How to Use a Tray Food Dehydrator

A tray food dehydrator is an appliance that dehydrates foods at home, without the use of an oven or smoker. The appliance comes in various styles. Some tray food dehydrators have stacking trays. With these models the user only needs to stack the amount of trays onto the appliance that will be needed. This might be one tray, or a dozen. There are also drawer models, where the trays pull out like a drawer. With these models, the user typically does not have the option to add onto the appliance.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Use quality produce with your dehydrator. For the best results, use fruits and vegetables that are at the peak of flavor and ripeness. Overripe or under ripe product will produce inferior results.

2. Estimate how much food you can process. For example, 1 lb. of produce will take approximately a square foot of tray space.

3. Clean and dry all produce and remove any spoiled areas. Meat may need to be heated to 160 degrees prior to processing. This can be done in an oven or steamed. (Refer to the link in Resources for more information on safely dehydrating meat.)

4. Cut the food in uniformly-sized pieces.

5. Note the recommended temperature for drying the food you will be processing. Fruits can be dried at 135 degrees. Vegetables can be dried at 130 degrees. Herbs can be dried between 95 and 105 degrees. Meat should be dehydrated at 145 degrees or more. Recommended temperatures may vary, depending on the type of produce you are processing.

6. Layout the pieces on each tray in a single layer. Do not overlap pieces.

7. Preheat the dehydrator before loading the trays. When the food is added, the humidity from the food will cause the temperature to drop. Set the temperature about five degrees higher than the recommended temperature. After a few hours, turn the temperature down to the recommended temperature.

Tips & Warnings

• Drying times vary, from 4 hours to 36 hours, depending on the food being processed.

Resources

• United States Department of Agriculture
• Using Dehydration to Preserve Fruits, Vegetables, and Meats

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