WHAT IS A FOOD DEHYDRATOR

If you can't get enough of dried fruit snacks, a food dehydrator might be the gadget for you.

Dehydration is one method of preserving food, in which moisture is removed from the food. Preserving food through drying techniques has been around for hundreds of years. Dehydrating is a fun, cost-effective and easy way to prepare fresh foods for storage or for snacking right away. Food that has been properly dehydrated will continue to retain the majority of its original nutritional value. Using a food dehydrator is a great way to take advantage of the abundance of in-season produce and will keep you stocked with healthy homemade snacks all year long.

Making your own dehydrated food has a lot of benefits.

Never waste food again with a food dehydrator. Processed snacks can cost you quite a bit of money, while healthy and organic dehydrated food can cost you even more. Why not save a lot of money by buying fresh food in bulk and dehydrating it yourself. For example; buy a tray of mangoes in the middle of summer, dehydrate them and you can have fresh mango smoothies in the middle of winter! By using your leftover fruits and vegetables in your food dehydrator will extend their shelf life for up to 2 years! Yes, that's right - 2 years! All of this adds up, and you will find that you are spending a lot less in the long run.

When you buy dehydrated food or other snacks, you don’t always know what is in them. There are many additives and preservatives that they put in processed foods. Preservatives extend the shelf life of the food and will typically change the nature taste of the food.

Sugar or corn syrup are often added to dehydrated fruit; however, when you make it yourself in your food dehydrator, you are in control of what is and is not added. You won’t have to read the ingredient list on packages and worry about how those unpronounceable chemicals are affecting your body. Instead, you can simply dry your own fresh ingredients and have a healthy snack always on hand.

It can be difficult to find healthy snack foods that you can take on the go. With your dehydrated food, you can use a recyclable bag, put it on your lap full of your snacks and eat on the go. It is also great for your children’s school lunches or a midday snack at work, too.

I hate it when my fresh fruit starts going soft, now all I do slice it up and put it in the food dehydrator. If you have meat that needs to be cooked, make some biltong. By doing this you wont have to throw out that sack of apples or bunch of bananas that you forgot about until they started turning brown. Simply slice them up and enjoy them later!

History

One of the worlds oldest methods of preserving food is through food dehydration. Life before refrigerators and canned goods must have been very different, nomads needed to dry and store their food. Keeping their food dry increased their chances of survival and provided necessary nutrients to the body.

Food items are set outside on trays to dry in the sun, because fruits have high sugar and acid, they are less perishable, and thus best suited to sun drying, as long as humidity levels are not too high. I'm sure you have had or used sun dried raisins or tomatoes, they are perhaps the best-known products, but other fruits can be sun dried as well. You might also have to fight off fruit flies or other pesky critters from getting onto your drying food, thats why its important to note that in general, an air temperature above 85°F / 30°C and humidity less than 60% is required for successful drying. In addition, a constant breeze is advantageous. Thus, sun drying is not suited to all regions, and may be limited due to adverse weather.

These modern dehydrators are great because you can regulate the temperature, keep an eye on the time much more accurately and you get very consistent results that don’t depend on the sun and weather.

Box-type or Stackable?

When you become interested in dehydrating foods, your first decision will involve the method and equipment that you would need to use. I know of a lot of people who tried their first “real” dehydrating in their home oven. This allows you to give a batch or two a try with little or no initial investment. Oven-drying is generally not a good long-term solution, because it costs more to operate an oven over the extended periods needed for most dehydrating than to operate a manufactured dehydrator.

Solid box-style dehydrators are more expensive — often a lot more expensive — than stackable models, and hold only a set number of trays. Box-style dehydrators are generally more efficient and easier to regulate than stackable models; many models are also insulated to prevent heat loss. Most box-style dehydrators have plastic walls and trays; others have metal components, and some are entirely built from stainless steel. With well-designed models, you can dehydrate a full batch of food without rotating the trays, making them a good choice if you plan to run the dehydrator overnight or when you’re away from the house. They are usually bulkier than stackable units and take up more countertop space.

Stackable-tray dehydrators are composed of individual plastic trays that stack on top of one another; most models have round trays. The stacked trays rest on a base unit that typically contains a heating element and a fan, although some models have the heating element and fan in the top. A big advantage to stackable models is that they are expandable. Most come with four to six trays, and you can purchase additional trays to increase the capacity of the dehydrator, simply stacking them up. A disadvantage to stackable models is that the heated air must blow through the trays closest to the elements before reaching the other trays.

Quality stackable dehydrators are designed with vents in the rims to move fresh air over each tray, but they are still generally less efficient than solid box styles, which have the elements mounted on the back wall so that fresh heated air blows horizontally across all trays. With stackable models, you may have to rotate the trays from top to bottom several times during dehydrating to ensure that all trays are exposed to the full heat and ventilation. Solid liner sheets also impede airflow, so if you plan to make a lot of fruit leathers or to dehydrate foods such as thick soups and sauces, you may find that a box-style model is a better choice.

The more knowledge you have about the different models will be essential in making sure that the one you purchase is the best one for you.

* Do not even consider models that don’t have a fan; these units, although very inexpensive, are inadequate because moving air is critical to proper dehydrating.*

How Does a Food Dehydrator Work?

A dehydrator works with a heat source and air flow to reduce the water content of foods. By removing the moisture from food it restrains various bacteria from growing and spoiling food. Also, when you removing moisture from food it reduces the weight of the food. That is why food dehydrators are used to preserve and extend the shelf life of various foods. In addition removing water causes the flavours of the food to become more concentrated. Many culinary techniques make use of food dehydrators.

Most of your fruit and vegetable foods are dehydrated at temperatures of 130 °F, or 54 °C, although meats being made into biltong should be dehydrated at a higher temperature of 155 °F, or 68 °C, this is to guard against pathogens that may be in the meat. The key to successful food dehydration is to keep a constant temperature and adequate air flow. Too high of a temperature can cause food to be hardened, which means your food will be hard and dry on the outside but moist on the inside, and therefore vulnerable of spoiling on the inside.

Temperature and time

Different types of food will need slightly different ways of dehydration. Just like with any cooking or food preparation, many recipes will help you get the outcome you want. The settings you need are also related to temperature and time. Some foods will require lower temperature and longer time; others might require higher temperatures over shorter times. Meat (for biltong) will need a higher temperature setting, to prevent bacteria from settling in where you don’t want it. A “trial and error” approach often is needed to decide which techniques work best for the dehydrator and food type you are using, due to the area, climate, humidity can affect the drying process.

If you are new to food dehydrating you will need to check your food dehydrator’s instructions carefully, but there are many recipes and helpful tips available on the internet as well. Allow yourself time to experiment a little with the settings that work best for the snacks you want to create.

It is not the most complicated of processes, and with the various food dehydrators available for you to buy, there is sure to be one that suits your tastes and skill levels.

Do you dehydrate food? how do you use your dehydrator? tell us by leaving a comment below.