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As many of you know, I LOVE the Excalibur dehydrator. They do not endorse me, I am just passionate about quality kitchen tools, and in my book, this makes the top of the list.
In several of my recipes, you will notice instructions to set your dehydrator at 145 degrees (F) for 1 hour and then decrease it to 105 – 115 degrees after that. Some of you may be concerned, thinking that we are killing the enzymes at 145 degrees (F).
However, this is not the case based on information from the Excalibur website. I copied and pasted their explanation below; I didn’t want you to take my word for it. The main reason for this technique is to decrease the dry time to save energy and also cut down on the possibility of introducing bacteria to some of the recipes.
I don’t recommend it on less dense recipes such as kale chips because they have low fluid content. I tend to use this technique on thicker recipes such as raw breads, cookies, cakes, and bars.
In understanding the difference between air temp and food temp, it is important to know how to read Excalibur’s dial. The temperature reading on the dial refers to FOOD temperature.
In general food, the temperature is about 20 degrees cooler than the air temperature. Therefore if you set your Excalibur at 105ºF, you are setting it to hold the food temperature at around 105ºF, the air temperature may get as high as 125ºF depending upon the moisture content of the food. The reason the food temperature is cooler is because of evaporation. As the moisture on the surface of the food evaporates, it cools the food keeping it about 20ºF cooler than the air temperature. We have discovered this through hours of testing by measuring the air temperature and food temperature simultaneously during the dehydration process using a Doric Trendicator with type J thermocouples.
It is also essential to know how the thermostat works. We have found through experimentation that to preserve the enzymes and reduce the risk of mold and bacteria, it is necessary to have a wide fluctuation in temperature.
Because enzymes and microorganisms both thrive at the same temperature, we must be able to accomplish two things at once. We must keep the food temperature low enough not to harm the enzymes, and elevate the air temperature high enough to remove the moisture quickly to stop the growth of mold or bacteria. The wide fluctuation in temperature accomplishes just that.
As the air temperature rapidly rises to its high point, moisture .is quickly evaporated off the surface of the food. As the temperature lowers, the dryer surface pulls moisture from the center of the food and becomes saturated again. Because of the continuous up and down fluctuation in air temperature and constant evaporation, the food temperature remains constant at a lower temperature.
After all the moisture is evaporated out of the food, the food temperature will rise and then equalize somewhere in the middle of the air temperature fluctuation. Once the food temperature rises, one might get worried and think that the enzymes are dead if they don’t understand the third critical aspect. Which is that enzymes are only susceptible to damage by high heat when they are in the wet state, therefore once the food is dehydrated, the enzymes have become dormant and can withstand much higher temperatures.
According to our discussions with Viktoras Kulvinskas on this matter, he said that we were right, and that, “dry enzymes can survive well up to 150ºF.” He has tested food he has prepared in his Excalibur dehydrators with an experiment he created and found it to be high in enzymatic activity. We have also done some experiments by soaking various seeds, dehydrating them at different temperatures, and soaking them again afterward to see if they will sprout. They did, which proves that the enzymes are alive.
Something that has caused us a lot of concern is the fact that we have heard so many conflicting opinions as to the temperature at which enzymes are destroyed. Twenty years ago, Ann Wigmore spoke to our Founder Roger Orton personally and said that the food temperature had to go above 120ºF for a period of time before the enzymes were destroyed. Again in our discussions with Viktoras, he said the same thing.
Ann tested different dehydrators and found that Excalibur was the best for living foods. She found the best technique for saving enzymes was to set Excalibur on a higher food temperature setting in the beginning and then turn it down after a few hours.
However, because most people may not know when to turn it down, and by leaving it on the higher setting may kill the enzymes she said to set your Excalibur on 105ºF setting throughout the entire cycle. That way, the food temp will never go above 120ºF even after it is dry.
We believe this is why many have come to think that 105ºF air temperature is the temperature at which the enzymes are destroyed, which is entirely inaccurate. We have also heard many people quote Dr. Edward Howell in his book Enzyme Nutrition that prolonged temperatures over 118ºF will destroy enzymes. We also read in his book, where he says that the enzyme amylase can still convert starch to sugar at air temperatures up to 160ºF but will wear out after half an hour. We have also read where he says that the optimum temperatures for enzymes are 45ºF to 140ºF.
