Most foods are Reasonably well suited to dehydrating in a food dehydrator. However, there are a few that are either not suggested for drying or need special treatment before dehydrating due to their content or composition or their inside flesh or outside skin. Below are some tips on dehydrating a Variety of items:
- Meats or foods which Contain high levels of fat are not suggested for drying in a dehydrator. First, the fat would not properly dry and be eliminated like the foods’ water. Secondly, article dehydration, the fat in these foods and the oxygen in air will combine to cause the food to spoil. The foods’ water could be removed through dehydration, but the fat does not. Therefore, high fat foods such as avocado, high fat ground beef or fatty fish are not suggested for preserving by means of a food dehydrator.
- Fruits with thicker Skins or wax coatings in their skins can be quite tricky to dry unless specific pre-dehydration remedies are used. Before drying, fruits such as blueberries, grapes or cranberries will need to have their skins cracked or cut to make openings through which the foods’ water may escape through desiccant pouch These foods’ skins work as a moisture retention buffer. Cracking the skins will accelerate the drying period and fortify the foods’ defense mechanisms.
- Blackberries and Raspberries are fruits which are typically too seedy to wash on a standalone basis. These fruits are best when used in conjunction with other fruits when making fruit leather.
- Vegetables like Potatoes, sweet potatoes and other food that you would not eat raw can be dehydrated. However, these foods require blanching or steaming as a pretreatment. Blanching is temporarily precooking vegetables in boiling water or Steam and it is used to shorten food drying time and kill organisms that may cause spoilage. Steaming is the preferred method as it is not nearly as Damaging to the veggies from a nutrient loss standpoint.