Friday, January 20, 2017

Best Food Dehydrator for Jerky, Fruits, Vegs & More (A Quick Buy-Guide)

Want to enjoy dehydrated fruits and vegetables throughout the year but dread the food colors, preservatives, and fillers that packed foods come with? If yes, then I have an alternative for you. Use one of these best food dehydrators featured in this post and tried your hand at some delicious and healthy dehydrator recipes here.

What Are Food Dehydrators?

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Dehydrators or dehydrator machine are a real investment that helps you enjoy a healthy meal every day without fearing the harmful effects of preservatives and other unsafe chemicals. Previously, food dehydrators were seen as a big hulking thing that took an enormous amount of space, and it was almost impossible to store them in cupboards but not anymore.

​Also, Dehydrators contain several stacked trays that allow passage of heated air and dry the food evenly. The dehydrator comes with an adjustable thermostat that keeps the temperature in control and dehydrates vegetables, fruits, herbs along with meat.

​This equipment is more efficient than an oven in terms of energy and time. You can easily adjust the temperature and maintain it for important low-temperature drying process. It preserves the minerals and vitamins in the food thus keeping its nutritional value intact.

How Do Dehydrators Work?

Electronic dehydrators remove moisture and help preserve fresh vegetables, herbs, fruits and meat. Dehydrators circulate warm air around the trays made from metal gauze and allow water to evaporate simultaneously.

​As food is not cooked in dehydrators, thus flavor and nutrients of food remain locked.  In some cases, the flavor may intensify as a result of dehydration. In the end, you get dehydrated slices of fruits, vegetables, herbs or meat, which have longer shelf life.

Why Do You Need A Food Dehydrator?

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If you have been thinking about buying a food dehydrator and has probably read a lot of food dehydrator reviews, you already know that this machine is one of the most versatile additions to your kitchen. Here are few reasons why you should have the best food dehydrator in your kitchen.

Constant Supply of Dry Food

Do you have some favorite food such as fruits and vegetable such as fennel that you want to enjoy throughout the year? If yes, then you can easily get a year’s supply by dehydrating them and enjoying your favorite fruits and vegetables all year long. All you need to do is buy fresh products, dry them in the machine and use them when there is low season. Check here for how to store fennel.

Save You Money

If you love eating all kind of fruits, vegetables throughout the year, picking up a dehydrator machine can really save on your grocery bills. A dehydrator gives you the advantage to dry fruits, herbs, meat or vegetable and use them in low season. So now there’s no need to run to the grocery store and spend your money on buying packed food products loaded with preservatives.

Avoid Excessive Chemicals Loaded Food Products

Have you ever read the contents of packaged food? They are loaded with chemicals and preservatives which can have a harmful to your overall health. Though the preservatives make the food last longer, but they are highly poisonous to the body. The chemicals, preservatives, food coloring and saturated sugar, make the food products less healthy and reduce their nutritive value as well.

Make Food Tastier

Dehydrating food at home, make the food products healthier and infuse a great taste. For example, if you are planning to dehydrate nuts and seeds, soak them for 24 hours and then dry them at a low temperature, this gives the nuts an enthralling taste which cannot be achieved by any other method.

Benefits of Best Food Dehydrator

Using a food dehydrator has many advantages. For an instant, you can get a number of astounding benefits:

All Natural Preserved Food

Do you know that fungal and bacteria multiplies at a fast pace in the food that is raw and not dried? Using a food dehydrator can help you avoid the harmful effects of bacterial and fungal growth. Food dehydrators help you dehydrate the food that you have cultivated or bought from the store and preserve it for a long time without adding preservatives.

High-Quality Food

When you buy food from the market, you are sure that you have picked up the best available to you. And whenever you use a dehydrator to dry these foods, you can be certain that the nutritional benefits remain intact. However, this is not true with commercial food. You never know the source of commercially processed food and are even unaware of its quality.

