Is a Food Dehydrator Considered a Kitchen Appliance in 2024?

The food dehydrator is one appliance used in homes has a ton of benefits. Discover the easy steps to make your own homemade dehydrating machine, the best 3 food dehydrators, and of course, how to use them effectively.

Best 3 Food Dehydrators Of 2024

Can you call a food dehydrator a kitchen appliance?

Yes, a food dehydrator is a kitchen appliance even though you can use it for other things aside kitchen needs. The food dehydrator can be used for a cosmetic process like drying some things for use in the products, and can also be used in the medical field too. However, the major thing it works for us is to dehydrate our fruits, vegetables, meats and other foods to preserve them, keep them for later use and also lock in their nutrients.

What are the Benefits of Owning a Food Dehydrator?

The food dehydrator is one of the modern convenient kitchen appliances made to dry a wide range of fruits, vegetables and foods. The benefits of owning a food dehydrator are quite enormous and they are listed below:

• Food Dehydrators are simple and easy to use:

The food dehydrators are usually simple and easy to use because they come with functions that can be easily understood without necessarily employing the services of an expert.

• Food preserved with food dehydrators is safe:

The food dehydrator preserves food by drying out the water content in the food. By so doing, the chances of bacterial growth or the food getting spoilt are not non-existent.

• Food dehydrators give foods an awesome taste:

Food dried with dehydrators retain its content and natural taste because food dehydrator is designed in such a way that the freshness and component in fruits, vegetables, etc, are preserved when put inside the dehydrator.

• Dehydrator saves you from food wastage:

Are you always throwing away food when it is too much? With food dehydrators, you do not have to do that anymore. Dehydrated food has a longer life span as your foods can be preserved for longer periods.

• A dehydrator gives you absolutely 100% natural foods:

The only ingredient needed for a dehydrator is the fruit, vegetable or other things you intend to dry. You do not need any form of a chemical substance to preserve your food in a food dehydrator.

• Dehydrators change your perception about fruits/foods:

Owning and using a food dehydrator can change your perception about fruits or vegetables. Fruits or vegetables can be transformed into sumptuous and healthy snacks and treats which you can eat or serve your family members and guests. They can also be dried, packed in containers and used on a road trip or long-distance travel. You just can’t underestimate the value of healthy meals on the go.

• Food dehydrators help you to save or reduce cost:

Buying other processed snacks from the stores or other organic dehydrated foods can cost you a fortune. Using food dehydrator would save you a lot of money. You can easily buy fresh fruits and vegetables at a lower cost and dry them yourself using food dehydrators.

• Food dehydrators can store foods efficiently:

One of the advantages of food dehydrator is that it stores food efficiently. Dried food has the tendency to stay healthy for a long period of time. And you will still reap the benefits and nutrients even more than you would for some fresh foods.

Benefits Of Using A Food Dehydrator

The benefits of using a food dehydrator are mind-blowing. It has economic as well as health benefits. Using a food dehydrator has the following benefits:

1. Foods that are dehydrated are safe, nutritious and have health benefits. When you dehydrate foods, the original nutrients such as minerals, vitamins and natural enzymes are still preserved. Research has shown that dried fruits such as plums, grapes, cranberries had much more antioxidants than their natural versions.
2. Foods dehydrated have no preservatives or chemicals which may have side effects on the human body.
3. Dehydrated foods only contain one ingredient (that is, the food you are dehydrating). There is no cause to have worries on preservatives or chemicals from the dehydrating appliances.
4. Having and using a food dehydrator would save you money. You might be wondering how this is possible, but try to find out the price of store-dried foods and compare it with buying them fresh and drying yourself. Also, most modern food dehydrators perform several functions which can still serve your cooking needs.
5. Using a food dehydrator saves you precious time. Drying food manually could be time-consuming but using a food dehydrator only takes a few minutes to dry fruits or foods.
6. One important benefit of using a food dehydrator is that waste is reduced to the barest minimum. Have you been discarding left-over food? This problem is solved when you have a food dehydrator. With food dehydrators, you can hygienically dry left-over fruits, veggies, meat etc, which can be preserved for months.
7. A food dehydrator gives the user a variety of options to make assorted homemade meals, snacks or even cookies. The food dehydrator can dry herbs, herbal teas, dog treats and so on.
8. Food dehydrators come with amazing control functions which aid in cooking activities. You do not have to be monitoring what is inside all the time. You just have to set a timer and leave it to work till you get notified.

