Why Dehydrate Food: Top 5 Reasons For Preserving Food With Dehydrator

If you’re here, you’ve probably stumbled across the process of food dehydration and are looking to learn more. Well, you’re in the right place. We share why this food preservation technique is gaining popularity and why you should jump on the bandwagon and consider starting your own food dehydrating journey.

Dehydrating has been a favorite way of preserving food since the ancient times. In the ye old days, when refrigeration wasn’t an option and canning was a phenomenon unknown, our ancestors would preserve food for the winter months and long journeys by drying it in the sun. Of course, at the time, the process was long and required careful observation. So, you’re thinking what does this method have to offer to a modern family? Well, plenty, but here are the top 5 reasons why you should dehydrate food:

#1 Dehydrating Food Saves Money

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to save a few bucks when possible? Well, dehydrating food is a great way to cut the costs on store-bought dried foods. For instance, instead of spending a pretty penny on dried herb spices, take a couple of fresh rosemary or thyme twigs and dehydrate them to add to a homemade Italian seasoning mix. If you happen to have a garden, or just love buying fruits and veggies in bulk, your food dehydrator will be your best friend. Bountiful harvest can be preserved when dehydrated, and everything from tomatoes to apples will have an intense flavor in its dried form. But that’s not all, you’ll also save money by reducing food waste, because everything can be dried until it tastes great, even veggie scraps. While you’re at it, you’ll also be helping reduce your carbon footprint and doing good for the environment.

To top it all off, getting a dehydrator is not a costly investment, you can find top-notch food dehydrators under $100!

#2 Using a Food Dehydrator Is Simple

When it comes to learning new kitchen skills or mastering a fancy cooking gadget, most people feel intimidated by it. While something looks good on paper (hello, Pinterest fans!), it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will turn out to be the same in reality, and that makes people wary of spending bucks on a new appliance. Thankfully, there’s nothing more simple than using a food dehydrator. All you need to do is put food on the rack, and turn the dial. As for specific instructions, you’ll find everything you need to online—there are thousands of guides to ensure everything goes smoothly. And if you need some great food dehydrator recipes, we’ve got you covered with our Recipes section.

#3 You’ll Save a Lot of Space with Dehydrated Food

Once dehydrated, foods should be stored in ziplock bags, vacuum sealed bags, or glass jars, if you’re looking to go green with an eco-friendly storage solution. And, yes, using bags (and jars, if organized properly) is bound to save a lot of space in your cupboard, but it’s not the containers for dehydrated food that make it space-saving: it’s the dehydrating process itself! During drying, vegetables, fruits, and meats lose water content and, in turn, a lot of their original volume. 20 pounds of sliced tomatoes end up being 2 glass jars worth of dried tomatoes! And don’t even get me started on drying foods to make into powder, such as onions—talk about saving space. And stocking the pantry chock full of versatile ingredients while you’re at it!

#4 Dehydrated Meat, Veggies, and Fruits Make Healthy Snacks

Eating health is a task! Every time we break our eating healthy resolution, its more likely that it’s because of the additional effort required to make fresh foods than it is because of temptation. And if you have kids, well, then you know they sure aren’t wanting to eat healthy no matter what you say. Coming to your rescue, a food dehydrator will be your new favorite kitchen gadget. Not only that you can include children in the whole process, but they’ll also love the end result. Try making fruit leathers from purees for your kid’s lunchbox, or sneak some leafy greens in their diet with crispy healthy kale chips. Not just kids, these foods are absolutely scrumptious and will allure even the pickiest eater.

What’s more? Dehydrated foods don’t lose essential vitamins and nutrients in the process. In fact, some dehydrators claim to preserve up to 97% of all nutrients and vitamins during the dehydration process. It’s truly a win-win situation!

#5 They are Great for Campers

We’ll concede, we love our camping trips, but they often involve carrying store-bought meals. Now, as much as we love our high-sodium processed ramen, we know that processed foods filled with preservatives, sugars, and other chemicals aren’t good for us. This is where the dehydrator comes in. As we mentioned above, dehydrated food is light and easy to store, since it takes less space. It’s also healthy—packing nutrition and vitamins that are just a tag below what we get from fresh foods. And so, they make the best option to take along for our excursions. If you enjoy camping as much as we do, you need to get this kitchen appliance. It will be a life-changer!