food dehydrators remove the water that allows foods to spoil, giving them a long shelf-life after they are dry. They’re great for preserving your own seasonal produce and making delicious snacks, like fruit leathers and trail mix. They can also help you save money on store-bought goods, particularly when you buy something in bulk and dehydrate it yourself. For example, if you have a bumper crop of berries in the summer, you can dehydrate them to keep for months to come.
The best food dehydrators use a fan to circulate warm air around trays of food, which helps to preserve the items by pulling the moisture out. Depending on the model, this fan can be at the top, which is better for things like meats, or at the bottom, as it’s good for fruits and vegetables. Whether the fan is at the top or bottom also plays a role in how evenly your food will dry.
You can also make sure that your food is dried evenly by arranging it in a single layer and spacing the pieces apart as much as possible. Check on your food often and rotate the trays if needed to encourage even dehydration.
Some models of dehydrator can fit a stack of trays, so you can dehydrate larger quantities at the same time. This is ideal if you’re planning to make meals for a group or just want to stock your kitchen with some homemade jerky.