Food dehydrators are an ideal way to preserve your food for the long term and avoid all those chemical preservatives that come with commercially prepared dried goods. Dehydrated foods are healthier, easier to store and come with no added chemicals. They also last much longer than their dehydrated counterparts in the market.
When you have such an essential appliance at home, there’s nothing more satisfying than just taking out some fresh produce from our pantry only minutes before dinner is supposed to be served.
Dehydrating right in front of your eyes makes healthy dishes even healthier and promotes their longevity too because no extra moisture gets absorbed by heat during processing which can cause spoilage over time plus drying reduces weight considerably.
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Table of Contents
The benefit of a Food Dehydrator
It is a popular and healthy alternative to canned or packaged goods. Using a dehydrator, you can make your own meals by drying fruits, vegetables, meat and even more. The best thing about this method of cooking is all the minerals that have evaporated into each individual piece which makes them taste better than ever before- plus it’s budget-friendly because everything costs less when made at home.
Types of Food Dehydrator
There are two types of food dehydrators: vertical and horizontal. Vertical models have fans that help circulate air around your ingredients while they’re cooking, which in turn heats them up slowly over time to kill bacteria and other microbes.
This also causes moisture loss from the product as water vapour condenses onto its surface due to normal breathing processes as long as there’s no exposure to high heat levels (anything above about 120 Celsius). Horizontal ones work by pulling hot air through channels on both sides so all parts come into contact with warm airflow before reaching any cooling vents at the base or top.
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What features make a good dehydrator?
Temperature range: Dehydration temperature is important for preserving the nutritional value and taste of food. Dehydrators come in all shapes and sizes, but some of the most popular are large-scale models that can handle up to 1000 pounds at once.
These types require a higher level of maintenance than their smaller counterparts since they’re prone to burning out faster without proper care or cooling strategies which may mean you need two. One type is ideal for making jerky or drying delicate herbs while another has more narrow temperature ranges like 160℉ up until around 200°F (or 68 °C). For safety’s sake, we recommend keeping intervals small when first starting out; although one unit might be hard on programming settings
Programmable timers : Dehydrators are an excellent way to preserve food, and they come in many different shapes. One of the most basic types is a “programmable timer” which turns on when it’s plugged in then shuts off after one hour without being unplugged; other more sophisticated models can have timers set at predetermined times like every morning or overnight so you don’t need to worry about leaving your machine running while you’re not home!
Sizes of dehydrator : A dehydrator’s footprint or the amount of usable space it takes up in your home is important for many reasons. However, if you have a small kitchen and don’t want to give up valuable counter-top real estate then consider investing in one with smaller trays that can be placed on different levels since food will shrink as soon at its exposed moistures evaporate during drying process – this allows more vertical room allocation without needing an increased size!
The footprint of a rectangular-shaped dehydrator is much smaller than that of round models. The space inside these small compartments can be used as well, making them more useful for drying food and shrinking it down into something you’ll actually want.
The Best Food Dehydrator NZ
1. Sunbeam Food Lab Electronic Dehydrator
It is the best dehydrator for making dried fruits, vegetables and jerky. It has a black square design with an LCD control panel and six large-sized drawers. The adjustable shelf height feature allows you to place taller items on the trays.
The Sunbeam Food Dehydrator is a powerful tool for preserving food. It has a compact design and can be used to dry fruits, vegetables, and more. The dehydrator features six large drawers that are adjustable for different heights of food. These drawers have air vents that allow airflow throughout the unit to provide even drying. A digital control panel allows you to set the temperature from 35 degrees to 70 degrees and it also includes an automatic timer.
2. Cuisinart Food Dehydrator
This five-tray food & Vegi dehydrator is great for preserving your favourite items and has the ability to stack up as high as 5 trays, which means you can preserve more than one batch at a time. The 620 watts powered fan circulates hot air from below upwards towards all of those delicious treats so they don’t get too crispy or mouldy before their time.
The food dehydrator’s adjustable temperature knob lets you set the controls for a low level at about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and high of about 175. Excess heat is released through several holes in its lid which are useful when making fruit leather or other items that require long term preservation like jerky.
3. Healthy Choice 6 Rack Dehydrator
This Healthy Choice Food Dehydrator with Adjustable Thermostat is the perfect kitchen appliance for drying fruits, vegetables and herbs. With an adjustable thermostat range of 35°C – 70°C, this food dehydrator can be used to preserve foods at different temperatures.
The transparent view slide door allows you to monitor the progress of your food while it is being dried. This food dehydrator features a 420-500 Watts heating element that dries food quickly without any added fat or oil.
4. Sunbeam Food Dehydrator
This Sunbeam DT5600 is a round-shaped food dehydrator that can be used to dry fruits, vegetables and meat. It comes with 5 stackable drying racks that provide ample space to dry the food items. It has a convection fan that helps in the circulation of air inside the appliance for even drying of food items. It also has 3 heat settings so you can choose from low, medium and high depending on how much time you have or what your requirement is.
5. Heller 500W Digital Dehydrator
This Heller is a multi-tier electric food dehydrator. It has five removable stackable food trays that are adjustable, allowing you to create the desired drying conditions for fruits, vegetables and herbs. An electronic thermostat allows you to adjust the temperature up to 180ºF. It is easy to clean. This device has an LCD display that shows you the temperature and time settings during operation.
6. Kogan 6 Tray Food Dehydrator with Timer
This Kogan Electric Food Dehydrator comes with 6 stackable trays that are removable and easy to clean. The height is adjustable so you can adjust it to suit your needs. It has 3 buttons on the front and allows you to control temperature settings easily.
7. Maxkon Food Dehydrator
The Maxkon dehydrator is a multi-functional, fast and easy-to-use kitchen appliance that’s ideal for drying fruits, vegetables and other foods. The Maxkon food dehydrator features 6 trays with adjustable height settings, ensuring you can dry different shapes of fruits and vegetables at the same time.
The digital temperature preset settings range from 35℃-70℃ allowing you to choose the right setting for your food. The 360° airflow circulation technology provides even airflow around each piece of fruit or vegetable.