The Best Food Dehydrator – Key Features Guide

Having a food dehydrator in your kitchen has proved to be a convenient way for people to create meals and snacks that fit in with their healthy lifestyles. It’s not easy to dry out food in a healthy and proper way unless you have an appliance that’s specifically designed for this purpose.

Here are some of the benefits of using a food dehydrator:

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  Source: Tim Sackton under CC 2.0

  Turn meat that you have seasoned to perfection into jerky that’s ideal for snacking

• Jerky is made by drying meat in a meat dehydrator
• This process also allows you to store meat for months at a time
• Have a snack available in the house that will not go bad after just a few days
• It’s good for taking along on hiking trips since it packs nutrients into a small space
• You can dry fresh fruits and vegetables and store them for a long time
• Avoid buying expensive dried food
• This is especially useful is you have a garden and grow fruits and vegetables
• Whenever you have a surplus harvest, dehydrate it and store it in your refrigerator

Here are the best food dehydrators.

Key Features that you need to look out for when choosing food dehydrators

Dehydration Area

If you plan to process large batches of food all the time, then the total dehydration area should be considered. You can calculate the dehydration area by multiplying the number of drying trays with the area.

The total dehydration area determines the quantity of food that you can dry during the day. This also means that the larger the area, the larger its capacity for drying food.

Air Flow

Food dehydrators remove water from food items by means of heat and air flow. Air flow is usually designed vertically or horizontally. Both directions of air flow usually affect the flavor of the foodstuff or the efficacy of the drying process.

Thermostat

This device controls the temperature of the heating element in the dehydrator. It helps you to regulate the temperature of the dehydrator, thereby giving you the option to dry different types of foodstuff items.

Power consumption

You need to consider the energy consumption of your device, since it usually runs for long periods of time. Choose a dehydrator that consumes less energy. This not only lets you save on energy bills, but you are also not harming the environment.

All products can be purchased online easily once you have shortlisted the store from where you want to buy them. You can enjoy a warranty period, 24-hour customer care, return on dissatisfaction with the product and an easy exchange policy with every purchase you make if the product is found to be defective or damaged on delivery.

What you need to know about food dehydrators

Various uses of food dehydrators

• Make everything from a beef jerky to delicious strawberry fruit leathers or fruit roll-ups
• Cook your favorite recipe all through the year at any time of the day or night at home
• Store fruits and vegetables from one growing season to another
• The process is 100% healthy
• Retain the taste of your food items from storage to consumption

A dehydrator can also be used with fruit, allowing you to dry delicious fruits while retaining with most of their beneficial vitamins and nutrients. Dried fruits are a great snack and keep extremely well; after you put them in a sealed package, you can keep them in the fridge or freezer for many months.

Putting together your own trail mix with dried fruits is a great way to create a homemade snack that packs in lots of proteins and nutrients; this will help you avoid saltier, fattier snacks.

Drying meats and fruits is extremely simple when you do it in a home appliance such as the Nesco Dehydrator. Convenient designs, like that of the Nesco Add-A-Tray, have made it easy to dry out lots of food in one dehydration cycle and have it on hand for whenever you need it.

A guide to buying the best food dehydrator

These home appliances have gotten to be quite popular and are being used by a wide variety of individuals. Still, there are a few folks who are not sure how to go about selecting the best food dehydrator for their needs or just don’t understand what the benefits of such an appliance might be.

If you are willing to do a small amount of research to find out which device you want, you are sure to get an excellent price by shopping online.

On a commercial scale, dryers available in the market are made for a specific type of food or food group that they can be used on. However, dryers that can be used for a wider range of food types are commonly bought for home use.

The food dried in the device should fit in the tray. The duration of drying will depend on what is being dried. Meat, for example, has 50% to 75% water, which is less than fruits that have 80% to 90% water.

The step-by-step process changes with every dehydrator, but the basics are the same. Food is placed on the tray and is then put inside the appliance. Afterward, the temperature is set to whatever is needed to achieve the dehydration level of the food.

Once it starts, water comes out in the form of moisture. This moisture is blown out of the device by a fan. The duration of this process depends on the initial water content of the food and the targeted dryness.

Here are some of the things you need to know before you buy a food dehydrator:

• Most of them are priced in the range of $250 – $450, depending on functionality
• They can easily be purchased online and delivered at your doorstep within days
• In most cases, the delivery on every booking you make is free
• That’s why it’s more convenient to book food dehydrators online
• A foodstuff dehydrator is best for you if you are on a diet
• You can get dried fruit and dried vegetables throughout the year

For these appliances to work well, it is essential that they give off stable heat and generate enough airflow. Too much heat may make the food too hard on the outside while still remaining moist on the inside.

Prior to buying a dehydrator, think about what kinds of food you will dry often. Also, make sure that there is enough space for the appliance. After that, just look for one that satisfies your needs at the most reasonable price.

To sum up, food dehydrators are useful household devices that help people accomplish several things. The food that is dehydrated is lighter and easier to store, will last longer, and may even acquire an entirely different taste.