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Dehydration is an ancient method of preserving food. In this method, food ingredients are chopped into thin pieces which are then dried by exposing them to the sun and wind. In fact, this method is much more effective than refrigeration. With a fridge, your food can go bad in case of an extended duration of power outage. But the gains of sun drying food can never be lost. This is because the process causes the water present in the food to dry out, which in return creates unfavorable grounds for bacteria to accumulate.
However, drying food in the sun is actually a lengthy process that takes several days. The other challenge is that drying food outside in the sun exposes them to dust that might contain disease causing bacteria. An electronic food dehydrator was invented to counter these shortcomings. The American harvest dehydrator offers a quick turnaround time by drying food in a clean environment. Let’s now look at the benefits of owning this amazing kitchen appliance.
Saves you Money
There is no guarantee of saving money when you don’t have a dehydrator in your home. This is because you will only utilize the food you are able to consume within a short duration of days and then throw away the rest after it has gone bad. Even if you have a giant size fridge, there are days when the food will go bad due to blackouts. This means you will have to shop for certain groceries every other week. Considering that the price of certain food items tends to go up during the offseason, you will end up spending a lot of money on those items. But when you invest in a dehydrator, you will be able to take advantage by buying food items when they are in season as they are sold at a throw away price. The good thing is that dehydrated food can last up to 2 years.
Helps in Preserving Food Naturally
Some people will tell you that you don’t have to buy a dehydrator because you can buy readily dried food at the grocery store or local convenience store. The problem is that such foods are usually preserved using certain chemicals to make them retain their color. Some of the additives pose a great risk to your health. But when you own a dehydrator, you will eat dried food with peace of mind because you did not use any chemicals. And since there are no chemical preservatives, you end up indulging in healthy food because the nutrients are still intact in their natural state.
Convenience
Dehydrated food can be eaten in raw form or blended with soup to soften them. They actually take less time to cook. The other benefit is that they are yummy than those that are not dehydrated. Meat in particular is yummier when dehydrated because it loses water. And that’s not all. If you are a camper or a hiker, you obviously know that fresh food is heavy to carry. The extra weight is caused by weight. The food also tends to be bulky, meaning it requires more storage space. But when it’s chopped into tiny chips, you can carry tones of it in a small container.
Easy to use
You don’t require special skills to be able to operate an electronic dehydrator. In fact, you don’t need anything else except the food to be dried and the dehydrator. To get started, simply wash your food, chop it into small pieces, arrange them in trays positioned in a chamber and press the power button. To avoid damaging the nutrients, it’s recommended that you don’t exceed heat settings beyond 35 degrees Celsius. In case the food gets extremely dry, you can sprinkle some water on it to prevent it from breaking into crumbs.
