Gifts for Gardeners: 6 Best Dehydrators for Preserving Vegetables
Do you have a veggie patch that produces abundantly each year? Or a neighbor who often drops by with some squash and carrots from their little garden, and you want to repay their kindness? Either way, for a gardener who grows vegetables, a food dehydrator can be a heaven-sent appliance. There’s always a bit more produce than you planned for, and it’s not always easy finding ways to use it all up. Even after you enjoy the harvest fresh, pack extra to be frozen and eaten during the winter, there’s often more leftovers you won’t know how to prevent from going to waste. Yes, there’s fermenting, but there’s only so many pickles and cabbages you can ferment for your family and friends. So, it’s time to try dehydrating veggies and fruits! A perfect way to preserve food while ensuring that all nutrients and flavor stays inside, dehydration is a sure-shot way to make your diet healthier and do justice to your produce. To boot, dried vegetables are easy to store and incredibly delicious—from chips to dried herbs, there are millions of ways to enjoy your harvest year-round.
So, whether you’re looking to treat yourself or surprise someone with a thoughtful gift, here is our choice of top 4 dehydrators that are best for preserving vegetables. While you can’t go wrong with either of these, the best way to make a selection would be to think about your exact needs and what purpose you want the dehydrator to serve.
1. Nesco FD-1040 Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator
Whether you’re a beginner or a pro at dehydrating foods, Nesco’s FD-1040 food dehydrator will surely meet your needs. Boasting a powerful 1000 watts motor and temperature control that ranges from 90°-160° F, this compact appliance can tackle all types of veggies (and other foods) without breaking a sweat. It’s particularly useful for preserving your garden harvest as it comes with 4 trays, 1 solid sheet for making veggie and fruit leathers, and 1 mesh screen for drying herbs. That’s not all, if you want to try your hand at bulk dehydration so you have enough for not just your family but also your friends, you’ll be excited to know that it expands to up to 20 trays. It also includes a 52-page recipe book, so you certainly won’t lack ideas on how to make dehydrated snacks or full meals from them dried veggies—think kale chips, cinnamon apple crisps, spiced cauliflower popcorns, and if you’re up for it, risotto.
2. Ivation 10 Tray Commercial Food Dehydrator
If you or the recipient of your gift is a more demanding user, a commercial-grade dehydrator is the best choice. Whether you want a larger capacity or a stronger motor, whether your intentions are preserving your impressive vegetable harvest or you simply want to meet the winter months ready with lots of crispy snacks that are chock full of vitamins and nutrients, the Ivation 10 Tray Commercial Food Dehydrator is sure to satisfy. This capacious, stainless steel dehydrator with a display timer and a digital thermostat is in it to win it by meeting every one of your drying needs. It’s temperature control ranges from 95°-167° F, allowing you to dry a variety of foods without losing their flavor or nutrients. The multiple trays keep those flavors separated and organized with enough space to give every veggie its own tray.
3. Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator
Who said that you can’t get a decent food dehydrator for vegetables on a tight budget? Boasting an affordable price tag, this compact gadget offers great value for money. The 4 dishwasher-safe trays will suffice for most gardeners, but if you decide you’d do better with a larger drying capacity, you can always order additional trays. This model can be doubled in size, and fit up to 8 trays. It also has a see-through cover for monitoring the progress without opening the machine and slowing down the dehydrating process. The only reasons you may think this isn’t the right match for you are that it does not have an on and off switch or temperature control. It operates at a preset temperature of approx. 165° F. Though you don’t have to worry that the temperature will leave you with limited options for drying. You can still make a variety of foods in this dehydrator, including jerky from meat, poultry, and seafood. It’s bottom mounted fan and heating element win this dehydrator more brownie points, removing any need for rotating trays by promoting consistent air flow for optimum drying.
