Customer Reviews

The Solar Food Dryer: How to Make and Use Your Own Low-Cost, High Performance, Sun-Powered Food Dehydrator

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you do any kind of homemaking, preserving, growing of your own food, etc., then you absolutely need to get this book! This will give you low-cost and realistic way to preserve your food naturally and in a way that keeps it tasting great! The step-by-step instructions for building the author's food dryer are top-notch and easy to follow, even for the non-mechanically inclined.

My only wish is that the author had included plans for the other food dryers mentioned, though a quick Google will supply this, so it's not really necessary.

Fodor has written a book to be used, not simply read. The first part deals with the theory and physical facts of solar drying, while the second tells how to make a dryer. Next comes a section on preparing food to dry, followed by a brief group of recipes and, finally, some very handy appendices. Fodor writes clearly and handles details well.

This book is very informational about the food dryer design promoted in the book. I wish it had a little more information about the pros and cons of other solar dryer designs.

I don't necessarily agree that the food dryer in this book is the most optimal design. Creating a hot plate, and then shading it with layers of fruit seems to be less then optimal to me. I am going to built a food dryer similar to the Mexican one described in the book. But that's of course a personal choice. The book is very very detailed in how to make the proposed fruit dryer. If you are not a handy type person, I guess you will still be able to make it. For me, personally it's far too much detail. I like to work from a picture only and make it to my liking, I don't like all the strict guidelines. However, this book is very helpful in explaining all the in's and out's of food drying. The underlying principals, the effect of different angles in regards to the rays of the sun, the effect of where you are on the world in regards to the strenght's of the sun rays, how to regulate the temperature by means of ventilation openings, etc. In this respect the book has taught me a lot more then I imagined I would, and has given me the basic knowledge to build a decent sun powered food dryer, and in that respect I regard this book as a really good buy.

I bought the book as I have had trouble getting plans to build a solar food dehydrator. When reading the book, I got very inspired to build the dryer, but I have run into problems getting drying racks. Ebon eludes to the fact that they're a problem to obtain, but I am left searching for suitable racks and can't build the dryer until they are sourced.
Apart from that, It's a nice book to read.

The book explains the how and why of solar drying. I had been thinking about it as I dry quite a bit of produce/herbs each summer using an electrical dryer which is costly at this time. The solar dryers shown in the book would be for someone who dries small amounts at a time, but I have the concept and can build a unit(s) which could dry the amount of produce I process each year.

Eben wrote a good book. More than ever, we all need to shrink our food budget and our bellies at the same time. Moreover, I HATE to cook, so food can get ready that is done for me by sunshine is a great deal, especially where I live in Hawaii. Tasty pictures of dried food, plus plans to build your own food drying along with photos of tools and techniques. Good job!

As to guide my tasks as Mentor of an incipient family business dealing with solar dehydration processes, I've read this excellent book that satisfied the business needs of that novel initiative.
Luiz Correia
México

Excellent resource for building a solar dehydrator. Complete easy to follow instructions. Can't wait to get mine built.

Lots of useful information. It does not address whether solar dehydrators are effective in more humid areas of the country. Plan to give it a shot to see how it works.