John Myers
Dehydrators are a practical thing. There are so many healthy recipes you can make with it. With the help of a dehydrator, food can be preserved within a few hours without chemical additives, and without destroying its vitamins, enzymes, and nutrients. We give you delicious suggestions on what you can conjure up with a dehydrator.
Drying and preserving food
A dehydrator is a great thing. You can use it to dry and preserve a wide variety of foods in a gentle way. Even if you have bought too much fruit or vegetables, you can simply dry them and keep them as a supply. So you always have healthy food for different dishes at home.
Food Dehydrator – Recipe Ideas
There are many ways you can use dehydrated foods in the kitchen. We would like to introduce you to a few:
Homemade dried fruit
Fruits such as apples, bananas, mangoes, pineapples, or grapes can simply be cut into small pieces and dried. They are ideal as a healthy snack between meals. Even dried desiccated coconut, apple or banana chips are also great for children.
Dehydrate vegetable chips yourself
But not only fruit can be enjoyed in the form of delicious chips – dried vegetables taste at least as good. Carrots, kohlrabi, beetroot, or sliced celery are particularly good for this. Seasoned with salt and pepper or together with a delicious avocado cream, they are the ultimate party snack. Here we reported about the own production of potato chips.
Soup insert in stock
Vegetable strips (leeks, onions, carrots, celery, or small mushrooms) can be easily transformed into a durable and healthy sauce or soup ingredient with a dehydrator. Cooked in a vegetable broth or together with some risotto rice, you can quickly prepare a delicious meal. Here we explain how to make your own vegetable broth.
Preserve seedlings and sprouts
Raw nuts and sprouted seeds can be soaked in water first and then allowed to sprout. The germination process creates many valuable vital substances inside the germ.
Sprouts and seedlings can also be dried and preserved with the help of a dehydrator. For example, you can grow a large number of sprouts and then dry them in order to have healthy superfoods rich in vital substances at home for a long time.
Try sprouted almonds, broccoli sprouts, or chickpeas. The imagination knows no limits. Dried sprouts taste delicious in a salad, in a soup, or as an ingredient in a green smoothie.
Flour from dried seedlings
With the help of a dehydrator, you can easily produce a healthy alternative to conventional flour – flour from sprouted seeds. Grain is allowed to germinate as described above and then dried. The dried, sprouted grain is great for grinding into a delicious flour that can be used for cooking and baking.
Muesli made from sprouts and fruits
With the help of a dehydrator, you can easily create your own muesli mix. Dried fruits taste great in combination with sprouted almonds and nuts – with almond milk for spooning or as an ingredient for a healthy dessert.
Weed smoothie made from dried ingredients
Sweet grasses such as wheat or barley grass are considered true superfoods. In addition to chlorophyll, they also contain a large number of other vital substances. Grasses can either be freshly pressed and enjoyed as a detoxifying grass drink, or you can buy ready-made grass powder which can be mixed with water.
Another option is to grow the grass yourself in large quantities and then dry it. The dried grasses can be processed into a smoothie together with fresh or dried leafy vegetables and fruit in water or fruit juice.
If you don’t always have access to fresh fruit and leafy vegetables, you can simply store the dehydrated smoothie ingredients at home.
These are just a few examples of how a dehydrator can be used. There a no limits to imagination. The great thing about a dehydrator is that you can dry food in a fairly short amount of time (6 to 8 hours typically).
Dehydrator Alternatives
If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can air-dry the food you want. However, it is important to ensure that the humidity is low, otherwise, the food will easily start to mold. In addition, direct sunlight should be avoided so that light-sensitive ingredients are not destroyed.
For example, thin slices of fruit can be tied to a string to dry, or you can spread a cloth on a grid and place the food on it. Air drying takes several days.
Another option is to turn the oven into a dehydrator. Some ovens can set low temperatures of around 38°C quite precisely and keep them constant.
Older models are usually not suitable for this. If the food is dried at over 40°C, heat-sensitive enzymes and vitamins are already damaged.
