Home > Is a Food Dehydrator For You?

Weather you grow your own fruits and vegetables or buy in bulk when your favorite foods are in season, a food dehydrator is a very useful tool to have. Dehydrated fruits and vegetables make a quick snack, and can be stored for long periods of time. Dehydrated foods can easily be re-hydrated and used in any dish you make. You can dehydrate your own foods with out adding preservatives. Plus, dehydrated foods retain the enzymes that aid in digestion, stimulate your brain and aid in tissue repair.

The advantages of preserving foods with a food dehydrator instead of canning is nutritional value. A food dehydrator does not heat the produce to the point of destroying nutrients. When you can foods that are low in acid you must heat it to 240 degrees and high acid foods need to reach 212 degrees to kill all bacteria. At these temperatures the produce looses not only enzymes they also loose nutrients. A food dehydrator dries the product to an internal temperature of 120 degrees. At this low temperature the product retains their nutrients, enzymes and water soluble vitamins and minerals with out cooking the food. Bacteria can not grow in a dry environment dehydrated foods will not grow mold or spoil. Vitamin A is not lost during the dehydrating process. Vitamin A is lost when foods are exposed to light.

A few manufacturers of food dehydrators are making them from BPA Free plastics. BPA (Bisphenol A) is a chemical added to plastic to make it break resistant. BPA is known to be an estrogenic substance and is known to cause cancer. Some of the food dehydrators that are BPA free are the Excalibur 3500 5 tray, Excalibur 3900 9 tray and the Tribest Sedona 9 tray food dehydrators.

The Tribest Sedona Food Dehydrator takes food dehydrating technology a step farther than most food dehydrators. This new Food Dehydrator was introduced to the market place February 2011. The Sedona Food Dehydrator costs more than the Excalibur dehydrators, but it is well worth every penny. The Sedona Dehydrator comes with two heating coils and two fans which adds to this food dehydrators versatility. You can operate one heating element and fan set and use only half of the space available while consuming half the energy. The Sedona Food Dehydrator has extremely quiet fans. The unique night mode setting reduces the speed of each fan, thus reducing overall noise for a quieter operation during the Times you want the machine to run quieter. The Sedona Food Dehydrator also has an electronic digital display. The timer will automatically shut off when the time you set it for is up.

Both the Triberst Sedona and Excalibur Food Dehydrators have variable temperature controls and come with cookbooks that give you recipes and temperature setting suggestions for the type of food you are dehydrating.

Great snacks you can make with your food dehydrator are fruit leathers from pureed fruits and trail mix from dehydrated fruit pieces with mixed nuts and seeds. Food dehydrators can dry foods so dry that you can turn the dehydrated food into a powder when processed in a blender like a Blendtec or Vitamix blender. Make your own onion powder and garlic powder. Try dehydrating kale for a nutritious, crispy snack. You can dehydrate a variety of fruits and vegetables to not only snack on while you are backpacking or camping you can use these dried produce to make your meal in the wild. Just add water to rehydrate and cook if you wish. Dehydrated food weigh less and store longer than fresh foods.

You can even dehydrate fresh cut flowers and home crafted clay projects in the Excalibur and Sedona Food Dehydrators because the shelves of these food dehydrators are removable. Plus you can raise bread and culture home made yogurts in these fine food dehydrators. Make your own TVP by dehydrating crumbled tofu and make your own croutons by seasoning bread cubes and dehydrating them.

Including dehydrated foods to your diet adds variety to your menu while including raw fruits and vegetable that are pack with vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

Cindy at VeggieSensations.com recommends dehydrating foods for short and long term storage and for making snacks like fruit trail mix and cinnamon and sugar pita chips or savory pita chips made with Italian seasoning or garlic salt.

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