Dehydrating food is among the oldest ways to preserve it. In the past, we relied on the sun to dry food, but with technological advancement we now have modern food dehydrators to do this job. This kind of appliance is designed to keep fruits and vegetables dry by maintaining a certain temperature for consistent drying.
These machines have become popular across many households owing to their ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and the health benefits they provide.
Not only are dehydrated foods healthier alternatives to store bought foods, they can also be added to salads, baked goods, and smoothies. As they can be rehydrated, they are easy to use in several recipes.
Almost any food can be dehydrated. Keep reading to learn about the benefits of using a food dehydrator.
- Taste
Once a food dehydrator removes the moisture from fruits and vegetables, it leaves a naturally concentrated delicious tasting product. Since you are making this concentrated food yourself, you can also rely on its quality and freshness, which you may be uncertain of if you buy from a store.
- Reduced wastage
Food wastage is a thing of the past once you have a food dehydrator. By using leftover fruits and veggies in your dehydrator, you can actually prolong the shelf life to upto 2 years.
Here are some easy ways to cut down wastage of food while using your food dehydrator and also keeping your pantry stocked throughout the year:
- Cultivate a veggie or herb garden without the stress of food being wasted. Just take your dehydrator to dry the herbs and dry the vegetables into veggie chips. Some good options to make veggie chips include beetroot, kale, carrots, and sweet potato.
- Purchase in bulk during the right season for certain vegetables and fruits to save some money. You could get mangoes in summer and dehydrate them to enjoy them later in the year to make some yummy mango smoothies.
- Dehydrating foods is a great way to prevent them from spoiling. If you have fruit that’s been in your fridge for too long, you don’t have to throw it out. You can turn it into a healthy snack like fruit leathers using the food dehydrator.
- Healthy food
Unlike cooking and steaming food, during the process of which food might lose some of its minerals and vitamins, dehydrating food keeps these intact. You get to benefit from the whole fibre of fruit when you dehydrate it, compared to other methods of storing it. You will be amazed at the varieties of snacks and healthy alternatives to junk food you can make by drying dates, herbs, etc.
When dried fruits or other ‘healthy’ snacks are bought from a store, people end up consuming large quantities of these thinking they are good for them. However these snacks also contain sugars, trans-fats, and other ingredients that may be harmful when consumed over a long period of time.
When you make your own dehydrated foods or you can also buy it from dehydrated foods manufacturers. You can be sure they don’t contain any additional preservatives and are in more control of what you put in your body.
The bottomline is that if you are looking for a safe, simple way to preserve food, have a greater variety of healthy snacks to choose from, and exercise more control over what you consume – food dehydrators are just right for you!
