Dehydrating your own food may seem like a dream that will never come true. You enjoy the taste of it and it’s so healthy, but you also don’t want to have to pay really high prices for it in health food shops.
The truth is, you can dehydrate your own food in a simple and affordable way. All you need is the right equipment to get the job done. Each year, more and more people are buying dehydrated food for its many health benefits. But why
Are you looking to purchase a new food dehydrator? Read our review of the Excalibur 3548CDB – it might just be the right one for you!
Features
- 440W dehydrator
- The excalibur 5 tray dehydrator weighs 17 pounds
- Dimensions: 17 x 19 x 10 inches
- Five trays
- 8 sq. ft capacity
- Trays measure 15 x 15 inches
- 48-hour digital timer
- Adjustable thermostat with temperature range 95°F to 165°F
- Fan for optimal air circulation
- Limited 10-year warranty
- Made in the USA
Pros
- Versatility: low-temperature range allows preservation of fruit and vegetable enzymes, upper range allows for safe preservation of jerky
- Clear front door for easy viewing of progress
- Allows for one timer to be set at one temperature and another timer afterward for a different temperature
- Clear and user-friendly controls
- Patented Hyperwave and Horizontal Parallex technologies allow water to be removed from food through a continuous flow of temperature-controlled air
- Multiple uses
- Dehydrate fruits, nuts, and vegetables
- Dehydrate meat to make jerky
- Dehydrate fruit puree to make fruit roll-up snacks
- Raise bread
- Make homemade yogurt
Cons
- Very heavy, so less moveable
- Takes up a large space in the kitchen / spare room
- Can be noisy
Summary
The Excalibur 3548CDB is a high-quality mid-sized home food dehydrator. 8 square feet of drying capacity and 5 stacked trays allow for a lot of versatility in dehydrating fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat.
The system is also very user-friendly with clear controls that are easy to use. The extended timer function also means that it is suitable for home use, as it can be left to run with an automatic shut-off time.
One of the major benefits of the Excalibur 3548CDB is its versatility. The temperature range of 95°F to 165°F allows you to treat each dehydrated product differently.
For example, the lowest temperature on the thermostat will allow you to dehydrate fruits and vegetables while still preserving their natural enzymes. This means the fruit and vegetables retain their nutritional value.
However, the high end of the thermostat also allows you to dehydrate meat safely. Meat needs to be dehydrated at sufficient heat to meet health standards. To learn more about dehydrating meat, check out this quick 5-step process for making jerky.
You can also learn more about how to dehydrate fruit and how to dehydrate vegetables with these guides.
Compare Dehydrators
When considering how you can start dehydrating your own food, it is important to compare dehydrators.
Here, we compare the Excalibur 3548CDB to three other home dehydrators to give you an idea of the differences that may make the Excalibur 3548CDB more or less appropriate for your needs.
The Excalibur 3548CDB is a lot larger than other food dehydrators with similar functions. For some families that want to dehydrate a lot food, this may be perfect. However, there are also smaller food dehydrators available on the market.
For example, the Waring Pro DHR30 weighs just 7.6 pounds compared to the 17 pounds of the Excalibur 3548CDB electric food dehydrator. The Waring Pro model allows for portability that is not available to the Excalibur model.
In terms of features and functions, the Excalibur 3548CDB is similar to other food dehydrating products on the market of a similar size. However, the Excalibur model does provide some benefits not available on competitor models.
The Ivation 9 and Chefman dehydrators are both competitor models that feature 5 trays and are approximately the same size and weight.
However, these two models only offer a maximum timer of 19.5 hours. The Excalibur model features a 48-hour digital timer.
This can make a big difference to someone using a dehydrator at home. It means they can set the dehydrator at a lower setting for a longer period of time without worrying about it.
One of the other features that distinguish the Excalibur from these models is its higher temperature limit. These models can only reach 158 degrees Fahrenheit. The Excalibur 3548CDB can reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This difference can make dehydrating meat a lot faster and more efficient.
To compare further, have a look at our other food dehydrator reviews.
Excalibur 3548CDB Verdict
The Excalibur 3548CDB is a home food dehydrator that offers higher functionality than competitor models of a similar type. In particular, it offers the user great options in choosing temperatures and timers.
These features give the amateur dehydrator a lot of versatility in dehydrating fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat. This means that you can get maximum health benefits from each different type of dehydrated food.
If you are unaware of all of the health benefits of dehydrating your own food, check out these 10 incredible health benefits of using a dehydrator.
As well as being versatile, the Excalibur 3548CDB is also much easier to use than other products on the market. It features clear and simple controls that make it perfect for the home user.
However, it also has great technology incorporated into it to allow the amateur dehydrator great options for making high quality dehydrated food.
In particular, the dehydrator offers a very advanced feature of a double timer. This allows a user to first set the dehydrator to a high temperature for a certain time period, and also to set a second timer at a different temperature. This function allows you to dehydrate food without compromising on food quality or your time.
For many people, the possibility of dehydrating their own food just seems too good to be true. Dehydrated food has so many health benefits, as well as being really tasty. Of course, buying dehydrated food from health stores can be really expensive.
However, with a product like the Excalibur 3548CDB, dehydrating your own food is an enjoyable and affordable option. So, why not start dehydrating your own food today?
