What Foods Can Be Dehydrated – Find Out 6 Foods You Can Dehydrate

By Eric Mitchell •  Updated: Aug 22, 2023 •  6 min read

As opposed to your typical food preservation methods such as canning and freezing, food dehydration comes along with its bag of goodies.

To begin with, it makes food lighter for easy carriage especially if you are an outdoorsy person. You get to carry it along during your hikes or camping trips without much a hassle.

Of great importance is that your food will have a longer shelf life. Dehydrating food kills all the bacteria that cause food to go bad. You can dehydrate a food stock that can last you an entire winter period without breaking a sweat.

Foods You Can Dry With A Dehydrator

Dehydration can take care of a large variety of foods. It’s only a question of what you want to get dried. Kinds of foods to dehydrate include flowers, herbs, vegetable fruits, spices; beef jerky, etc. the list is endless.

What Foods Can Be Dehydrated?

Dried fruits in mason jars

We, at dehydratorlab.com are happy for you and very much interested in addressing your dehydration needs. Thus, we cannot hesitate to give you advice or knowledge concerning dehydration. Therefore, here is a list of simple foods, that bring you all sort of health benefits, that you can easily process at the comfort of your house, even while having a night sleep. Here we go!

1. Home Made Beef Jerky

Beef jerky slices

Making your favorite piece of jerky is a walk in the park with a food dehydrator. Here is a very simple homemade jerky recipe: Grab a lean piece of beef. Cut off any excess fat and place it in a freezer for one to two hours, if need be, to make it easy to cut through. Divide your beef into ¼ thick slices and marinate them.

Wipe the pieces of beef with the use of paper towels and arrange them carefully in your jerky dehydrator racks. Power on the dehydrator and let it run for at least eight hours.

An excellent example of this treat is the salmon jerky which is celebrated widely. It is a healthy bite that takes a measly three hours (at 200 degrees Fahrenheit) to prepare.

2. Potato Chips And Flakes

A potato flakes meal would come in handy if you needed a quick fix especially on occasions such as a bash or when having an abrupt visitor. You can prepare them with a compliment such as meatballs for a sizzling meal.

For the chips, you first need to slice them into 3/8 inch thick slices or shoestrings with a knife. Wash and drain the potato slices on the dehydrator trays. Ensure that the edges don’t touch and set the machine to a moderate temperature of 125 degrees until they are dry.

On the other hand, when making potato flakes. You start by peeling and mashing your potatoes, a process that takes roughly twenty minutes. After that spread them into your dehydrator tray, slip it inside and turn the dehydrator on a high.

After processing, take them out of the dehydrator and break them into smaller pieces by the use of a blender.

3. Crunchy Banana Chips

You can also make a sweet and healthy banana chips snack. First, you need to slice your bananas into small pieces.

Place them in your dehydrator and let them dry in at a low temperature for seven to eight hours or liking.

Store them in a sealed or airtight container for longer shelf life.

You can consume them as a separate snack or an additive to make a sumptuous breakfast meal.

4. Dry Tomatoes

Considering their perishable nature tomatoes can be dehydrated to make them stay for a more extended period. As usual slice your tomatoes into thin slices and place them inside your dehydrator.

Turn it on and follow the prerequisite instructions according to your dehydrator if any.

You can utilize these dried tomatoes in various ways. For instance, you can use them to make Italian pasta, fruit salads among other uses. You can also carry them when going for your hikes.

Dried tomatoes

5. Kale Cheesy Chips

Another tasty meal worth your try is the kale chips. If you are a veteran vegetarian you aren’t thankfully forgotten out.

More so, the Kale vegetable is rich in minerals, vitamin c, and antioxidants such as quercetin, beta-carotene, and flavonoids, which makes it even a healthier choice.

You only need to place them inside the food dehydrators tray and run it for ten to twelve hours at a temperature of 130 degrees.

6. Dehydrate Yogurt

You can lengthen the shelf life of your favorite yogurt by having it dehydrated. Just spread it on fruit leather and put it inside your dehydrator.

Yogurt

Turn it on a low and wait for your results for approximately eight hours.

You will get your dried yogurt as a sheet block, which you need to break down into smaller chunks. You can blend or break them down into a fine powder.

It’s very important to store your yogurt in an airtight container for longer life.

You only need a small amount of water (or that of your liking) if you wanted to rehydrate your yogurt.

What are some of the ABC’s concerning dehydration?

Generally speaking, you ought to mind the kind of foods you put together when dehydrating. For instance, you wouldn’t like to dehydrate garlic with your favorite snack. The garlic smell and taste would cross over to it.

Conclusion

Dehydration not only makes food lighter but also delicious. You can even dry foods without a food dehydrator. You get to enjoy those crunchy potato chips or that creamy banana snack or that savory beef jerky bite among other treats.

More so, it saves quite some top dollar you would have spent when purchasing these treats at your favorite joints.

Most food dehydrators won’t cost you an arm and a leg to acquire, but are durable. Others give you the convenience of doing other duties by having an inbuilt timer and an automatic switch off features.

Eric Mitchell

Eric is the owner, author, content director and founder of dehydratorlab.com. He is the lead architect and the main man in matters concerning dehydrators, their accessories, guides, reviews and all the accompaniments.Whenever he is not figuring out simple solutions (hacks) involving cookery and their eventual storage, you will find him testing out the different types of dehydrators, to bring us the juicy details regarding these devices.He is a foodie enthusiast, pasionate about making jerky has a knack for healthy and tasty food and won't hesitate to share out any ideas that might be of value around this subject.

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