ECG KN 128 E Food Dehydrator Manual

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

Read carefully and save for future use!

The safety measures and instructions, contained in this manual, do not include all conditions and situations possible. The user must understand that common sense, caution and care are factors that cannot be integrated into any product. Therefore, these factors shall be ensured by the user/s using and operating this appliance. We are not liable for damages caused during shipping, by incorrect use, voltage fluctuation or the modification or adjustment of any part of the appliance.

To protect against a risk of fire or electric shock, basic precautions shall be taken while using electrical appliances, including the following:

1. Make sure the voltage in your outlet corresponds to the voltage provided on the appliance label and that the socket is properly grounded. The outlet must be installed according to valid safety instructions.
2. Do not operate the food dehydrator with a damaged cord. All repairs including cord replacements shall be performed by a professional service centre! Do not remove protective covers of the appliance, risk of electric shock!
3. Protect the appliance against direct contact with water and other liquids, to prevent potential electric shock. Do not place the appliance into the dishwasher!
4. Do not use the food dehydrator outdoors or in moist environments. Do not touch the electric cord with wet hands! Risk of electric shock.
5. Do not use the food dehydrator near inflammable items or underneath them, for example, near curtains. The temperature of surfaces near the food dehydrator may be hotter than usual. Place the food dehydrator out of reach of other objects to ensure sufficient air circulation needed for its proper operation.
6. Leaving the food dehydrator cord connected to an outlet unattended is not recommended. Disconnect the cord from the electrical outlet prior to performing maintenance. Do not pull the cord from the outlet by yanking the cable. Unplug the cable from the outlet by grasping the plug.
7. Do not allow the cord to touch hot surfaces or lead the cord over sharp edges.
8. Only use original accessories.
9. Do not leave the food dehydrator running unattended.
10. Do not run the food dehydrator without the top part. A proper air distribution to individual drying chambers is ensured only with this part.
11. Close supervision is necessary for operating the the food dehydrator near children! Never allow children to use the appliance alone to protect them against the risk of electric shock. Do not let the cord hang over the edge of the table or worktop on which the appliance stands.
12. Keep the food dehydrator away from hot surfaces and sources of heat (for example, hot plates).
13. Under all circumstances, it is essential to keep this appliance clean, because it comes into direct contact with food.
14. Use the food dehydrator only in accordance with the instructions given in this manual. This food dehydrator is intended for domestic use only. The manufacturer is not liable for damages caused by the improper use of this appliance.
15. This appliance shall not be used by persons (including children), whose physical, sensorial or mental inability or insufficient experience and skills prevents them from safely using the appliance, if they are not supervised or if they have not been instructed regarding the use of the appliance by a person responsible for their safety. Child supervision is essential to prevent them from playing with the appliance.

DESCRIPTION

DRYING OF FRUIT

Drying is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Foods contain more or less water, which we remove in the process of drying. In the same time, we remove the breeding ground for mold and rot. After proper drying and storage under good conditions, the dried food may be kept and used for several years. By removal of water from the food, the aromatic compounds would become concentrated and tastier. The preservation is done in a natural way without using preservatives. There is no destruction of vitamins and minerals. Even if you are used to preserve foods or freeze them, drying will extend the storage possibilities for fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, medicinal plants and teas and enrich your culinary skills. Drying of food on the sun is more a matter of chance in our geographical conditions. When drying food in an electric or gas oven, which is not designed for drying, there occurs „sweating" or dripping of juices from the foods and subsequent sticking to the underlaying dish because of insufficient air circulation. Moreover, it is very difficult to clean the oven from the burned juices.

Your new food dehydtrator is faster and more efficient on the basis of its system, which strictly adheres to the rules of physics. The intake air flow is evenly heated and distributed in such a way that it removes moisture from the foods ready in each chamber.

