What is a Food Dehydrator?

Food Preservation

Food preservation is the process of preparing foods to have a longer shelf life. There are different methods for food preservation, and among the oldest is drying or dehydrating. Food dehydration removes moisture from foods such as fruits, vegetables, and meat to preserve them and make them last for a longer time. Since ancient times, this process has been going on where people dry seeds under the sun to make them last for later consumption. Now, people have invented devices that make the process of preservation more efficient.

A food dehydrator is a device the removes moisture from food as a way of preservation. The best food dehydrator for raw food diet uses heat to lower a food’s water content to less than 20% of its original. The moisture on food is the primary source of microbial growth. This damages the food and causes food spoilage. Food dehydrators are used for this very reason: to prevent foods from spoiling. It also reduces food volume, making it easier to store and save a lot of storage space.

The best food dehydrator for the raw food diet has three essential components: a source of heat, an air vent for air circulation, and trays to lay the drying food upon.

The process starts with low heat to get rid of the product’s moisture on the tray inside. It does this by applying a long cooking time. The combination of low heat and long cooking time preserves the nutrients and flavors of the food, which wouldn’t be attained with high heat cooking. Next comes the air circulation, which is the process of taking the moist air pulled from the food and work with the air vents to push it out of the device. The dehydrator also removes dry air from the outside of the device to keep the food from reabsorbing the moisture. Thus, it aids in preserving the food for longer shelf life.

The best food dehydrator for a raw food diet is energy efficient and can be used indoors. You can either purchase them or make them at home. Food dehydrators are better at producing good-quality dried foods than any other method of drying. They are also much safer to use, and you won’t have to check on it frequently. Using the best food dehydrator for raw food diet allows you to reduce food waste, save time, money, storage space, and energy to preserve foods. You would be able to eat foods with nutrients still intact without worrying about spoilage and reserve them for future consumption.

Now that you know the benefits and advantages of having a food dehydrator at home, you should know a few things before purchasing one. You should know that there are two main types of food dehydrators available in the market: So to help you decide which one to buy, here are the following things you need to know:

Vertical Flow Food Dehydrators

This type of food dehydrator is also called stackable food dehydrators. This works thru the heat source located at the top or at of the base of the appliance. There are racks that contain trays for the storage of food during preservation. This type of food dehydrator is the most reasonable option available.

There is a fan at the bottom of the unit that moves the air upwards, but the heat is not spread uniformly, which means they can work well for drying vegetables and fruits. However, if you want to make beef jerky, you need to rotate the trays during the process to ensure that all of the beef in a tray receives uniform heating.

The racks in this type of food dehydrator are positioned over one another and are sealed so that heat does not escape the appliance. The base spreads hot air to all the shelves where food to be dried is stored.

Benefits of Vertical Flow Food Dehydrators

Typically small and compact, which allows easy storage and does not take up a lot of kitchen space.
This is expandable by putting more trays to preserve more food in one go.
There are various sizes of stackable type food dehydrators available in the market at a very affordable cost.

Horizontal Flow Food Dehydrators

This type of food dehydrator is commonly known as shelf food dehydrators. It functions like a conventional oven, which has a heating source at the back of the unit. Although this is pricier than a stackable food dehydrator, this is contrary, provides uniform heating. If you love beef jerky, this type is the recommended type for you.

This is a stress-free food dehydrator as the heat source, and the fan is located at the appliance’s backside. The outer case encloses the trays, and the fan blows hot air uniformly.

Benefits of Horizontal Flow Food Dehydrators

The cost outweighs the benefits it offers, such as uniform and efficient dehydration, and tougher foods can be dehydrated using these food dehydrators.
They are easy and stress-free to use and can make preparing more delicious recipes easier.
Has better power insulation as compared to stackable food dehydrators.