Food Dehydrators Buying Guide (2024)

Dehydrators remove moisture from food without cooking it. This is accomplished by circulating air at very low temperatures using a fan that draws air in through the bottom or back of the unit and across the trays of food inside.

By simply removing the moisture, dehydrators help increase the shelf life of foods while maintaining a high nutritional value and intensifying their best flavors. This means that your recipes using dried foods can be healthier and more flavorful!

Benefits of a Dehydrator

Using a dehydrator can help increase food transparency in your restaurant because you know how your food is processed. Read on to learn about the health benefits of adding dehydrated foods to your menu, the cost savings and sustainability associated with dehydrators, and their ease of operation.

• Health Benefits: Drying foods helps to preserve the natural nutrients that they contain. Since dehydrators simply remove the moisture from food, they leave behind more healthy vitamins and enzymes. Plus, commercially prepared dried or canned foods often include salt or sulfur-based preservatives that can cause health issues for some consumers. Some also include monosodium glutamate (MSG) which many people are sensitive to, while others have added sugar that is not only unnecessary but also unhealthy. When using a dehydrator to make your own dried fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, or other foods, you can choose which additives to include (or exclude) from your recipes.
• Cost Savings: By drying and preserving excess foods for use in recipes or as healthy snacks to sell, you can use up products that might otherwise go to waste. Dried food has a longer shelf life than fresh foods, so you can buy it in bulk and not worry about throwing away the excess. In addition, some dried foods or ingredients can be expensive to purchase pre-made. If your budget is tight, choosing to buy fresh foods and dry them yourself could help you save money in the long run.
  
• Ease of Use: While some trial and error is necessary to find a recipe you like since the drying process is so slow, it is difficult to ruin a batch of food beyond repair. Many manufacturers offer in-depth resources that can help you properly prepare, dry, store, and utilize different types of foods, making it easy to get started.

• Wattage: The lower the wattage, the less energy an appliance uses, but the longer it takes to heat up and do its job. Higher wattage units will heat up more quickly and are more powerful, but they may also be more expensive to purchase and run. For more information about wattage and electrical terms, see our helpful guide to amps, volts, and watts.
• Size and Space: Pick a dehydrator that fits your space. Consider the unit's dimensions - top to bottom, front to back, and side to side - to make sure it's going to fit in the spot you've chosen.
• Capacity: Since drying food takes a long time, you'll want to make sure that the unit you choose can keep up with the demand of your operation. If you are only drying a few herbs for cooking, a small dehydrator will suffice. If you want to start a jerky business, you may need several large commercial units to handle the volume.
• Materials: Many commercial dehydrators have a durable stainless steel construction to make sure they can take a beating in a restaurant environment. If you won't use your dehydrator frequently or if the price is a concern, models with a less expensive plastic body are available.
• Timers: Many dehydrators come with a simple on/off switch, which is great when you can keep a close eye on the drying process. If you'd prefer to load the unit up and forget about it, a model with a built-in timer is a great choice. Some units even have automatic shut-off features that make it easy to dry foods overnight without over-drying them.
• Stackable: If you need more capacity but don't have the floor space for a large unit, consider choosing a stackable countertop dehydrator. By purchasing multiple units that can stack together, you'll use the available vertical space to your advantage and not cut into high-traffic areas.

Depending on the food dehydrator you choose, you can dry fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, herbs, and flowers. Dehydrators are great for making house specialties like granola, fruit leather, or dried fruit, but they can also be used for recipes that are otherwise difficult to make. For Indonesian tempeh, Japanese natto, fresh yogurt, and other foods that require constant low, warm temperatures for an extended time, a dehydrator is an easy-to-use, low-cost way to start expanding your menu into these areas.

When choosing between different dehydrators, be aware that round-style dehydrators are best for drying solid items like fruits, herbs, and meats. They're great for drying but don't do well with pans of yogurt or liquid products like fruit leathers.

Cut food no more than 1/4" thick and spread in a single layer on a tray for the most efficient drying. The chart below lays out some commonly-processed food in a dehydrator, along with some of the best ways to prepare them, the ideal temperatures for drying them, and a general idea of how long the process might take.

Keep in mind that the times listed are approximate and you may experience different results. Several factors can modify the drying times of various foods - ambient temperatures and humidity, the moisture level in the food, and how the food is prepared are some of the biggest.