Can You Make A Food Dehydrator At Home?

You might be thinking if it is possible to create your very own food dehydrator at home? The answer is yes! You can actually make a homemade food dehydrator that would meet your cooking demands all by yourself. Creating a food dehydrator at home does not necessarily mean you would spend a fortune. One thing you should consider is the type of function you want the food dehydrator to perform. You could make use of a variety of things such as old or unused refrigerator, pinewood, aluminium, nails, cooling fans, etc, and these things do not cost much in the market even if you want to buy each of them.

Easy steps to make your own homemade dehydrating machine

You can actually create your own food dehydrator which you can use to dry your fruits, vegetables, etc at home. To do that, here are the simple steps to guide you:

1. The first step is to identify what type of food dehydrator you need. The type here means the size of the machine, composition of the body, what features and functions you want it to perform. Your creativity or imagination comes into play at this stage. For example, you can choose to go for solar food dehydrator or stove powered dehydrator.
2. Get all the required materials you need. Materials for the homemade dehydrating machine include; unused refrigerator body, electric cables, sockets, woods/plastics, nails, screws, racks or trays, glue, glass door, thermometer.
3. You can consider buying ready-made drying racks because this is one of the hardest parts of the dehydrating machine to make. If you consider improvising, then you would need to be accurate in the measurement because of the constant pulling in and pushing out.
4. You can use an old or unused refrigerator or construct a wooden frame as the outer body of the dehydrating machine. The body size should be based on the capacity you intend to create.
5. Do the necessary electric wiring and fitting inside the body of the dehydrating machine. You should install thermostat, lightings, power switch, electric fan, etc. You need to have the required skills in electric/electronic connections to be able to do this.
6. Create and fix the transparent glass door according to the appropriate measurement.
7. After you finish, ensure you test it to be sure that what you have created is working perfectly. Pre-testing is important because faults can be detected and corrected to avoid any accident or anything that can emanate from the machine.

If you are lost somewhere, watch this video from Driedit for an easier process.

 Best 3 Food Dehydrators To Choose From In 2024

If you are not up for creating your own from scratch, that’s fine; you can just go ahead and get a company manufactured dehydrator. There are several awesome food dehydrators available in the market from which you can choose to buy in 2024. But I have selected 3 of the best which I’m sure you would love as they have cool features. The following review is focused on three (3):

(PS: Visit this post to learn more about what to look out for when choosing a food dehydrator).

1. Excalibur EXC10EL Electric Food Dehydrator with Digital Controller, 99-Hour Timer & Temperature Auto Shut-Off

Description of this product:

Having this product at your disposal is such a joy because it offers a variety of functions you can choose from when drying your fruits, foods or vegetables. The Excalibur EXC10EL Electric Food Dehydrator has a large capacity that is NSF Approved which is built for heavy-duty use. This product comes with amazing digital controls that will make drying a breeze for you.

Features of this product:

This product has the following awesome features:

• The controls consist of two-time, temperature speeds, adjustable thermostat and a 99-hour digital timer. These digital control functions allow you to choose the exact temperature you need.
• The product has a large drying space of ten stainless steel trays which is totalling 16 square feet. This space offers you to dry a wide variety of your fruits and vegetables.
• This product is well patented with its adjustable Hyperwave thermostat which purifies the heat to eradicate over- or under- drying.
• The 110 voltage and 600 watts make this food dehydrator perfect to preserve your fruits and vegetables naturally.
• This product is weighed 63 pounds
• Its dimension measurement is 17 x 20.5 x 17 inches
• The installation type is a countertop method
• The fuel type of this product is electric
• It is built with stainless steel material
• Its voltage is 120 volts
• It comes in a silver colour
• It comes with a ten-year warranty.

You can get this food dehydrator on Amazon by clicking this link. You will get more information about it there, see other users reviews and then make your purchase.