Just recently, we spoke with Dr. John Whitaker, who is a world-renowned enzymologist and former dean of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at U.C. Davis. He said that every enzyme is different, and some are more stable at higher temperatures than others but that most enzymes will not become completely inactive until food temperatures exceed 140ºF to 158ºF in a wet state.
We appreciate you taking the time to read this information and urge you to help us in spreading it throughout the raw food community. Please contact us if you have any questions, or you know of any further information you can share with us. We want to meet the needs of the raw food community and are still researching to make any necessary changes, but from what we have been told, the present Excalibur is perfect. We hope that it has helped in answering your questions regarding your Excalibur Dehydrator. Please share this with any of your friends in your community.
Sincerely,
Your Friends at Excalibur
Great Stuff!
Thanks for sharing your recipe‼
Annie Sue…
thank you for the time you have invested in creating this wonderful informative site…it’s also really beautifully layed out…
i am enjoying it…
warm regards…
Your welcome and thank you as well Yeshe :) I hope you are having a wonderful day. amie sue
I am glad I found this, I was starting to think my machine was broken. Thank you!
Thanks so much. I have never seen this info before…it is very helpful. Please know that you help many just by posting. : )
Thank you Karen. :) Have a wonderful weekend! amie sue
At the present I cannot afford the excalibur dehydrator, and I already have the “salton” dehydrator at home. I soaked some pumpkin seeds and some almonds, and now want to dehydrate them.
Can I follow the same protocol. ie, put the heat on 140 degrees for one hour and then lower it to 105 degrees or would it be best to just start and end with 105 degrees.
Since this is really my first time I am attempting this, can you please advise me for approx. how long I should keep the pumpkin and almonds in the dehydrator.
any help, would be much appreciated. Thank you
Good evening Sonia,
For nuts and seeds, I dry at 115 degrees from beginning to end. As far as the length of time, it will depend on several factors. The climate you live in, how full the dehydrator is and humidity in the room. The pumpkin seeds will dry quicker than the almonds. Aim for 8 hours on the seeds and maybe 16 hours on the almonds. Just pop in on them occasionally and see how they are doing. I have yet to over-dry a nut or seed. :) Have a great evening and I hope that this helped. amie sue
Thank you very much. This reply helped me a lot.
Can I dehydrate nuts and seeds in my oven?? I do not have a dehydrator
Hello Veronica… you can BUT they won’t be raw afterward. Most ovens don’t get low enough in heat. Have a great evening, amie sue
My oven thermostat will click on before the dial gets to the 150 degree mark. I close the door & it doesn’t go above 100 +/- degrees. If yours can’t do that, I would recommend setting it at your lowest temp & keeping the door ajar as if your were broiling (if you can take the heat in the kitchen! :-) I have a dehydrator but sometimes it’s full & this is a great option for me.
Many people do this, just be aware that due to each stove being so different, the chances of the recipe remaining raw is slim. It will still be healthier than processed versions since we are using such good quality ingredients… Thank you for commenting Starr! Have a blessed evening, amie sue
Hi,
I am from India & after reading your article i ordered an Excalibur Machine (9 Tray), i am trying to dehydrate Kale with some seasoning on it.
I am able to make them crispy by keeping it at a temperature of 150 F for 12 hours but obviously its loosing the Rawness & destroying the Enzymes.
Need your suggestion on how to keep kale Raw as well as Crispy ??
If I dehydrate it at 150F for 8-9 hours & then lowering the temperature to 105F will it keep the Enzymes intact & at the same time not allowing any bacteria to grow.
Kindly help me, I have tried dehydrating the Kale at 105F for 24 Hours but its not as crispy as it should be.
Thanks
Chetan
Hello Chetan, I would suggest reading through my kale chip recipes to learn about how I make them. Yes, drying them for 12 hours at 150 degrees (F) will make the “cooked” and no longer raw. Please share with me what all the ingredients are that you are using so I can see if something you are using are preventing them for drying crispy. Let’s start there and see what we can come up with in order to help you. amie sue
This is the most thorough research and noted for all to read on this subject that I have found. Thank you so much! Wow, I feel like I just graduated dehydration school!!!!!!!!!!!
lol, one should get a certificate, shouldn’t they? hehe Have a great weekend, amie sue
I’ve argued with nutritionists and chemists for the last time when I realized that what raw food really gives us is their “life force”. I define “life force” as “Whatever that is in the food that makes it grow”. Humans die at a temperature of 114-116 degrees. So I am comfortable using my Excalibur at that temperature. As an experiment I took some potatoes, carrots and celery out of the ground as they were growing. I put them in the oven at 114 degrees and then put them back in the ground, and they continued to grow. I didn’t use the dehydrator. I never put them in the dehydrator or oven at higher temperature because the 114 degrees was working for my recipes. I will test your 140 degrees in the Excalibur to see what happens.
