Food Dehydrators and What to Look for When Buying One

Have you ever wished that you could eat healthier? Maybe you've decided to go vegetarian - or even vegan - and now the question for you becomes, "What am I going to eat now?!" In the beginning you might try buying dried goods from health food stores, but it usually ends up being an expensive proposition over time. Thankfully for you, there could be a better solution: dehydrating your own food at home!

With so many different types and brands of food dehydrators on the market today, it can be difficult to know which one to choose. The truth is that it really helps to know what the main features are which are available to you, and how much you should spend.

Most people start using food dehydration for one of several reasons - either to lead a more healthy lifestyle, or simply to create their favorite foods at home. Many people often do it for both reasons. The advantages to dehydrating your own food at home are many though, and that includes having control over the foods you prepare, including the levels of salt and other seasonings. Plus there is the obvious cost advantage; a one-time payment for a food dehydrator easily outweighs the cost of repeated trips to the natural foods store to buy items in bulk at retail prices!

Traditionally, the most common method of dehydration was to use Mother Nature - curing food in the sun. This goes back to ancient times and is still by far the most popular way it is done in many parts of the world. This is changing, however, in our modern age, with the advances in technology. Now you can obtain a food dehydrator which you can plug into the wall and use any time of day or night, instead of being dependent on the weather. Plus, an indoor dehydration machine will make the whole process significantly faster for you! Most machines will come with one or several trays for food. You simply load up the trays as directed, flip the switch, and watch. Within no time you'll have healthily prepared foods, which have all the vitamins and minerals that are sorely lacking in conventionally cooked food.

So how do you choose the right food dehydrator? Well, I say from experience that it is best to avoid purchasing these items used from eBay, Craigslist or other resale channels. Sometimes these dehydrators can have damage or structural defects or damage from the former owner. Although you may not be able to tell until you receive the item, you should be able to do quite a bit of checking in advance. First of all, make sure the food dehydrator comes from a decent manufacturer, such as Excalibur. All too often, cheap knockoffs are available. While they will likely be cheaper, like most things in life you really do get what you pay for. That being said, there are many high quality options available in price ranges in the low hundreds. You also want to make sure that you order a model with enough trays to suit your cooking needs (and the size of your kitchen.) If you're planning to cook in large batches, go with a nine-tray machine. But if you don't cook as much, a couple trays will work just fine.

I hope this quick article was useful to you in your search for the perfect food dehydrator! With a little time and research, it will be easy for you to find the best fit for your needs.

Nelson Purceil is a recognized expert on consumer product shopping, and has worked as a marketer for multiple Fortune 500 companies. A great resource to learn more about the various types of food dehydrator as well as shopping is at GreenHealthZone.com.

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