4. NutriChef Electric Countertop Food Dehydrator
Budget-friendly, easy-to-use, and boasting an impressive performance, this NutriChef dehydrator will tick all of your boxes. Much more effective than canning, it preserves 97% of all nutrients and mineral in your foods. With just one flick of the switch, this countertop appliance can dehydrate an impressive batch of goodies such as kale or potato chips, dried onions for seasoning, or crispy zucchini slices. The maximum temperature of 180° F and 5 spacious trays offered by this machine will give you a world of possibilities to explore! The dehydrator is scientifically tested for high heat circulation that travels through the trays to allow for safe increase in shelf-life of foods, allowing you to prepare healthy snacks for all age groups. If you’re someone who goes camping you’ll find this dehydrator particularly useful. Dry food all the extra produce you’ve harvested in advance and store easily thanks to the small size and low weight. During your excursion, you can use these dehydrated veggies and fruits to make proper meals or eat them as is when craving snacks or an instant boost of energy.
5. Elechomes 6-Tray Food Dehydrator
The Elechomes 6 tray food dehydrator is a great compact option for the small-scale gardeners. This dehydrator is packed full of features including 6 clear stackable trays that each have adjustable heights, so you can dehydrate thicker and thinner foods at the same time. This dehydrator is designed with an easy to use digital control panel where you can precisely set the temperature (between 95°F- 158°F), which makes it great for dehydrating herbs, fruits, vegetables or meats. It also has the additional feature of a timer and automatic shut off for both safety and convenience. This model is more compact than some other models, so it is a great pick if you have limited space, and are dehydrating small batches. This dehydrator also comes with 1 mesh screen (great for drying herbs), 1 fruit roll sheet and a user manual.
6. Magic Mill Food Dehydrator Machine
This dehydrator would be an excellent choice for someone who has a large garden and lots of produce to preserve. At full capacity, this dehydrator can be used with the included 10 stainless steel trays, this top-end home dehydrator is designed both for efficiency and consistency in food preservation. Any gardener who has an abundance of produce would be delighted with the capabilities and features the Magic Mill Food Dehydrator Machine offers, including: digital timer and precise temperature control, automatic shut off, dishwasher safe trays, see through cover which allows visual monitoring of the dehydration process, high capacity processing (up to 11 pounds of food). This dehydrator is designed to dry food evenly with a rear mounted drying fan, which eliminates the need to rotate trays, which is necessary with many other dehydrators on the market. With this dehydrator there is also a hanging tray option for making strip jerky. This is a high-quality, versatile pick that has proven to deliver great results.
When choosing which food dehydrator would make the best gift for a gardener, consider the following:
What kind of food will they be dehydrating?
When deciding what dehydrator to purchase as a gift for someone, it is important to consider what they will be using it for most. Some dehydrators are designed with special features like hanging racks for meat dehydration. Others include special mesh trays that are great for dehydrating herbs. Some dehydrators have plastic trays, which are great for making fruit leathers. Looking for dehydrators that have these accessories can be appealing, depending on what kids of foods will be processed most.
How big of a food dehydrator will they need?
This is another important thing to consider. If you are gifting a dehydrator to someone who has a large garden or plans on using the dehydrator frequently, a higher-end, higher-capacity dehydrator likely would suit their needs best. The more trays and more power (wattage) that a food dehydrator has, the more that a gardener can preserve at one time. Gardners seeking to dehydrate and preserve produce in smaller batches preserves, would likely be satisfied with a smaller, more compact dehydrator.
How much space do they have?
You also want to consider this important factor, so your gift does not become a burden. Dehydrators come in a range in both size and shape. Some food dehydrators are much larger and will take up much more counter space when in use and will take up more storage space. When purchasing a dehydrator as a gift for someone, it is important to consider how much space they have for both use and storage.
Benefits of Purchasing a Food Dehydrator
Safety
The way a food dehydrator works is that it uses heat to dry-out foods by reducing their water content. When moisture is removed from foods, bacteria is less likely to grow and spoil food, so dehydrating foods is an effective food preservation strategy.
Storage
Reducing moisture also reduces the weight and density of food, which is great for compact storage. Dehydrated foods should be stored in cool, dry, dark areas. and can have a shelf life of up to one year.
Taste
Dehydrating food can concentrate the flavors in foods. Dried fruit or vegetable chips make for tasty snacks!
Cost Savings
Preserving food from your garden is a cost savings, especially compared to buying organic produce. Purchasing a dehydrator would be a great choice for the gardener on your list and it certainly will be a gift that keeps on giving!