Factors to consider when purchasing a Food Dehydrator, unlike many home appliances, the reviews on dehydrators are widely unanimous. The majority of review I read not only agreed on which features are best but came to the same conclusion on which machine is best.
Shape
Round: They (the reviewers) don’t like round dehydrators and have very little to say about them. The design tends to waste space and the center is unusable as it is where the air flows from. If you are drying plums you might not find this troubling as they are round and smaller, but if you are drying jerky, wrapping large chunks of meat around the center air flow a bit of a challenge.
Square: The preferred choice. It has more usable space than do round, plain and simple. It also is more practical to store.
Fan Position & Air Flow
Fan: is required, without a fan the temperature can vary to drastically to get worthwhile results.
Side Fan Position & Horizontal Flow: Seems to be the preferred choice. A fan in the side is the only way to get Horizontal Air Flow, which comes in handy when you are drying multiple varieties of food items. Strawberries dried downwind from jerky won’t taste good, then again, up wind makes an interesting flavor of jerky.
Bottom Fan Position & Vertical Flow: A fan at the bottom may seem to make sense as hot air naturally rises, but it also means harder clean up as the food juices drip on the fan. Vertical air flow also causes cross - contamination of flavors, as discussed above.
Top Fan & Vertical Flow: Easier Clean up than Bottom Fan, but still has the issue of cross-contamination. No real plus, more of a neutral.
Price
Most dehydrators fall into the $40-$250, anything less than $75 is considered not worth your money.
Features
Timer: A timer allows you to start a batch of food and then leave for work, a day of play, or a full nights rest. It isn’t always possible to run home and turn off the dehydrator 7 hours into the work day. A timer isn’t required; it just makes dehydration a lot more convenient.
Thermostat: Meats, herbs, fruits, and vegetables all require different temperatures to be properly preserved. Higher temperatures can destroy the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables.
Dehydrator Book
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