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14 years ago
Must-Have Appliances for the Vegan and Raw Food Kitchen
Anyone new to the world of plant-based foods, as well as long-timers will definitely agree that the right appliances make cooking and baking easier and more enjoyable. Take cashew cream for example. Soaked, blended cashews make an amazing base for frosting, dips, raw desserts, and sauces…but a high-powered blender or food processor is a must!
The right appliances allow you to whip up new, creative ideas at home instead of buying everything pre-made, ultimately saving money and allowing you to customize recipes to your preferences. Check out the guide below to help you find the right appliance for your needs and budget!
Juicers: juicing fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs give you a nutritional boost and allows you to mix together your favorite combination of produce.
Breville makes a line of high quality juicers that fit various kitchen needs. The least expensive, at about $150, is the Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain. It’s a compact juicer designed to save counter space. The deluxe model, the Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite 1000-Watt Juice Extractor, sells for around $300.
Trusted brands like Black and Decker offer more affordable juicers, like their Fruit and Vegetable Juice Extractor. This model is available for under $40.
Want to get juiced but not sure where to start? Check out these 5 awesome recipes!
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Your blog is terrific, well written and authoritative. I, too, am very happy with the raw diet, & believe live enzymes greatly improve assimilation, so I am writing about a minor detail of dehydration.
I listened to my friends, and bought the Excalibur Dehydrator. Being very enthusiastic, I also borrowed a round Ezidri (AKA Harvest Maid or American Harvester in the US?), and made up double batches of everything. As I have a digital thermometer, I was able to check the max & min temperatures of each machine.
The Excalibur temps averaged the set temp of 114*F 45*C but got up to 125*F 54*C. As the Excalibur website, & Dr. Cousens piece explains, they allow wide temperature fluctuations. The round shaped dehydrator kept an even 114*F 45*C temp, varying by only one degree.
I went an extra step and sprouted a collection of beans and seeds and dehydrated in each machine. The Excalibur samples did NOT continue sprouting after dehydration, which shows that the enzymes were NOT still alive. I returned the Excalibur I had bought, and will work with the round shape of the HarvestMaid, happy to keep my enzymes alive.
The Excalibur was apparently designed for beef jerky, not for raw foods. I am mystified by Dr. Cousens suggestion that temps above 115*F 45*C are only acceptable in the Excalibur; my sprouts died above that temp. I am concerned that many Raw Foodies are buying a dehydrator that is killing the key enzymes, which will reduce the effectiveness of the whole Raw Movement.
No doubt that square shape is more convenient, but air does not move evenly in squares! The Excalibur will be a fine machine, once they use a more precise thermostat, and put in a baffle so that the temperatures are less variable at different parts of the tray. Until then, round crackers with a hole-in-the-middle!
Take out the shelves and look in the Excalibur and you will see the most elementary box, with no structure to spread out the air flow. They do have good marketing and somehow caught the attention of some well-known Raw Chefs. I am not impressed, and hope you can save the enzymes suffering under uncontrolled heat!
My omega 8005 is the best appliance I have, my vitamix comes in a close second. I Love making fresh juice.