2. Hauture Food Dehydrator Machine For Jerky/Meat/Beef/Fruit/Vegetable

Description of this product:

The Hauture Food Dehydrator Machine is a food dryer for jerky, meat, beef, fruit, vegetable etc. This product is a multifunctional food dehydrator which is perfect for your cooking demands. You can make trail mix, homemade yoghurt, apple chips, banana chips, dried soup mixes, dried tomatoes and dry a whole lot of fruits and vegetables. The digital temperature settings allow you to dry out different types of food to perfection.

Features of this product:

• The Hauture Food Dehydrator machine comes with amazing features and they are listed below:
• It has five trays which give you the option to dry fruits and vegetables of your choice. The trays are very easy to clean or wash and are fully dishwasher safe.
• This product 250 watts of drying power is perfect to dry your vegetables, beef jerky etc, much faster than most of the food dryers you can find around.
• Its safety auto shut-off feature prevents this product from overheating.
• The products weight is 6.89 pounds
• It comes with stainless steel and plastic materials
• Its voltage is 110 volts
• This dehydrator’s dimension is 14.7 x 12.3 x 10.8 inches
• Its frequency is 60Hz
• It has an adjustable height
• This product has digital temperature settings

Make this food dehydrator yours by clicking on this link. You will be taken to the product page on Amazon where you will learn more, see what people are saying before making n order.

3. Tribest SDE-S6780-B Sedona Express Food Dehydrator with Stainless Steel Trays

Description of this product:

The Tribest SDE-S6780-B Sedona Express Food Dehydrator will definitely dry your fruits and vegetables to your taste. The product’s central single-fan technology ensures that airflow evenly which aids rapid dehydration of fruits, meat or vegetables. With this, you can be sure of getting your foods dried in no time.

Features of this Product:

• This product has the following features to meet your food drying needs:
• This product dimensions are 17.5 x 12 x 14 inches
• It has eleven trays which give ample room for you to dry a huge amount of food.
• The digital timer gives you options for choosing the temperature and also time. You can set the time and get busy doing other things without necessarily disturbing yourself by opening the door to check if the food inside is dried.
• It comes with a weight of 20.4 pounds
• This product is made up of eleven stainless steel dehydrating trays
• It has one closed stainless steel debris tray
• It has two-stage sequential temperature timer
• The dehydrator is built with washable and reusable air filter
• It has a powerful central fan
• It comes with overheating protection
• The machine has a continuous operation mode
• It comes with a glass hinged door
• It has an internal LED light
• Be sure to enjoy its functions quietly
• It comes with non-inflammable V0 Plastic body
• It has a ten-year warranty.

Get this classy food dehydrator and worry less about what to do to your excess foods by clicking this link. The link takes you to the page on Amazon where you will learn more about it read reviews before making an order.

How To Use Food Dehydrators Effectively

How you use the food dehydrator would determine your food’s taste, the dehydrator’s life span as well as its performance. The following are useful tips you could adopt to effectively use your food dehydrator:

• Ensure you dry the same items together in your food dehydrators. For instance, fruits or vegetables that are similar in texture should be dried together using the same temperature.
• You could spray your trays with non-stick cooking spray especially trays that are easily cleaned or easily washed in a dishwasher.
• You should cut fruits, vegetables and meats evenly when dehydrating them. Cutting them evenly would ensure they are dried at the same time.
• Ensure to cut off fats from meats before you dehydrate. Fat has a tendency of going rancid when heated.
• Endeavour to trim the meat properly with a lean cut before putting them into the food dehydrator.
• Do not mix meat with fruits or vegetables when dehydrating because this can cause cross-contamination.
• Always use the recommended volts or watts prescribed on the food dehydrators manual. Following the appropriate volts and watt would minimize any form of damage or accident.
• Ensure you properly clean the trays or the insides of the food dehydrator when it is stained after use.

Conclusion

Food is considered very important to the survival of mankind. Food dehydrating machine preserves food for our consumption even longer and it is very possible to own one by making it yourself at home by following the simple steps highlighted in this article. However, not everybody has the ability or skills to make a dehydrating machine. If you have considered owning a food dehydrator in 2024, you should check out the amazing dehydrating machines reviewed in this article to make an informed decision.