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Yes, a dehydrator pays for itself really quickly - even if you have to buy brand new. My parents use Excalibur brand and swear by it. (They have three of them.) Jerky is so easy to make. I can't buy it because non-soy jerky is horribly expensive.

You could add more honey to the water, but dehydrating already concentrates the natural sugars. This recipe disappeared down the kids without any effort - and they don't like pears!