Dried Food Can Be Taken Along

By replacing commercial food with home dried food, you can easily avoid the unhealthy fats and harmful chemicals. Another great benefit of dried food is that it can be easily carried along as it fits bag packs and purses.

How To Select The Right Food Dehydrator?

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Here are some useful tips to pick up a good food dehydrator:

The Right Size

Will you be using the dehydrator daily or occasionally? How much quantity of food will be dried on a regular basis? Before making a purchase, you need to make sure you know what size will fit your requirements. A small dehydrator is ideal for single families while a bigger dehydrator is suitable for those who have a larger family member.

Durability and Strength

The best machine is the one that can be used for a long time and is worth the money spent. You should read the manufacturer specifications to known whether or not the dehydrator is sturdily built. The chosen dehydrator should withstand high temperature and resist corrosive saps.

View the Drying Process

A good food dehydrator should give you the ability to see the drying process without stopping the machine. Therefore, pick up a dehydrator that comes with a transparent cover so that you can easily view the progress. This is also an important feature to consider as some food and herbs dry faster as compared to others.

Number of Trays

The drying process can be lengthy. Therefore, you might find it inconvenient. Pick up a dehydrator that comes loaded with a number of shelves to accommodate all food in one go. Moreover, consider buying a dehydrator of a well-known brand for reliable performance.

The Best Food Dehydrator Reviews

Excalibur (3926TB) Food Dehydrator

Want the best food dehydrator to dry large quantities of food products at home or for commercial use? If so then you must grab the Excalibur Food Dehydrator.

What we like it...

  • Lots of trays space
  • Adjustable temperature control
  • Easily accommodate thick food
  • Timer with auto shut off

What we don't like...

  • Quite expensive
  • A little noisier
  • Does not include solid sheet

Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator, Black
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Nesco (FD-75A) Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator

One of the cheapest food dehydrator available in the market - Nesco Snackmaker Pro. This food dehydrator is recommended for those who are planning to purchase their first food dehydrator.

What we like it...

  • Offer uniform drying
  • Small size
  • Easily expandable – can add up to 12 trays
  • Ease of use
  • Top mounted fan for uniform distribution
  • Made in USA

What we don't like...

  • No timer
  • No on/off switch

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Nesco (FD-61WHC) Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator All-In-One Kit with Jerky Gun

Get a food dehydrator that has won many hearts. The Nesco dehydrator is also the best dehydrator for jerky as it comes with a jerky gun to make jerky quickly in an efficient manner.

What we like it...

  • Comes with a broad range of accessories
  • Good number of racks and trays
  • Top mounted fan for uniform heating
  • Made from BPA free plastic
  • Made in USA

What we don't like...

  • Does not have a timer
  • Bulky design.

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Conclusion

Out of the three, the Excalibur food dehydrator is my pick, and I would highly recommend it too. The Excalibur Food Dehydrator adopts Hyperwave fluctuation technology and design that makes it exceedingly useful for your kitchen or a restaurant.

The Hyperwave fluctuation technology changes heat during the drying cycle for faster and better drying of the food. It dries vegetable, jerky, herbs and other food products easily and helps people enjoy their favorite food throughout the year. Or, if you are jerky lovers, the Nesco American Harvest food dehydrator is an excellent investment.

​So there you have it. We hope that this post has given you useful information on picking up your next best food dehydrator. Btw, if you are a guava lover like me, I like to take them dry as a healthy snack. If you like to try some, here is a recipe you can follow.


The post Best Food Dehydrator for Jerky, Fruits, Vegs & More (A Quick Buy-Guide) appeared first on Gordan Ladd's Kitchen.

List Price: $350.00 Price: $244.95 You Save: $105.05 List Price: $58.49 Price: $58.49 List Price: $78.95 Price: $56.73 You Save: $22.22

1 comment:

  1. Thank your for your valuable tips. At first we should see the dehydrator review sites, learn more about dehydrator, then select my perfect choice. Am I right?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete