Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Nesco American Harvest FD-1020 Gardenmaster 1000-Watt Digital Food Dehydrator

Top mounted fan eliminates the worry of liquids dripping into the heater chamber. Expands to a giant 20 trays so you can dry large quantities all at once! 1000 watts of drying power means you can dry more, faster.

These Gardenmaster Accessories Included FREE!
  • No-Spill Fruit Roll Sheet. Perfect for drying semi-liquids: soups, sauces, fruit rolls. Has exclusive "no spill" lips.
  • Clean-A-Screen. Flexible screen, allows easy drying of small items such as herbs, spices, and potpourri.
  • Jerky Spice Packet and Cure - Make your own jerky at home!

    Features and Benefits
  • Digital Timer is Programable for up to 48 Hours of Drying Time
  • 1000 watts of drying power!
  • Patented Converga-Flow®.
  • Adjustable Temperature Control.
  • Includes 52-page recipe and instruction book, 1 solid sheet, 1 mesh sheet, and 1 packet jerky spice to make great tasting beef jerky or venison jerky.
  • 4.5" Fan, 2400-RPM Motor, Adjustable Thermostat, 1,000 Watts.
  • Dries in Hours, not days. Fruit rolls 3-6 hours, Beef Jerky 4 hours, Apples 4-6 hours, Bananas 5-8 hours, Pineapple 4-6 hours.
  • Opaque Vita-Save® Exterior (blocks harmful light).
  • Expandable to 20 trays. No Tray Rotation, 1 Sq. ft. Per Tray


    Before foods are cooked, and often after they are cooked, they are subject to a number of different procedures: peeling, slicing, chopping, kneading, folding, mashing, and more. Without a good understanding of these terms, cooking can be a difficult matter. And without some practical experience in these mechanics, cooking would be a chore. Even the simple task of us icing a vegetable is not the first time you try it. Let's take a look at some of these procedures:

    Mixing

    The process of mixing consists of stirring two or more ingredients in a bowl or saucepan by moving them around with a spoon or a fork. A fork can sometimes produce a lighter mixture than a spoon which is more likely to mash the ingredients.

    Blending

    Blending consists of mixing thoroughly, without beating, by stirring well until all the ingredients are mixed. It is best to use a wooden spoon of the proper size. This term is also used to describe the action of an electric mixer or blender.

    Whisking

    Whisking is the process of agitating the ingredients with a light rapid motion. This causes foods such as eggs and cream to incorporate as much air as possible during its mixing. The wire whisk is normally used for this although an electric mixer can be used as well.

    Folding

    This term describes the process of combining air-filled ingredients, such as beaten egg whites or cream, with a heavier batter. This must be done very carefully so that none of the air is lost from the whipped ingredient. Folding is usually done by using a spatula which makes it easier to cut through the air-filled ingredient without flattening it.

    Beating

    This is the kind of mixing in which ingredients are completely blended together so that each of them loses its individual identity to become part of the whole. A rotary hand mixer or electric mixer can be used for this type of mixing. An electric blender can also be used.

    Mashing

    Usually, mashing refers to cooked foods such as potatoes, but we also use it for crushing a garlic clove with the flat side of a knife to release the flavor of the garlic more quickly in cooking.

    Grinding

    Though grinding is more often used for grinding coffee in modern times, it used to be a term that was used more often for grinding wheat or spices with a mortar and pestle. You can also grind meats with a meat grinder.

    Cutting

    Cutting is actually a general term used for cutting different types foods. "Cutting" is usually used when a food is cut into chunks before cooking. The different types of cutting are slicing, julienne, sliver, dice, shred, and mince.

    All of these terms can describe the mechanics of cooking. Most meals cannot be cooked without using at least one of them. So, knowing these terms and practicing the use of them will help you get your meals to the table quicker.

    Visit LearnHomeCooking.com and subscribe to "Learn Home Cooking Tips" to receive our new report, "Freezer Cooking for One" as our gift.

    dehydrator
  • Nesco Clean-a-Screen for Dehydrator Item# 168605, Model# LM-2-6

    Screen flexes to remove sticky fruits and jerky quickly and easily. Herbs and spices wont fall through tray spokes. Includes 2 screens. Dishwasher safe. U.S.A.


    The raw food diet is as much a life-style as an eating plan; a naturalistic approach which excludes, in addition to cooked and animal foods, processed and refined ingredients.

    In the ever-hungry quest for new fads and health panaceas, the raw food diet, with adherents such as Woody Harrelson and Donna Karan, is growing in mainstream popularity. Unlike many other bandwagons however, raw foods (also referred to as living foods), offer unarguable health benefits and one can reap rewards even as a 50% dabbler. To be a 100% extremist takes commitment, discipline and education and is best introduced gradually to avoid the overwhelm of inevitable detoxification.

