CatHerder
AGA Sprout
"If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat".
Posts: 142 
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Post by CatHerder on Feb 27, 2024 14:34:55 GMT -5
Can anyone recommend a dehydrator for herbs? I tried giving my least fussy cat a catnip leaf and he promptly sat in front of it and looked at me with his "And I'm to do what with this?" face. Plus, the way the basil grows, I can't use it fast enough, and it's only one plant. I want something around the $50-$70 range because I'm pushing my random-items-showing-up-at-the-door limit with my hubby. Something like these: DehydratorDehydrator, cheaper |
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Post by Clovis Sangrail on Feb 27, 2024 14:59:39 GMT -5
I have this one -- Cosori Mini 5-Tray Food DehydratorIt has worked pretty well so far. I've done basil and thyme and even a few Hatch chilis. It is supposed to do jerky, too, but I haven't tried that. And it says it also makes yogurt, but the thought of that kind of gagged me. All in all, I like it. It was a Christmas present, and I think it was on sale back then for under $100. As for getting deliveries under the radar, you could try having something delivered to one of those Amazon lockers, then pick it up at your convenience. Or a mail drop at the UPS Store. Also, if you bring up the 'What Did You Do With Your Aerogarden Today' thread and search for 'dehydrator', there were several posts on the subject back before Christmas, including this one where Lynnee recommended looking for a dehydrator with the heating element on top. |
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 841
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Post by slw on Feb 27, 2024 15:38:05 GMT -5
Can anyone recommend a dehydrator for herbs? I tried giving my least fussy cat a catnip leaf and he promptly sat in front of it and looked at me with his "And I'm to do what with this?" face. Plus, the way the basil grows, I can't use it fast enough, and it's only one plant. I want something around the $50-$70 range because I'm pushing my random-items-showing-up-at-the-door limit with my hubby. Something like these: DehydratorDehydrator, cheaperThose both look nice and have good reviews. I have a Cosori similar to Clovis's. Cosori also makes a smaller round plastic dehydrator for about $50 that also has good reviews, so I'd say pick one that you like the size/look of and go for it. If one has a higher wattage I'd probably go for that. One other thing... the inexpensive ones usually have the fan in the bottom so you'll need to rotate the trays to get even drying. |
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CatHerder
AGA Sprout
"If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat".
Posts: 142
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Post by CatHerder on Feb 29, 2024 17:42:08 GMT -5
I have this one -- Cosori Mini 5-Tray Food DehydratorIt has worked pretty well so far. I've done basil and thyme and even a few Hatch chilis. It is supposed to do jerky, too, but I haven't tried that. And it says it also makes yogurt, but the thought of that kind of gagged me. All in all, I like it. It was a Christmas present, and I think it was on sale back then for under $100. As for getting deliveries under the radar, you could try having something delivered to one of those Amazon lockers, then pick it up at your convenience. Or a mail drop at the UPS Store. Also, if you bring up the 'What Did You Do With Your Aerogarden Today' thread and search for 'dehydrator', there were several posts on the subject back before Christmas, including this one where Lynnee recommended looking for a dehydrator with the heating element on top. Thanks for the recommendation. A tad more than I wish to spend, but I put it in my cart (just in case). I tried using the oven method to dry a bit of basil. Even though I did it less time than recommended, the leaves were slightly brown and the basil didn't taste like anything at all when I was finished. Eww.  |
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CatHerder
AGA Sprout
"If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat".
Posts: 142
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Post by CatHerder on Feb 29, 2024 17:45:52 GMT -5
Can anyone recommend a dehydrator for herbs? I tried giving my least fussy cat a catnip leaf and he promptly sat in front of it and looked at me with his "And I'm to do what with this?" face. Plus, the way the basil grows, I can't use it fast enough, and it's only one plant. I want something around the $50-$70 range because I'm pushing my random-items-showing-up-at-the-door limit with my hubby. Something like these: DehydratorDehydrator, cheaperThose both look nice and have good reviews. I have a Cosori similar to Clovis's. Cosori also makes a smaller round plastic dehydrator for about $50 that also has good reviews, so I'd say pick one that you like the size/look of and go for it. If one has a higher wattage I'd probably go for that. One other thing... the inexpensive ones usually have the fan in the bottom so you'll need to rotate the trays to get even drying. Thanks for pointing out the fan location. It never occurred to me where the fan was located made a difference. Not that I plan on making jerky any time soon, but the drippings in the fan....  Yikes! I found a couple with the fan on top in my price range. Still deciding. |
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Post by lynnee on Feb 29, 2024 19:50:06 GMT -5
CatHerder, as Clovis Sangrail said, having the fan on top or at the side is an important consideration. Drippings from fruits as well as jerky are messy, and make the fan-on-the-bottom dehydrators hard to clean. 
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mike
The Pepper King
Posts: 3,661 
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Post by mike on Feb 29, 2024 20:00:52 GMT -5
I found out the hard way that the less expensive units are fine for herbs. My problem was jerky. I spent a bit on beef that was rather nasty in a week. I ended up buying three dehydrators before I splurged on an Excalibur. I used to watch QVC. Now I don't even have TV.
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CatHerder
AGA Sprout
"If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat".
