What is a food dehydrator and how does it work? A food dehydrator is a household device designed for the drying of food. The drying, or food dehydration, process involves the removal of water from a food in order to aid in its preservation.
The amount of water in foods like meats, fruits, and vegetables is generally very high. The removal of water content in these foods will improve their shelf life and will reduce the chance bacteria growth and spoiling.
Food dehydrators operate by using three components:
1. Fan
2. Heating Element
3. Air Vents
In the dehydration process these three components all work together to extract the moisture from food. The heating element increases food temperature causing the evaporation of the moisture within, and the fan pushes that moisture out of the dehydrator through air vents. This process then repeats for an extended period of time until the water content within the food is low enough for its expected use, whether that be consumption or storage.
Advantages of Food Dehydrators
The amount of water in foods like meats, fruits, and vegetables is generally very high. The removal of water content in these foods will improve their shelf life and will reduce the chance bacteria growth and spoiling.
Food dehydrators operate by using three components:
1. Fan
2. Heating Element
3. Air Vents
In the dehydration process these three components all work together to extract the moisture from food. The heating element increases food temperature causing the evaporation of the moisture within, and the fan pushes that moisture out of the dehydrator through air vents. This process then repeats for an extended period of time until the water content within the food is low enough for its expected use, whether that be consumption or storage.
Advantages of Food Dehydrators
- Food dehydrators allows you to dry foods in the comfort of your own home at a fraction of the cost that you would pay buying dried foods at your local store.
- Dehydrating foods are a lot cheaper and more space convenient than canning or freezing foods.
- Dehydrated foods provide you with decade’s worth of shelf-life.
- The amount of food lost to spoliation is substantially reduced.
- Gives you control over the quality of food you consume.
- Eliminates harmful preservatives and additives.
- Dried foods contain higher nutritional values than cooked foods.