Excalibur Dehydrators My Rave Review for Raw and Beyond!

Excalibur dehydrators are excellent for the raw food lifestyle. As an Excalibur dehydrator owner I will share my dehydrator reviews here.

When I got interested in the raw food lifestyle and the benefits of a raw food diet, I realized that many raw food recipes utilized an dehydrator. A dehydrator is the raw food equivalent to the conventional cook's stove, conventional oven and microwave oven. The single dehydrator replaces not one, but all three major appliances! Before my interest in raw foods, all I knew about dehydrators was the circular ones that were sold in chain stores for very inexpensive prices. I had some experience with them and was not impressed at all. So I began searching for the best food dehydrator and soon found myself drawn to an Excalibur food dehydrator. An Excalibur dehydrator seemed to be the must popular food dehydrator available. I quickly learned that the correct spelling was Excalibur, NOT “Excaliber” dehydrator.

Reasons why I chose an Excalibur dehydrator:

Raw Chefs Promote Them- Perhaps the most compelling reason that I chose the Excalibur brand dehydrator is because so many of the big names in raw foods use and promote Excalibur dehydrators. Raw food proponents and chefs like Victoras Kulvinskas, Gabriel Cousins M.D. and Victoria Boutenko are just three of the leaders in the raw food community that promote these dehydrators.

Size- Usually, bigger is better and food dehydrators are no exception. I liked the choice to get a dehydrator with nine large trays. I never wanted to have too much food, but not enough room.

Inexpensive Operating Costs- According to the folks at Excalibur, the electricity it takes for drying a whole load of food costs about 5 cents per hour!

Removable Trays and Door- Now this may sound small, but the fact that I can remove the trays is a big deal to me. The removable trays and removable door makes for easy filling and cleaning. I can remove the trays and door to place pints and quarts of yogurt inside. Since I am not a vegan and I love raw milk, this type of dehydrator is excellent for incubating my raw milk into yogurt. Want to know how yogurt is made with raw milk? Just follow the link.

Dark Door- I am a huge fan of light! I truly am. However some food preparations prefer warm and dark. The door of the Excalibur effectively blocks light.

Temperature Settings- If you want to dry food and still keep the enzymes alive and kicking, you need to know what temperature your food is being dried at. If you are in the market for a dehydrator... make SURE that it has a temperature setting and go beyond the low high setting, look for actual numbers!

Two Step Drying Method – The actual numbers temperature feature is important for this feature of the Excalibur dehydrator. You can significantly shorten the drying time by setting the temperature higher than the normal 115 degrees Fahrenheit just to heat up the inside of the machine. Let it at that temperature for only about two hours then turn it back to about 95 degrees until your food is finished. The initial high temperature will just heat up the inside of the machine, not the food so drying time is shorter but you are still keeping the enzymes living and intact. If you are like me and get busy and away from the kitchen, just set your kitchen timer for two hours.

Popularity- These dehydrators are popular! Just typing in the words “food dehydrators,” the most common brand name that comes up in the search engine results is, you guessed it, Excalibur. They have been around since the 1970s, so this tells me that they have a pretty good track record or they would not have been in business for so long. A side benefit of using the Excalibur dehydrator is that when I am drying foods, it gives my whole house a warm, homey scent.

Excalibur Dehydrators – Beyond Raw Food

If you are thinking of investing in an Excalibur dehydrator, there are uses that go far beyond the needs of the raw foodist. Here are some of the other ways to use your dehydrator:

Backpacking Meals- Make your own “freeze dried” meals in your dehydrator. Then, when you are on the trail, just add water and enjoy.

Craft Projects- All of the tray will keep your craft projects safe, contained and away from kids, dust or pets while you are waiting for the glue, paint, or even plaster to dry.

Herbs- Grow your own fresh herbs and dry them in your dehydrator. A side benefit to this is you house will REALLY smell good! Dry flowers too.

Jerky- Perfect for making homemade jerky from wild game or even the butcher chop.

Homemade Baby Food- Dehydrate your own homemade foods and powder them. Then just add milk and water when you are ready to serve baby.

Homemade Bread- Your homemade bread dough will raise nicely in the warm dark interior of a Excalibur dehydrator.

Pasta - If you have ever made homemade pastas, the trays and low heat of the dehydrator is perfect for drying your noodles.

Seeds - Dry your pumpkin and sunflower seeds easily.

Soften Coconut Oil and Butter and Honey- The gentle heat of your dehydrator is ideal to soften coconut oil and raw honey.

Stale foods- Crisp up stale cereal and crackers in your dehydrator. Once you have invested in an Excalibur food dehydrator for your raw food diet, you just may find yourself using it for other purposes too.

Other Dehydrator Pages:

Dehydrator Recipes

Best Food Dehydrator

How to Dehydrate Food

How to Dehydrate Fruit

How to Dehydrate Vegetables