Posts: 142
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Post by CatHerder on Mar 1, 2024 14:29:49 GMT -5
I found out the hard way that the less expensive units are fine for herbs. My problem was jerky. I spent a bit on beef that was rather nasty in a week. I ended up buying three dehydrators before I splurged on an Excalibur. I used to watch QVC. Now I don't even have TV. I don't see myself ever making jerky. I like it; I just don't want to make it. I just really want to dry catnip and maybe other herbs like basil and parsley. |
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Post by blueglasses on May 21, 2024 23:42:49 GMT -5
It has been a while since your dehydrator question, but I thought I would add this: I grow lots of catnip for my cats and simply air dry it. If you snip the leaves off of the stems after harvesting and lay them out in shallow cardboard boxes, the leaves usually dry in about a week to 10 days (less if the weather is not humid…I live in a fairly dry climate). It takes much longer to dry if you leave the stems on. I actually use the shallow rectangular boxes from buying packs of canned cat food and stack them by turning each box 90 degrees to make a little catnip drying tower. It stays in an out of the way place with good air circulation and not much light (on a shelf the cats can’t reach  ). I have also dried catnip in cake pans in my convection oven set at 100 degrees F, but not all ovens can be set that low. I prefer air drying because it is simpler and saves energy. The secret to growing fragrant catnip is to harvest it frequently  Catnip plants make the scent that cats like as an insect deterrent. If you harvest frequently, the plants respond as if they are being devoured by hordes of insects and increase production of the deterrent (nepetalactone, which is what makes cats love catnip). In my experience, the first harvest is always the _least_ fragrant. Your fussy cats might be holding out for a later harvest! >^..^< |
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Post by lynnee on May 22, 2024 9:59:19 GMT -5
"... on a shelf the cats can't reach", blueglasses? Seriously? My cats could jump to a bookcase that was 8 feet high!  That's really interesting to know about, that catnip becomes more fragrant if it thinks jt is being attacked by insects!  |
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CatHerder
AGA Sprout
"If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat".
Posts: 142
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Post by CatHerder on Oct 5, 2024 14:42:48 GMT -5
It has been a while since your dehydrator question, but I thought I would add this: I grow lots of catnip for my cats and simply air dry it. If you snip the leaves off of the stems after harvesting and lay them out in shallow cardboard boxes, the leaves usually dry in about a week to 10 days (less if the weather is not humid…I live in a fairly dry climate). It takes much longer to dry if you leave the stems on. I actually use the shallow rectangular boxes from buying packs of canned cat food and stack them by turning each box 90 degrees to make a little catnip drying tower. It stays in an out of the way place with good air circulation and not much light (on a shelf the cats can’t reach ). I have also dried catnip in cake pans in my convection oven set at 100 degrees F, but not all ovens can be set that low. I prefer air drying because it is simpler and saves energy. The secret to growing fragrant catnip is to harvest it frequently Catnip plants make the scent that cats like as an insect deterrent. If you harvest frequently, the plants respond as if they are being devoured by hordes of insects and increase production of the deterrent (nepetalactone, which is what makes cats love catnip). In my experience, the first harvest is always the _least_ fragrant. Your fussy cats might be holding out for a later harvest! >^..^< Yup. Been awhile! But I thought I would share how I finally ended up dehydrating my catnip. I read not to heat them past 115 degrees or it decreases the effectiveness (I don't remember where I read it). I only use the leaves, and harvest frequently (and thanks for confirming my suspicions it works better!), and lay them out on a baking rack. I then place them in my oven (off) with just the lights on. After an hour, the halogen lights raise the oven temp to around 110 so I turn the light off and leave them in overnight. Then I place them on the top of my refrigerator for about a week or until they're nice and crispy. Photo is pre-drying:  |
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CatHerder
AGA Sprout
"If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat".
Posts: 142
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Post by CatHerder on Oct 5, 2024 14:44:44 GMT -5
"... on a shelf the cats can't reach", blueglasses ? Seriously? My cats could jump to a bookcase that was 8 feet high! That's really interesting to know about, that catnip becomes more fragrant if it thinks jt is being attacked by insects! Agreed, there isn't a safe place in my house except for the top of my fridge, as it's sort of a "built in" with about a 4" space above it. Just enough space for a couple of sheet pans. |
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Post by Clovis Sangrail on Oct 5, 2024 15:24:24 GMT -5
I used to do that in college. I used the big full-sized sheet pans in the hall's kitchen (where I worked) and set the temp on one of those big industrial ovens way down low. Made the place smell . . . interesting. More recently (50 years more recently) I applied the same technique to some Hatch chiles. Cut them in half, pulled the seeds, and dried them in a convection oven, then chopped them up in the little baby chopper that came with the immersion blender. And as for the "shelf the cats can't reach," there is no such thing. (And I think that goes for huskies, too.) |
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Yikes!
).
Catnip plants make the scent that cats like as an insect deterrent. If you harvest frequently, the plants respond as if they are being devoured by hordes of insects and increase production of the deterrent (nepetalactone, which is what makes cats love catnip). In my experience, the first harvest is always the _least_ fragrant. Your fussy cats might be holding out for a later harvest!