Thanks for sharing Frank. You will have to let us know how your little experiment goes. :) amie sue
Clarification
1. I put the 114 degree heated food in a jar of water, and not the ground, to see if the root vegetables and celery would root and sprout sprout. They did. Life force retained!
2. Arguments with scientists centered around the definition of enzymes and how the body, through the pancreas makes all of the enzymes the body needs. Conversation usually ended when the scientists realized and admitted that they couldn’t tell me or define what was in the food that made it grow other than enzymes, amino acids, etc.. They also admitted that they could not duplicate life from these test tube amino acids and enzymes. “Only God can make a tree”. I guess I should have dehydrated them at the same time. Another science fair for my grand kids!
3. In my opinion, and from medical articles I have read, eating raw food, especially fruit (which will digest on it’s own without the pancreas providing anything), gives the pancreas a rest from the onslaught of providing what’s needed to digest denatured food and animal products.
I’m making some of your cookies for my daughters birthday,using your recipe as printed. I’ll gradually reduce the de-hyd temp later on.
What would be a recommendation for dehydrating nuts and seeds?
Hello Miranda,
It all depends on which ones you are using. I have posts written up for each nut and seed. https://nouveauraw.com/soaking-nuts-seeds-and-grains/. I hope this helps. blessings, amie sue
Thank you!
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. It really does make sense on the temp fluctuation. I was always hesitant to start so high like 145 degrees, but now I understand. Thanks again…. :-)
I am so happy to hear that this helped to clear things up. I appreciate the feedback. Have a blessed weekend! amie sue
Hello! This is an old thread, but I’ll ask anyway. . . I rent a house that has a fantastic walnut tree!! The first year, I got 80 pounds of walnuts. The second year, only a handful (who knew that trees sometimes do that??), this year, I’m already at 28 pounds thus far.
So, my question is, approximately how long would you dry in-shell walnuts? I did dry some, but was not comfortable with the drying process, and shelled them and popped them in the freezer. I really don’t have room in my freezer, and would like to have a good, reliable dry on them. Suggestions?
Good morning Jo,
What a tree yields, regardless if it’s a fruit or nut tree, constantly fluctuates from year to year! We don’t have nut trees, but we have apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees, and each passing year gives me a different yield. Some years are abundant blessings, while other years leave us scratching our heads.
I am afraid that I don’t know the answer to your question. I don’t have any experience in growing nuts. My only experience is purchasing raw nuts from the store, soaking them, and then dehydrating them. I googled it and there is a lot of step-by-step instructions out there so I would do a little research that way. Sorry I couldn’t help. blessings, amie sue
Thank you! Very informative!
Thank you for the article.
If enzymes are not destroyed then aren’t they going to cause food spoilage?
Also what about other nutrients? Vitamins etc? What is diminished and to what extent?
Hello Alina,
Food spoilage can and will happen over time if moisture is left in whatever you are dehydrating. I can’t really answer exactly how much nutrients is lost. However, I was just looking at the following site, and they made a claim that 3 – 5% nutrient loss due to low heat during the drying cycle. https://foodassets.com/info/dehydrated-food-versus.html#:~:text=Dehydrated%3A%203%20%2D%205%25%20nutrient,food%20on%20ANY%20size%20portion%20.
You can do some googling, and the answers either give a range or are a little vague. Research never ends, does it? :) blessings, amie sue
Hi, and thank you for the wonderful resources and recipes! My question is, do you preheat the dehydrator before adding foods? I have an Excalibur, if that makes a difference. Thanks
You are so welcome Mary. I don’t ever preheat the dehydrator and everything comes out just fine. Great question. :) Have a great day, amie sue
Hi, and thank you for the wonderful resources and recipes! My question is, do you preheat the dehydrator to 145, then add the food and start the timer to turn it down? Or, do you put the food in, then set the temperature and start the timer then to turn it down? I have an Excalibur, if that makes a difference. Thanks