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Several Important Characteristics Of An Electric Food Dehydrator
Electric Food Dehydrators are available in all forms of shapes and sizes varying widely in both quality and price.
A compact, low cost food dehydrator which costs between $30 and $40 will have the heating source located in the bottom of the appliance and it could take up to 3 days to dry certain kinds of foods.
This may be all right for the occasional use and will be ideal for keeping the kids entertained for a few hours.
If however you are trying to find a more substantive and reliable system to preserve food either for snacks, camping, backpacking or survival situations then you really must count on paying more for a superior model.
My husband always says - "Find the Best for the Least"
What you will be looking for is a dehydrator that provides fast, even and nutritious drying of food.
Here is a list of the benefits and features that the higher priced, top of the range, electric food dehydrators offer.
A top mounted fan so that fluids do not drip on to the heater chamber.
1000 watts of electric power delivering a quicker drying time for larger amounts of food.
Air flow system which forces heated air down the exterior pressurized chamber, and then horizontally over each individual rack for quick, even and nourishing drying.
Absolutely no flavor mixing.
Drying pressures adapting automatically to the variable range of trays.
Opaque exterior which blocks light to help retain more of the foods vitamins and nutrients throughout the drying process.
Expandable to meet your needs. You might initially buy a four tray system but discover that you could make use of more drying space. With an expandable system it is simple to add more trays, for example 20 trays giving you 20 square feet of drying room.
The question that you need to ask yourself is, which of these features can I do without while still delivering fast, even and healthy food.
My short list of essentials for my electric food dehydrator would be as follows: top mounted fan, opaque exterior, horizontal air-flow, expandable tray system, variable drying pressures and also I would opt for a moderately fast drying system.
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