Is A Food Dehydrator Worth The Investment For Home Cooks?

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For thousands of years, people have dried food as a means of preservation. When you remove the water from fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc., you remove what microorganisms need to live and spoil that food. You're also concentrating on that food's nutrients as well as its flavor. It's safe to say that's a win. The question is whether you actually need a dedicated dehydrator to do this. After all, they certainly haven't been around for thousands of years — people have used everything from the sun to their ovens as time and technology advanced. Is a dehydrator necessary enough to justify the investment?

If you have an air fryer, it's worth wondering if you need a dehydrator, too. All dehydrating food requires is the ability to treat food with low, steady heat and proper ventilation. Your air fryer provides this, and you can even still use the good old-fashioned oven. Food dehydrators take up counter space, but are relatively affordable. When we ranked the best food dehydrators, our top pick was pricier at around $220 to $250, but our third pick was just $60, and you can find models for under $40. So, the cons of buying a dehydrator are: It's an extra expense, and it takes up some space. But the pros? You don't have to spend much; you can find compact models, and dehydrators are undeniably more efficient than air fryers and ovens. It all boils down to how much food you dry.

If you think you might try the homemade beef jerky recipe, an air fryer might not be worthwhile for you, especially if you have a smaller kitchen and are short on counter space. But if you're interested in creating more healthy and delicious snacks of the dried variety, that's a different story. A food dehydrator makes it irresistibly easy to slice up fruits and veggies and make snacks on even a daily basis for you and the whole family. Once you see how quick and convenient it is, you're more likely to pop in herbs and level up some of your favorite recipes. And if you're a home mixologist, a food dehydrator is the next must-have for your toolkit. You can dry all kinds of fruits and herbs for gorgeous garnishes that are tasty little bites. This is how professional bartenders keep their garnishes sustainable — they take things like leftover citrus from juices they make and dry their peels to make them last longer as fragrant, drink-enhancing finishing touches.

If you're interested in the snacks, ingredients, garnishes, and even pet treats you can make with a food dehydrator, you can nab a well-reviewed model for under $60 like this Magic Mill Food Dehydrator Machine, and suddenly you'll find yourself with an easy, fun, mouthwatering, healthy, sustainable habit. You can overcome the small kitchen hurdle, too, with genius appliance storage hacks that maximize counter space.