There are a number of BPA-free plastic dehydrators on the market, but they may not be dishwasher safe if that’s important to you. Materials: Dehydrators can be made of plastic or metal. Side Note: One of the benefits of some of the stackable models is that you can add and subtract trays to fit your current batch. If you are only going to dehydrate a few days’ worth of food at a time for weekend trips, you can get away with a smaller capacity unit. If you need to dry a lot in a shorter period of time, you will want to look at models with higher capacities.
These are less efficient and can result in uneven drying unless you reshuffle the order of the trays periodically, but they are usually less expensive.Ĭapacity: Consider how much food you will be dehydrating. Stackable dehydrators have their fans and heating elements on the top or bottom of the unit, which then blows air up or down through an open column in the middle of the trays (vertical flow). This tends to be more efficient and results in more even drying. (It’s dry when it’s dry, regardless of how long it “should” take.)įan position: Front loading dehydrators have their fan and heating element in the back of the machine and will blow the hot air across the trays (horizontal flow). We personally find this feature to be unnecessary, especially since drying times can differ so dramatically. On/off timer: Some dehydrators have a programmable timer that will allow you to automatically shut down the machine after a given amount of time. In order to safely dehydrate different types of ingredients, you need to be able to choose the right temperature. Here are some things to consider as well as a few of our top recommendations.Īdjustable temperature settings: In our opinion, this feature is non-negotiable. There are a ton of different models, features, and price points to choose from. Plus, dehydrated food packs down to a fraction of its freeze-dried counterpart.īuying your first dehydrator can be a bit overwhelming. Weight and Space Savings: Dehydrating your food will dramatically reduce its weight while retaining its nutritional value. Preserve Perishables: Some foods would be impossible to safely bring backpacking without preserving them through dehydration, such as meat and fresh produce. This is particularly true for grains, legumes, and vegetables. Over time, dehydrating your own meals allows you to dramatically reduce the cost per meal.įaster Cooking Times: By preparing dehydrated food at home you need less time (and fuel) to rehydrate it in the field. Lower Cost: Relying exclusively on store-bought backpacking meals can cost a small fortune. Less salt? More protein? Gluten-free? You decide! Dehydrating your own backpacking meals allows you to control the final product.
You can expand your backpacking menu by making your own meals.Ĭontrol Nutritional Profile: Everyone has different nutritional needs. If you’re interested in getting into food dehydrating or want to expand your knowledge about the process, then this guide is for you! We will walk you through everything so you can start dehydrating and storing meals for your next backpacking trip.ĭiversify Your Meal Options: There are only so many store-bought backpacking meal options available, and not all of them sound very tasty. It is also a lot of fun and pretty easy to learn. It has opened up an entirely new world of meal options and has reduced our price per meal. But, after picking up our Nesco dehydrator a few years ago, we realized how wrong we were!ĭehydrating has completely changed the way we approach food in the backcountry. We didn’t know anything about dehydrating and we thought it was going to be way too complicated to learn. We resisted buying a food dehydrator for years, relying exclusively on store-bought ingredients for backpacking trips. Everything you need to know to start dehydrating your own backpacking meals: the benefits of dehydrating food, what ingredients dehydrate the best, proper food handling procedures, the best way to store dehydrated food, and much more!