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Food dehydrating: A natural way to preserve and enjoy your food
By Annie 
May 05, 2009
May 05, 2009
Photo by gruntzooki, shared via Flickr.
Are you tired of paying for overpriced kids’ crackers, fruit snacks and cookies with excessive and wasteful packaging? If you answered yes and you can find a little extra time on your hands this summer, consider purchasing a food dehydrator. With the widespread use of refrigeration and freezing appliances, dehydrators have become less common in most U.S. households. However, they are still extremely useful and simple to operate.
The financial savings of a food dehydrator are numerous. Unlike frozen food, dried foods simply require room temperature storage, so you won’t be using electricity from your fridge or freezer. They will also cost you pennies on the dollar compared with storebought dried foods, making the investment in a food dehydrator something that will pay off quickly if you already enjoy eating dried fruit or other foods from the grocery store.
And dehydrated foods couldn’t be more convenient. Simply remove what you need, seal the container and store again. Dried foods take up much less space than frozen or canned foods (and can easily be rehydrated with water to bring back to the original form). Going on a hike or camping trip this summer? Pack up some dried fruits, nuts and granola, and it will keep for days in your backpack. Summer is a great time to start dehydrating, because you can extend the life of your favorite fruits and vegetables throughout the winter months.
What does it mean to dehydrate foods?
Food dehydration uses 1) heat to draw out the moisture in foods and 2) air circulation to carry off the moisture to eventually evaporate. The purpose is to draw out the food’s moisture to avoid spoilage. If done properly, dehydrated foods can last for many months.
What kinds of foods can be dehydrated?
Almost any food can be dehydrated - Fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and even yogurt! And if dehydrated properly, you can retain almost all of the nutrients. (Some fruits and vegetables may lose a bit of vitamins A and C, but this can be minimized if properly pretreated). And the recipes are endless to make crackers, breads, cookies, vegetarian burgers, potpourri, granola, snack bars, candy, you name it! For example, my daughter and I made blueberry nut bars on Friday night (just walnuts, almonds, blueberries and raisins), and it delivered a fabulous PB&J for lunch today! We also make low-calorie sweet potato treats for our overweight yellow lab and a variety of trail mixes for park outings.
I can personally recommend Excalibur food dehydrators. I had thoroughly researched different dehydrators before purchasing my first one, and Excalibur, whose dehydrators run from around $100-$200, appeared to me to have the most durable equipment, the best prices, and the strongest customer service record.
In my house, there are two adults and one toddler, so the 4-tray dehydrator, currently on sale on Amazon for around $105, was plenty big for us. I recently made zucchini walnut hemp crackers using all 4 trays, and the final product was enough to fill up a half-gallon Mason jar.
If you are new to dehydrating, I would suggest purchasing a thorough guidance book about food dehydrating, too. We have enjoyed Excalibur’s Preserve It Naturally, The Complete Guide to Food Dehydration.
Does this sound like a kitchen idea that interests you? Or have you already purchased a food dehydrator? Share your experiences and recipes with us! And if you have more questions about dehydrating, let me know!
The financial savings of a food dehydrator are numerous. Unlike frozen food, dried foods simply require room temperature storage, so you won’t be using electricity from your fridge or freezer. They will also cost you pennies on the dollar compared with storebought dried foods, making the investment in a food dehydrator something that will pay off quickly if you already enjoy eating dried fruit or other foods from the grocery store.
And dehydrated foods couldn’t be more convenient. Simply remove what you need, seal the container and store again. Dried foods take up much less space than frozen or canned foods (and can easily be rehydrated with water to bring back to the original form). Going on a hike or camping trip this summer? Pack up some dried fruits, nuts and granola, and it will keep for days in your backpack. Summer is a great time to start dehydrating, because you can extend the life of your favorite fruits and vegetables throughout the winter months.
What does it mean to dehydrate foods?
Food dehydration uses 1) heat to draw out the moisture in foods and 2) air circulation to carry off the moisture to eventually evaporate. The purpose is to draw out the food’s moisture to avoid spoilage. If done properly, dehydrated foods can last for many months.
What kinds of foods can be dehydrated?
Almost any food can be dehydrated - Fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and even yogurt! And if dehydrated properly, you can retain almost all of the nutrients. (Some fruits and vegetables may lose a bit of vitamins A and C, but this can be minimized if properly pretreated). And the recipes are endless to make crackers, breads, cookies, vegetarian burgers, potpourri, granola, snack bars, candy, you name it! For example, my daughter and I made blueberry nut bars on Friday night (just walnuts, almonds, blueberries and raisins), and it delivered a fabulous PB&J for lunch today! We also make low-calorie sweet potato treats for our overweight yellow lab and a variety of trail mixes for park outings.
