If you are looking for a device that can provide healthy snacks, a dehydrator is going to be perfect for you! While they are relatively easy and straightforward to use, you may be asking yourself if it is possible to burn food in a dehydrator?
Can you burn things in a dehydrator? In a way, you can burn your food. For the process of dehydrating your food, you are more likely to over-dehydrate rather than burn the item out completely. Over dehydration is caused by excessive heat, overlapping, and dehydrating your food for too long.
If you want to make delicious and healthy snacks, the key will be learning how to use your new kitchen device properly. Below, you will find some of the most essential tips and tricks to help keep snack-making safe and delicious.
How to Over Dehydrate Food in Dehydrator
When it comes to cooking any type of food, there is always the possibility that you could accidentally dry the food to a point where it becomes inedible.
If the food reaches that point, unfortunately, the only choice is to throw it out! The best way to avoid this will be learning what causes over dehydration in the first place.
Excessive Heat
If you are a beginner with your dehydrator, one of the major mistakes people make is using excessive heat when drying out their foods. When you are drying out fruits, meats, or vegetables, you will want to use the recommended temperature to avoid over dehydrating your food.
Excessive Time
Another mistake individuals make with their dehydrator is exposing their food to higher temperatures for too long. When this happens, the food will over dehydrate and become un-edible.
To help avoid this, you will want to read a recipe and figure out how long a food item should go into the dehydrator.
Food Position
Last but not least, the position of your food items is going to be vital when cooking items in your dehydrator.
When you place your fruit or vegetable slices, you will need to load the tray so that there is space in between each piece. By doing this, it allows the air to circulate the pieces and dry each item equally.
Signs Your Food is Over Dehydrated
As mentioned before, the best practice for dehydrating food will be making sure you are following directions for proper temperature and proper cooking time. If you feel your food is over dried, there are a few characteristics you should watch out for.
Scent
The first characteristic of over dehydrated food is going to be the scent! When your food is over dehydrated, it is going to smell like it is burnt. If you smell burning coming from your dehydrator, you have more than likely left the food in for way too long.
Taste
If burning doesn’t trigger that something is wrong, you will want to taste your snack before you enjoy it. The best way to complete this will be taking one piece from the dehydrator and checking if it is cooked properly. If it tastes like it is burnt, it is most likely over dried.
Texture and Size
Last but not least, the texture and size of your food items could indicate if you have over dehydrated the food or not. If the snacks look too small and begin to crumble apart when you touch them, these are both signs that you have over-dried your snack.
If you have overdried your food, there are a few steps you will want to take.
First, check all of the pieces. While most of the food is most likely inedible and will need to be tossed, there is a chance that some of the pieces are still edible. If this is the case, save these pieces and store them properly.
You will also want to clean the trays of the dehydrator. When you over dehydrate food, it could lead to some of the pieces sticking to the tray. You will want to wash them thoroughly with soap and wipe clean before placing it back into your appliance.
Tips & Tricks to Dehydrating Food Properly
While yes, you can burn your food in your dehydrator, the best way you can avoid this is by learning proper cooking techniques when using your food dehydrator. Below, you will find some of the best tips and tricks to prevent yourself from over-drying your food.
Blanche Foods First
While not mandatory, blanching your food items before placing them into your dehydrator will lead to the best results. The blanching process destroys the enzymes in food and makes them last longer. You can complete this process in two different ways:
While not mandatory, blanching your food items before placing them into your dehydrator will lead to the best results. The blanching process destroys the enzymes in food and makes them last longer. You can complete this process in two different ways:
- Steam Blanching
- Water Blanching
By blanching your food before dehydrating, this can help you retain the flavor, and the color of the food, aids in the dehydrating process, and will help you keep the shelf life longer compared to fresh produce.
Cut Similar Sizes
A common mistake people make when they use their dehydrator is cutting their fruits and vegetables into several different sizes. If you are guilty of this, more than likely, the pieces are not going to dry evenly.
To help avoid this issue, you will want to cut your ingredients into a uniform size. If you are unable to do this, you will want to check the progress of your food items several different times.
As long as you keep an eye on the food, you should be able to catch the pieces that are finished before the others.
Dry Similar Foods
When you first purchase a dehydrator, it can be all too tempting to dehydrate anything and everything. As a rule, you will want to dry foods that are in the same family.
Unfortunately, when an ingredient has a different smell and taste, they mix together in the dehydrator and can come out tasting pretty gross.
To help avoid this situation, you will want to cook vegetables with other vegetables and fruits with other fruits. If an ingredient has a strong aroma, you will want to dry them by themselves. Some items you will definitely want to dry together would be foods like onions and garlic.
Place Device in Proper Room
When setting up your dehydrator, you will want to place it in a well-ventilated room. Some people do not realize that the drying process of a dehydrator creates higher levels of moisture. When this happens, a strong aroma could become overwhelming for some individuals.
If you are drying out foods that have intense aromas like hot peppers, this could irritate your eyes if the device is set in a room without proper ventilation. To help avoid this, make sure that the air can circulate properly around your machine.
Store Dehydrated Foods Properly
Last but not least, you will want to make sure that you are storing your snacks properly. When you spend so much time making a snack, you will want to store it in a dry container to help it last longer. The whole reason that these foods last longer is because they no longer have moisture in it.
If you fail to store your snack correctly, this will allow moisture to get into the container and proceed to spoil your snack. The best way to store your foods will be either in a glass jar or a sealed plastic container. For safe consumption, be sure to check on the stored food before eating.
As long as you follow the basic rules of dehydrating foods, you should have no problem! As said earlier, the devices are very straightforward, and you will have no issue making healthy and delicious snacks for you and your family!