that came with your dehydrator too, if yours came new with a book.

and an aside... I've always been very disappointed in making broth powder from actual broth and dehydrating it. What I do now is mix a ton of different herbs and separate veggies I've dehydrated and powder the ingredients together. Our family has been much more satisfied with this.

Thank you all! Someone else had said on something else I had asked questions on and she said she made bouillon as well. She told me how she did it and I think I would like that because the kind you buy is soooo high in sodium.

gardnpondr - you didn't say what you wanted to dehydrate.

The really basics of dehydrating is to slice vegetables, fruit or herbs, lay them out on the trays, turn the dehydrator on, wait 2 hours to 12, check if liquid is removed and the stuff cracks or curls when you bend it depending on the stuff you put in. There are charts for that on the web. Meat is a big problem though so don't even try it since bacteria and mold grow too well in that perfect environment.The NCHFP site is the best for dehydrating as is the info if you search "Excalibur dehydrator recipes".

The easiest to start with is apples. Peel, core, slice, (optional dip in lemon solution) lay them out, if your dehydrator has a temperature gauge, set it to 135F, rotate and/or turn pieces over after the tops feel dry about 3 hours in, takes about 6-8 hours, up to 12 depending on how thick the pieces are and how juicy they went in and how crisp or soft you want them to be, take them out and let cool, pack in containers and put in the freezer for 48 hours to ensure that any possible insect eggs are killed, lay them out to get back to room temperature and then put in glass jars to store. Do not store in plastic - it breathes and takes in oxygen and humidity that will un-dehydrate what you started with.

It really is a set and forget kind of machine. As it has a low power draw in an enclosed box it is about the same as having a light bulb on for as long with equal wattage.

Anything you have in the fridge that is not totally fresh, like the last part of celery or shriveled carrots, can go in and be reconstituted later in soup or stew or ground up for powder.

Unless one happens to find brown apples appealing, I wouldn't say the lemon juice (or ascorbic acid) dip for them is optional.

Rodney

If I have a bushel or six, I skip the lemon juice for some and use them in spiced apple cake since they will turn anyway. For eating out of hand or to go into a pie, lemon juice or ascorbic acid solution is preferred of course.

I asked a similar question maybe on chowhound to decide whether or not to invest in a dehydrator. For me, it's a slow learning process. I hadn't planned on drying apples but some yeast roll recipes call for dried apples. I bought a half bushel of orchard run (not perfect) apples before Thanksgiving planning to make some apple desserts. Now I'm going to dehydrate some diced apple. After roasting and pureeing a Long island Cheese pumpkin yesterday, I realize I'm one step closer to making pumpkin leather.

I have been trying my hand at dehydration this year and love it. The kids got me the Excalibur 9 tray and I can't wait to use it. My favorite is pear chips. Pear puree turned out pretty well also. I have done tomatoes and tons of apples,which I don't peel. I followed the strict guidelines and although I watch the YouTube videos to get ideas I think it's best to check with the experts also

My brother tried to do raw meat without a marinade, which could be deadly. The NCHFP is definitely worth your time.

Oh and it's

Dehydrate2store

On YouTube

Thank you all. I bought the Ultimate Dehydrator book as well as the Dehydrators Bible and have watched all of Dehydrate2stores videos. I did some jerky twice and it's good. I want to do some meal in a jar. I watched a lot of videos on that as well. All of the things in the jar are dehydrated and then vacuum sealed. I have done the broth now and really love the way it turned out. Some gal had a video on how to make a bowl with the sheet that goes on the tray to make a bowl for the broth. So I did that and made 4 trays of it. I have dehydrated all sorts of stuff and what I like best is the frozen items since you don't have to blanch those. Saves my time. Anyway on the meat I cooked mine all the way in the oven first and then dehydrated it on the jerky.