Everything that is food dehydration, something that until some time ago could seem like a thing of vegetarian or vegan food, is now turning to the rest. That is why there are now a few dehydrators on the market and to choose the best one for us you must be informed, something that you are now going to achieve.
Everything that has to do with food dehydration is becoming more fashionable every day and there are many people who already want to use this system to eat.
The problem comes from being something relatively new for many, who find themselves with endless brands, with devices capable of performing this task, without deciding on one or the other, especially due to lack of information.
Although there are air fryers that perform this function, it is best to buy a food dehydrator so that they are the best possible. These types of devices are becoming more widespread, so there are many models and with different characteristics.
If you are interested in them, we are going to see everything you need to know so that the one you buy is the ideal one for you, your goals and budget.
What is a food dehydrator?
A food dehydrator is an electrical device similar to an oven, where you get remove moisture of fruit, meat, fish or vegetables by constant circulation of hot air.
With this we will get keep longerin addition to achieving New flavors in foods that undergo this process.
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types of dehydrators
We can differentiate them based on air flow and of its way.
According to the air flow we have:
- Horizontal: They are those that distribute the air in a homogeneous way, so they are the most advisable. Both the motor and the fan are at the rear.
- Verticals: both the motor and the fan work from top to bottom, causing the food that is in the lower part to dehydrate before, so we must be attentive to this fact.
If what we are going to look at is according to its shape, we can have two types, the squares Y the round ones.
The first ones work very well, but their main flaw is that the air reaches the corners worse, while the round ones are the most efficient, economical and recommended.
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How does a food dehydrator work?
Any food dehydrator consists an electric motor, a heater, an air circulation system, a fan, an adjustable thermostat, as well as removable rotating trays (almost always) to place the food.
As we have already mentioned above, the A dehydrator works similarly to an oven.. In other words, the motor raises the temperature of the resistors to heat the air until it reaches the temperature chosen by the user.
Said air is driven through the circuit, taking it as homogeneously as possible through the fan so that it reaches the food on the trays.
With all this, the humidity that the food has is reduced, causing it to evaporate and causing the food to have less than 2% water, which means that it is dehydrated.
What should we look for when buying a food dehydrator?
When we go to buy a device of this type, we must be attentive to different options and parameters to be able to buy the best one for us, that is, neither pay for one that is too big for us, nor fall short.
For that to happen we have to look at what we are going to tell you next:
- Power: the normal thing for a house is to have one between 200 and 300 W, although if we want one of an industrial level it should not go below 500 W,
- Essential elements: the fan is one of the most important, since it is the one that throws the air for drying, so that the food dehydrates. Having a timer is also a part that seems very important to us, since although there are some dehydrators that do not have this extra, the vast majority do. This will allow us to set the temperature that best suits what we are doing, be it meat, fish, fruit, etc.
- The trays: It is another thing that we must take into account, especially so that it does not arrive to do everything we need at once. The normal thing is to have 5 or 6 trays for a normal family of 3 or 4 members. Also, the pans should be non-stick and BPA-free.
- Cleaning: So that everything is comfortable for us, we must know if the trays are removable (they are not always) because in this way it will be easier to clean the device.
- Consumption: the vast majority of dehydrators are low consumption, but just in case we should look at it lest we buy one that is not.
What are the main advantages of dehydrating food?
In addition to the fact that this type of food is becoming fashionable lately, we must also accept that dehydrating food has its positive side.
The main advantages we have are:
- Will be storage easier of food, since by reducing their size they are more manageable and can be stacked better.
- allow us to keep longer any type of food, as much fruit, vegetables, meat or fish, even serving to ferment masses.
- we can make them funniest foodssince we can achieve that, for example, fruits have a snack texture, but having reduced the sugars they had.
- It also can pulverize food dehydrated to have our own homemade salts or condiments.
- In addition to getting some more intense flavorsin many foods retain all the nutrients of this, such as vitamins, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, etc., something that, in other types of cooking, some are lost or do not reach one hundred percent.
- can be take advantage of leftovers that can get spoiled, dehydrate them and make them last longer without spoiling.
With everything you have been able to read, surely you already understand much more about what food dehydrators are, how they work and what they can be used for, a way of eating that is becoming very fashionable in recent times.
If in the end you have decided on one in particular, you can tell us about it on our social networks, because we would love to know what your decision was and why.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism