Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook

Mary Bell has a number of books out and all are wonderful!I have taken recipes out of each of them.Easy to read, easy to follow and always a great surprise when the goods turn out like advertised!You won't go wrong with her books!

Author gives good tips for using the dehydrator. Problem? Most people who buy a dehydrator do so for raw vegan purposes. These same people are on the quest for better health. Unfortunately, the author has recipes here that are extremely unhealthy, incl. use of meats, corn syrup, sugar, chocolate chips, butter, fish, shrimp, beef, etc. I've never heard of a meat eater having a dehydrator. And raw foodists generally try to avoid corn syrup, sugar, and the likes. But the funny thing is, she has some good tips, esp. for backpacking and the likes. And since I'm going to Vietnam and Cambodia in 2 wks for a month, I'm going to look through this book again for recipes I can dehydrate and take with me! Great tips and ideas, some good recipes esp. for the backpacker and for travel, BUT us raw vegans are going to have to figure out a substitute for some of the ingredients in many of these recipes! But I do like this book and I do think it gives a lot of good information and ideas and is worth buying to keep in your bookcase for future reference. I haven't looked at this book in years, and suddenly I am reminded of how useful it is and I find myself excitedly looking forward to reading through it again and preparing for my trip with her useful ideas/recipes!

This book was suggested to me when I became interested in dehydration and it has been one of the best purchases I have made for this topic.Mary Bell wrote this book as if she were having a conversation with the reader. The book covers everything from the basics of dehydration to specific methods for fruits, vegetables and meats. Recipes are included for how the dehydrated foods can be used. An added chapter is included on dehydration and use of herbs and flowers.

Mary Bell seems to have written the definitive book on home dehydration. The book is well-organized, practical and covers everything one might dry and then some (cucumbers?) She includes good tips for keeping color and drying foods that don't want to lay flat, for example. In short, it is a great introduction. There are some recipes using dried fruits and vegetables that I haven't tried yet, but as a newbie, her recipes are helpful in figuring out how to use your dried foods and how much liquid is needed to reconstitute various kinds of fruits and vegetables. The only thing I would like to have included is more comprehensive troubleshooting tips. For example, How dry is dry enough for various kinds of foods? I would have liked a bit more description of acceptably dried carrots so that I didn't feel I had to dry them till brittle. All the same, the book helped me gain confidence in a new area of preservation so that I'm pretty handy at it after only a few months.

Perhaps information regarding the toxicity of garlic to dogs and cats wasnt as widely known around the publication date(1994)of this book, but DO NOT feed your pets garlic. [...]Too many believe its safe in small amounts, but why would something that is deadly eaten whole be safe as a seasoning? The salt and garlic could easily be left out in those recipes, so I'll leave it as that.I do however enjoy the rest of the book. It covers many of the most common vegetables and fruit you may consider dehydrating. It give the water percentage and expected drying time, how to prep each and how to use. The recipes arent too bad either, although many of the entrees and soups require added refrigerated foods like cream and milk, but I suppose one could substitute those with dehydrated milk and water, although there is no mention of it. I made the Cream of Broccoli soup last night which was great, using only dehydrated ingredients aside from the heavy cream where I substituted Mimic Creme because of its long shelf life and no need to refrigerate, not to mention how much more healthy it is. This book is great for those who have never dehydrated, so I am surprised by the few reviewers who said it was too advanced. Actually I am left still wanting more and I am entirely new to this myself. Overall, still a great book I probably would recommend it, too bad about the pet treats though.

This woman can write efficiently and to the point. With any instructional book this is crucial. There are a couple of chapters dedicated to the benefits and history of dehydrating food, but they are interesting, brief and well written. The best thing about this book is that the index is EXTREMELY comprehensive. If you have a new veggie score from the farmers market and you want to get to work right away you can easily flip to the back and get the pages you need.Mary Bell is a master of her craft - I have tried her techniques with perfect success every time.This is one of the most well written How-To books I have ever read. If you have a dehydrator that is collecting dust, or if you are shopping for one - go ahead and pick it up - this will get you started in moments, and answer any questions you might have about the process of food dehydration.

I'm just beginning with actual drying of foods. Mary Bell's book makes it incredibly easy; explains why food drying is a wonderful method for preserving foods, what can be dehydrated successfully (practically all foods!) how to do it and how to know when it's ready, how to store and, finally, recipes! Her writing is very clear and easy to understand.I've already made raisins, dried carrots, tomatoes, bananas, apples, pears, and today will bake a carrot cake (with dried carrots) while some mushrooms I found on sale are drying. All the info I needed is in her book.She tells you what you need to know before you start, and how to prepare fruits and vegetables for drying. Drying meats and fish, herbs, flowers, making food leathers (like roll-ups) and trail food; it's all in the book!It's a great book for a beginner, and might even have some new ideas for an experienced gardener/cook.

This is a really good book for starting out. It has very practical advice on preparation of fruit, veg, and meats, with recommended times and temperatures, but also some good ideas for recipes for things you can use your dehydrated foodstuffs in, that you might not have thought of uses for. I skimmed through the whole thing in a couple of hours, but still refer to it often when I'm trying new things. Its quick, easy, practical, and well laid out. Much more useful than the booklet that came with the machine.Incidentally, there are a lot of good youtube videos on the subject that are very helpful too :)

Full of useful information that's still relevant today, even with no pictures. I like that it gives the water content for foods, and it goes into quite a bit of detail on making leathers. The only thing that lets it down is that it doesn't have a concise index for fruits and vegetables, and it's a bit limited in that respect. I will probably try the backpacking recipes, but for it to have the same amount of page space dedicated to it as basic fruit and veg is a bit disappointing.

American author book came when expected. The book was recommended by a friend. Contains everything you need to know about food dehydration .If you need a book about this subject this is a good start. Of course Americans have a head start ,being doing it for years

The book was just as described. Very pleased :)

My book was exactly as described, the condition was very good even though it was pre owned.All in all I was very pleased. I would use this seller again. The book is useful if you are new to dehydrating.. Worth a read