The moist air is taken out through openings in the cover of the food dehydrator. This system allows drying in all chambers, but for an even drying of of the whole load of the dehydrator it is necessary during the drying process to change the order of the individual chambers, because the drying intensity is highest in the bottom chamber. Just before finishing the drying process it is advisable to check the drying quality visually and by touch. According to judgement, it is possible to sort out the foods and extend the drying time.

USING THE APPLIANCE

We recommend to wash the individual chambers with gentle cleaners before first use or after a longer break in use.

Put the food dehydrator in a place that will not change during the drying cycle. Do not forget, that during the drying there will be an aroma of drying foods in the room, which is not agreeable to everybody. Wash the foods well before preparing them for drying.
Select only non defective food for processing, cut out the damaged areas. Remove pits and cores from fruit. Processed fruit should be ripe, but not overripe.

The drying process will be even when the food is cut into equal slices. Thin slices dry faster, but do not forget that drying makes them substantially smaller.
Do not fill your whole food trays. Use about 85% of their area.
Put unpeeled fruit with the peel down and the cut surface up. Put uneven shapes always on the edge with the peel, not on flat surface.
Arrange the vegetables regularly in a single layer.|
Dry the herbs very gently. Remove only the stem, do not cut the herbs any more. It is necessary to turn the leafy herbs during the drying process to prevent them from sticking together. Do not fill the whole chambers to ensure sufficient food circulation.

To prevent some fruit from browning, we recommend to prepare the fruit before the drying in a solution of one table spoon of lemon juice and a cup of water and drying it with a paper towel. You can substitute the lemon juice with pineapple juice or with the commonly sold vitamin C.
Some fruits have a natural protective wax coating, such as figs, plums, grapes, blueberries, etc. Submerge them into boiling water for 1–2 minutes, and after straining immediately put into cold water and then dry them. Slice them and put them in the dehydrator. The peel will become porous and the drying will be faster.
Most kinds of vegetables should be shortly blanched before drying.
Blanching should prevent damage to appearance and taste of the processed products. When blanched, the fruits and vegetables are boiled or steamed for a short time (1–5 minutes). Put the prepared vegetables into a wire basket and submerge it into a pot with boiling water. Dry the foods totally before putting them into the dehydrator.

The food dehydrator is put into operation by pressing the swich ON.

DRYING

The drying time depends on the kind, moisture, ripeness and the thickness of slices of the foods, as well as on the humidity in the room and on the number of filled chambers of the dehydrator. We recommend a shorter drying time and checking the foods visually and by touch during the process. Before the end of the drying process, it is possible to sort out the thicker slices, which are not entirely dry and let them dry for another ½ an hour or an hour. The drying process should follow immediately after preparation of the foods and the whole process should take place without any interruption. If herbs are dried too long, they lose their taste. The fruit should not be overdried, ie. it should not break.

All the times indicated in the table are merely recommendations and may vary according to the properties of the drying product.

To check the drying process, take out several samples from the dehydrator and let them cool. Vegetables should be crispy and hard, easily broken. Fruits should be springy, leathery to the touch. During the drying process, which may take up to 24 hours (whole fruit including the peel – cherries, plums), change the order of the trays every 3–4 hours to ensure even drying throughout the dehydrator.

Note: Stack the individual chambers on each other so that they fit into each other. Shifting the chambers has a negative impact on the air circulation and thus on the overall functioning of the dehydrator.

HINTS AND TIPS

Fruit may be used dried. It is suitable as an ingredient of many recipes. If you want to use the dried fruit in the same way as fresh fruit, you have to soften it, that is return the moisture removed by the drying process. Soak the required amount of dried fruit in about the same amount of water (a cup of dried fruit in a cup of water – rather less water) a leave it soaking about 4 hours (here is also preferable shorter time). Then you may use this fruit as fresh according to the recipes.
Early plums are low in sugar and therefore are not suitable for drying.

