Customer Reviews

Excalibur 3500 Deluxe Series 5 Tray Food Dehydrator - Black

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Excalibur dehydrator has exceeded my expectations. It makes great organic, "less sweet" fruit rollups and dehydrates cooked broccoli to a crunchy treat. It does make more noise than a fan so make sure to put it away from your bedroom if you will be running it overnight. Make sure to buy the Paraflexx sheets sold separately if you intend to make rollups. The recipe book is very helpful and quite extensive. I'm delighted with it and wish I had purchased this dehydrator sooner.

This was my first venture into dehydrating foods. After reading all of the reviews I made my choice to go with the Excalibur brand. I have been extremely pleased with the ease with which it works and the product it produces.

With the fan in the back, all of the fruit and vegetables placed on a single tray appear to be drying at the same speed so there is no need to rotate the tray from front to back, However, I have found that when I have all 5 trays loaded, I need to rotate the trays vertically. I move the top tray to the bottom and each tray up one slot. I usually will only do this a couple of times in a 12 hour period. As the fruit and vegetables get smaller from dehydration the air is able to circulate better.

The 5 tray size has been all we have needed so far but I could see a time down the road that I might have need for the 9 tray.

This is a great dehydrator that I recommend for all people who would like to save food in an economical way. The food is very, very tasty and also very convenient to use. Be careful of dehydrating onions though. I did and smelled up my house for weeks! The fan is loud and annoying to me but can't be helped. My kitchen is in the open right by the living room so we moved the dehydrator to a back bedroom and set it on a foldable table. That worked great until I did the onions and that stunk up the entire guest bedroom and I tried opening windows, washing bedding, putting out baking soda, and even coffee to try to deodorize the area. I also tried opening up windows and blowing fans--still have the smell. So, be careful of what you dehydrate.

I wanted to write a review after immediately trying it and an then do an update (in the near future). I have had the 5 tray model (2500) for three days. I was hesitant about getting the 5 tray since everyone says it is not large enough and to get the 9 tray. Since I live alone, I opted for the 5 tray. It's a nice looking machine with minimal parts. The trays are a little flimsy but sufficient. I had heard a lot of people complain about the noise but I don't think it is loud at all. Maybe the 9 tray has a larger fan making it loud but the 5 tray is like a box fan on medium speed.

The first thing I tried was Kale chips. Since kale is a leafy produce it is a bit high so you have to take out three trays to fit which only leaves you two trays of kale (Which isn't very much). I guess you could squash another tray in there but didn't want to try that for my first attempt. Already I am wishing on the 9 tray.
Kale came out pretty good. You really need to try and get the leaves as uniformed as possible since the smaller ones dried first and the larger ones were still a bit chewy in spots. Obviously you could leave the larger ones in longer. The yield was nice size bowl but would really like to have done more.
I know for almost all the other items: fruit, jerky, veg's., they are flat and five trays will be enough.
Next, I tried beef jerky. The EXC did a nice job but again, keep an eye for the proper time. I did mine for 6 hours and it was bit tough. I prefer them a bit more chewy. And, London Broil was better than Eye Round. Still experimenting on "with the grain" or "against".

The I tried an onion bread. Was in there for 15 hours and was cracker like (which I wanted). The EXC did a nice even job on them. Now I am doing an apple fruit leather, apples, grapes and pineapple.

Cons: The one thing I didn't like was when I was doing the kale, I had one tray on the 2nd level, and one on the 4th level. I definitely had to rotate the trays (top/bottom)since the bottom tray had more moisture than the top. I also rotated front/back for the heck of it. I was surprised that the trays NEEDED to be rotated. This is why I took off 1 star.

As I mentioned, I wanted to give a first impression on this dryer and after I get more experience, I will give an update.

Excaliber was recommended by a friend and I have not been disappointed. Try pears--soooo delicious! Excellent product. Rotate trays half way through so drying is even front to back. Remember that the recommended times are not always accurate as the times vary with the size of your slices. Play around with it for your ideals.

Thought system came with a timer(auto-shutoff), which is important, yet it does not. Would now go for 9 drawer model. Makes less than I perceived. Trays are a little flimsy.

Based on previous reviews I decided to buy this model. I got it to have more control about what's in the food I eat and to take dried veggies and fruits for our camping and hiking trips. I'm not disappointed.

Yes, the machine is huge, much bigger than I thought it would be and it takes a good space of the counter in my mini kitchen. So plan ahead, for me it means - no cooking while drying. When not in use make sure you have a lovely spot for it in some closet or move to a place with a bigger counter.

So far I have dried a variety of fruits, mostly apples, which all turn out to be delicious. Although it was already mentioned in the book (comes with the dehydrator), that Blueberries are not a good choice to dry, I wanted to try it out for myself. The result is - don't do it, believe what's written in the book.

Veggies, like celery, carrots and onions are extremely flavourful when revived in water. I couldn't believe it. It's important to cut everything as equal as possible. If you don't have a machine and only use your hands and a sharp kitchen knife, that's what I do, check the trays often once drying process has started.

Since this is the first time I'm using a dehydrator I'm not able to say if this one is the best on the planet, but I can say that 5 trays is the way to go. They are quickly filled up and whatever you dry it lasts for weeks, so don't hesitate to go for more trays.

I have a different type of dehydrator already but heard such good things about the Excalibur that I just had to give it a try. I LOVE it. So much more drying area and faster. I'm trying to find a home for my old dehydrator now.

Bought this to make vegan crackers and wraps. It is excellent. Can make a couple different recipes at a time. It is rather big, takes up a whole counter in my condo's kitchen. Otherwise just love it!

Having switch to a paleo diet I have struggled with finding food options that are packaged. This dehydrator is great! It takes up allot of space but the first couple batches of jerky have turned out great. It's easy to clean and has enough space for 3 lbs of meat. I advise getting the tray covers which are $10 a piece but worth it. If your looking for ways to creating food that keeps without adding sugar then this is perfect.