I can personally recommend Excalibur food dehydrators. I had thoroughly researched different dehydrators before purchasing my first one, and Excalibur, whose dehydrators run from around $100-$200, appeared to me to have the most durable equipment, the best prices, and the strongest customer service record.
In my house, there are two adults and one toddler, so the 4-tray dehydrator, currently on sale on Amazon for around $105, was plenty big for us. I recently made zucchini walnut hemp crackers using all 4 trays, and the final product was enough to fill up a half-gallon Mason jar.
If you are new to dehydrating, I would suggest purchasing a thorough guidance book about food dehydrating, too. We have enjoyed Excalibur’s Preserve It Naturally, The Complete Guide to Food Dehydration.
Does this sound like a kitchen idea that interests you? Or have you already purchased a food dehydrator? Share your experiences and recipes with us! And if you have more questions about dehydrating, let me know!
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Thank you for this post. I have been thinking of learning about food dehydrating lately, I remember my Grandfather doing it and always having yummy snacks for us.
One question though, the dehydrator linked in this article has polycarbonate shelves. That concerns me, is there a good, dependable model that does not use polycarbonate? I have no idea where to start researching these, but I suppose I better begin!
Hi Deann,
I contacted Julie at http://www.ultimate-weight-products.com about your question. I ordered my Excalibur dehydrator from her website, and she had provided excellent customer service in the past. Here is what she said:
The only food dehydrators that have a non-polycarbonate trays are stainless steel food dehydrators. However, the only stainless steel food dehydrator for home use we have found priced somewhat reasonably are made by Sausage Maker. We used to carry Sausage Maker dehydrators, but we discontinued carrying them because we had too many customers encounter issues with their dehydrators and we had difficulties with Sausage Maker taking care of those customers.
Please tell your friend that the trays that are in the Excalibur are completely safe for food because the food actually never touches the tray, only the poly-mesh screen, which is a #5 plastic - one of the safest plastics for food. Excalibur Dehydrators state the following about the polycarbonate issue:
1. Excalibur’s Tray Screen Material is made from FDA Approved Polypropylene #5 which is one of the safest plastics for direct food contact. We use polycarbonate as the Case material because it is virtually indestructible however; we use polypropylene #5 for the parts that your food sets on because it is the safest plastics for food contact available. ** Please note that food does not come into contact with polycarbonate- the plastic that your food sets on in the Excalibur is polypropylene NOT polycarbonate**
2. FDA Approved polycarbonate is safe when used at low temperature under 160 degrees F and will not give off harmful fumes like low-quality plastic dehydrators. The use of polycarbonate plastic for food contact applications has been and continues to be recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and other regulatory authorities worldwide. Important--make sure that you have FDA Approved for Food Contact polycarbonate as there are different types of polycarbonates
3. Polycarbonate is a natural heat insulator so it works well in dehydration, better than single walled stainless steel which can heat up and cook your foods.
4. Excalibur dehydrators are made in the U.S.A. Recently with so many problem products like poisonous pet food, faulty tires, and toxic toys coming out of China, buying a U.S. made products should be your first choice when it comes to the health and safety of you and your family.
5. Excalibur home dehydrators are green products. At Excalibur our products are designed to be environmentally conscious. We are constantly rethinking our products to see how we can reduce our environmental impact. The chrome plating of other manufacturers’ trays is of great concern for us not only because of the health concerns but the toxic effect on the environment.
I hope this helps clarify. And if we can answer any other questions you may have, please do not hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to help.
Thanks again and I hope you are having a great day!
Sincerely,
Julie Thompson
Owner, Ultimate Nourishment
Toll Free 888-ULT-NOUR (888-858-6687)
Annie and Julie,
Thank you for your time and information! I appreciate the research you have done to get such helpful information to me and others. :)
Hi, I just discovered your website in my quest to find an answer to my food dehydrating question- perhaps you might know. I have been using an ancient dehydrator (probably 25+ years old) and it works great still, but the food grade screens on the trays finally gave way and ripped. Then they were replaced by window screen material. I started to wonder if this might have some toxicity. The only info I’ve been able to find is that window screen is generally composed of 30% fiber glass and 70% PVC. I’ve discovered several web sites that discuss using this material in building your own dryer. I thought PVC is toxic (especially exposed to heat). Any info on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks- Erica
Erica, are you saying these dehydrators are still on the market, with the window-screen material? Or that the window screens are your own DIY solution?