We recommend to soak vegetables always before further processing. Eg. 1 cup of dry vegetables and 1 cup of lukewarm water. Do not add more water than necessary for cooking. Do not let the softened vegetables stand too long before further use. The vegetables cooking time is about the same as for frozen vegetables. It is not necessary to soften vegetables for soup preparation. Dried vegetables for soups, sauces and salads may be reduced to desired size with the help of kitchen appliances. To prepare creamy soups, sauces and baby foods, it is best to use ground dried vegetables. Do not stock more ground vegetables than you can consume in 1 month, because the vegetables lose shelf-life with longer storage.
Of course, you can use softened vegetables mixed with fresh vegetables. Peppers may be crushed or ground, and stored for future use in airtight containers.

Soak the mushrooms (like vegetables) and use like fresh ones. You can grind the mushrooms for use in soups and sauces.

The herbs do not need more processing, besides some crushing or grinding, and possible removal of the hard parts.

RECIPES

Mixed fruit

2 peeled bananas
10 dkg strawberries
10 dkg pineapple

Cut the fruit in equal pieces of about ½ cm. After drying and cooling, stir in a mixture of crushed nuts.

Apple rings with cinnamon

2 kg of apples
5 teaspoons of cinnamon

Peel apples, cut into ½ cm thick rings, cut out the core and sprinkle with cinnamon. Dry it.

Citrus mix

1,5 kg of oranges and 5 lemons
4 grapefruits

Wash fruit thoroughly. Cut into ½ cm thick slices including the peel and dry.

Tropical paradise

10 kiwis
1 pineapple
1 papaya

Peel papaya and kiwis, peel the pineapple. Cut into ½ cm thick slices and dry.

Celery and garlic salt

Mix the dried material with salt in 1:1 ratio.

Mixture of flowers and spices

You can preserve the scent of the spring and summer, enjoy the scents of plants and flowers growing in your garden or in the countryside with the help of the food dehydrator. Put flowers loosely on the tray and dry with all the vents in open position. Place the well dried flowers (in about 5 hours) in a decorative container or a bag and decorate it with a ribbon. You can add cinnamon, cloves, rosemary or peppermint for stronger scent.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

Before any cleaning and handling of the appliance, disconnect the power cord from the outlet. Clean the appliance with a slightly damp cloth. Wash individual chambers and the cover of the dehydrator with regular dishwashing liquid. Air intake opening (grid) on the motor part has to be absolutely clean for free air access. If the grid would become dirty or dusty, clean with a brush or vacuum it with a vacuum cleaner.
Do not use rough sponges or cleaning powder. Do not immerse the appliance or power cord into water.

STORAGE

After drying, allow the food to cool and only then wrap it. A glass jar with a screw-on cap is best suited for long term storage. Do not use plastic containers.
For the storage of dried vegetables are well suited preserving plastic wrap, or bags with air pump for vacuum packaging. Dried foods can be stored at normal room temperatures. However, the best storage is in dry, cool and dark places.
The storage time may be extended 2–3× in temperatures lower than 10°C.
Occasional inspection of the stored food is recommended. Self-adhesive labels with information about the kind of food and date of drying will help you to keep track.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

It dries fruits, vegetables, herbs, meat and other kinds of food.
5 drying trays
Quiet operation
ON indicator light
Thermal fuse

Nominal voltage: 220-230 V~ 50 Hz
Nominal input power: 250 W
Noise emission: 20 dB

USE AND DISPOSAL OF WASTE

Wrapping paper and corrugated paperboard – deliver to scrapyard. Packing foil, PE bags, plastic elements – throw into plastic recycling containers.

DISPOSAL OF PRODUCTS AT THE END OF LIFETIME

Disposal of electric and electronic equipment (valid in EU member countries and other European countries with an implemented recycling system)

The represented symbol on the product or package means the product shall not be treated as domestic waste. Hand over the product to the specified location for recycling electric and electronic equipment. Prevent negative impacts on human health and the environment by properly recycling your product.

Recycling contributes to preserving natural resources. For more information on the recycling of this product, refer to your local authority, domestic waste processing organization or store, where you purchased the product.