    A food is essentially raw if it is kept below 115 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature above which enzymes are destroyed. Eating raw food ensures an opulent intake of nutrients, fibre, healthy oils and life-giving enzymes. Raw food is much more easily digested, taking half to a third of the time of cooked food, around 24-36 hours compared to 40-100 hours. Raw vegetables and fruits, are also predominantly alkaline so help to optmize the pH balance of the body (around 60-80% alkaline foods being recommended for an internal environment resistant to disease).

    Whole foods, sprouts and raw juices are favoured in a raw food diet, and dehydrator ovens effectively concentrate the flavour of certain raw foods to assist in the creation of a mind-boggling array of as-cooked dishes. Ive eaten a raw food pizza that unbelievably contained no wheat, no cheese and no cooked ingredients! It tasted delicious and I was stumped to figure out what it was actually made of!

    Raw Power

    Raw plant foods are healthy, regenerative, cleansing, energising, predominantly alkaline, and packed with vitamins, minerals, healthy oils, enzymes and antioxidants that promote health, beauty and longevity. As well as enhancing digestion and protecting against aging and disease, a raw food diet has noted weight loss benefits and promotes clear, beautiful skin.

    The benefit of raw food becomes even more apparent in view of the effects cooking can have on constituents in food.

    The Effects of Cooking

    Arthur Baker writes in Awakening Our Self-Healing Body, Overly cooked foods literally wreck our body. They deny needed nutrients to the system since heat alters foodstuffs such that they are partially, mostly, or wholly destroyed. Nutrients are coagulated, deaminized, caramelized and rendered inorganic and become toxic and pathogenic in the body.

    The indigestible end products of cooked foods can linger in the gut, clogging the intestines and interfering with healthy elimination. They can cause a build-up of toxins, mutagens and carcinogens. Carbohydrates ferment, proteins putrefy and fats become rancid, creating free radicals that enter the blood stream.

    Lipufuscin, the aging pigment, is an example of a waste product created from damaged proteins and fats. It accumulates in the skin and nervous system and is visible as brown liver spots on the skin and eyes.

    Toxic by-products and excess free radicals from cooked foods can weaken the immune system and accelerate the aging process.

    Enzymes

    Cooking destroys enzymes in our food. These delicate, heat sensitive proteins can destabilise at temperatures as low as 115 degrees Fahrenheit, hence even light steaming can render them inactive.

    Enzymes, so abundant in a raw food diet, are highly functional catalysts involved in various health-regulating tasks in the body, such as breaking down food in digestion, delivering nutrients, carrying away toxic wastes and strengthening the endocrine and immune system. All living cells contain enzymes which function in cooperation with other minerals. As there is not an unlimited supply of enzymes, eating them in our food lifts the burden off organs to produce digestive enzymes which allows a greater use of enzymes for other metabolic purposes, freeing up more energy for the performance of other tasks.

    Nutrients

    In cooking food we can loose up to 97% of water-soluble vitamins (B and C) and 40% of fat-soluble vitamins (namely A, D, E and K).

    Proteins

    Heat denatures proteins, modifying their molecular structure and rendering them unusable. The bacteria in the gut feeds upon undigested proteins that tend to putrefy, giving rise to toxins. Raw foods provide healthy, readily available protein in greater supply without undigested residue.

    Fats

    Oils are heat, light and air sensitive. Heating can destroy the goodness of an oil and alter molecules generating toxins and free radicals. Unrefined oils that are cold-pressed contain all their natural healthy substances (olive oil for example is rich in phytonutrients, flaxseed oil a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and so on). Oils should be kept refrigerated in dark sealed containers.

    Fibre

    Fibre is essential for health and helps to flush out the intestines, scrubbing them clean and aiding elimination. With cooked food fibre becomes a soft substance, loosing its brush-like quality. It can partially rot, ferment and putrefy in the gut, causing toxins, gas and heartburn.

    Super Raw

    Eating superfoods enhances a raw food diet even further. Superfoods are the most potent, antioxidant rich, nutrient dense, disease fighting, anti aging, beautifying, mood enhancing, immune boosting foods on the planet. Raw superfoods ensure an optimum intake of nutrients and phytochemicals for optimum health.

    Raw Food Diet For Your Pets

    A raw food diet for dogs and cats is both natural and species-appropriate. Not only does it provide a rich supply of nutrients, antioxidants and enzymes, but ensures a move a way from the low grade, inappropriate, highly processed and toxic ingredients found in commercial pet foods that can damage your pet's health. If embarking on a homemade raw food diet for your pet (sometimes referred to as BARF), thoroughly research the area first as nutritional balance is essential.

    Copyright 2006 Sylvia Riley

    Miracle Superfoods
    http://www.miracle-superfoods.com
    Reverse Diabetes Naturally
    http://www.reversediabetes.co.uk
    THE PINK DRINK
    Pink Drink

    dehydrator