A good food dehydrator can give you both better health and better finances.
Here we list six reasons to make food drying a habit in the kitchen!
A modern food dehydrator is designed to dry all kinds of foods: fruit, berries, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, flowers, and fish for those who want.
They are easy to use and inexpensive to operate.
Only your imagination limits what you can dry and preserve in a way that retains both nutrition and flavor in seasonal goods.
In late summer, it can be a good time to dry blueberries and mushrooms you find in the forest. Below are some simple tips and recipes for that!
1. Drying offers new taste experiences
If you use a food dehydrator to dry foods like fruit, vegetables, and berries, a naturally concentrated flavor is created that can be used for tasty snacks, as a side dish, or as an extra seasoning in stews, on porridge, in desserts, and other recipes.
Simple fruits can be transformed into healthy candy.
Vegetables can become tasty chips, burgers, raw food pizza, homemade herb or soup blends with herbs and garlic. The possibilities are endless.
2. Drying food reduces food waste and extends shelf life
Never waste food again. If you dry leftover fruit and vegetables in a food dehydrator, you can extend their shelf life up to 2 years.
This is perfect if, for example, you harvest food from your own garden or the forest when it’s in season. Or why not buy larger batches at the grocery store when it’s in season and stock your pantry with summer’s or autumn’s ingredients in dried form?
It’s both cheaper and more fun than buying pre-dried food in the store.
Dried food can also be “rehydrated” with water or added directly to soups, stews, or pasta sauces.
3. Healthy and 100% natural foods
Drying food requires only one ingredient; the food you are drying.
This way you can be sure of what you and your family are eating without having to scrutinize ingredient lists or worry about hidden additives (e.g., sugar, citric acid, and sulfur dioxide are common additives in dried fruit).
4. Better finances
Pre-packaged snacks can be expensive, and organic dried food as well. You can save a lot of money by drying your own food.
Feel free to buy fresh foods in bulk when they are in season or harvest your own ingredients and dry them for later storage.
5. Efficient storage
Dried foods take up less than one-sixth of their original storage space and don’t consume electricity like a fridge or freezer.
Just pack the food in clean, dry containers and store them in your pantry.
Reduction in size and weight means dried food is especially perfect for camping, hiking, or emergency supplies.
6. Best results with a good dehydrator
A good dehydrator is both safe and incredibly easy to use.
Key components for successful drying are even temperature and good airflow around the food.
Unlike other preservation and drying methods, the risk of bacterial growth is very low.
With a dehydrator, you just need to place appropriately sized pieces on the trays, set the timer, and "forget" the food until it’s done and the dehydrator turns off by itself.
Could it be any easier?
How to dry blueberries and mushrooms this fall
There are plenty of blueberries and mushrooms in our Nordic forests. Pick a large amount and dry them for autumn and winter.
Here are some simple tips on how to dry blueberries (or any other berries) and mushrooms for the best results.
Tips for drying blueberries and other berries in a dehydrator
Blueberries are one of our Nordic "superberries" packed with nutrition and health-promoting properties.
Wild berries are said to be especially nutritious and full of vitality that we want to preserve and enjoy year-round.
Blueberries have very high antioxidant levels. The main antioxidant compounds in blueberries belong to a family of polyphenols called flavonoids.
Polyphenols are said to help counter harmful gut bacteria and reduce the risk of inflammation. Blueberries also contain anthocyanins and carotenoids; anthocyanins give blueberries their blue color.
They also contain a lot of vitamins and minerals.
The easiest way: Dried whole berries or berry powder.
Spread fresh berries on the drying trays and dry at around 40°C for about 12 hours or until completely dry.
If you want to make a powder from them, you can now process the dried berries in a food processor to the desired size.
Store in a dry place protected from light for up to two years. Then use in smoothies, baked goods, porridge, etc.
Blueberry candy: Make delicious strips with different flavors
To make fruit & berry strips, simply blend blueberries with your choice of other fruits, herbs, or spices into a batter, which you then spread out and dry.
Very simple and very tasty!
Two different flavors of blueberry strips*:
Blueberry/Licorice strips
- 6 dl blueberries
- 1.5 tbsp liquid honey or liquid coconut sugar
- 2 tsp licorice root powder
- 1 pinch natural salt (or more to taste)
Blueberry/Vanilla strips
- 4 dl blueberries
- 1 banana
- 10 pitted dates
- 1 tsp real vanilla powder
Instructions:
- Blend all ingredients into a batter.
- Spread evenly and thinly on a silicone mat or baking paper on a drying tray (or several).
- Dry for 6-8 hours at 40°C.
- Take out the trays, place an empty tray on top of the mixture, and flip everything over, then carefully peel off the silicone mat or baking paper. The point here is to place the entire mixture, which hopefully has now hardened into a "sheet," onto a drying tray without paper or mat.
- Dry again for 6-8 hours at 40°C until you get a really chewy texture and they are dry on the surface.
- Take out of the oven, cut into narrow strips, and roll into rolls. Store in a dry and cool place.
*****You can easily make raspberry, mango, or strawberry strips with the same base recipe – just replace the blueberries with whatever you want and do the same.
How to dry mushrooms in a drying oven
Almost all edible mushrooms are well suited for drying.
They develop a concentrated and fine mushroom flavor that is perfect for enhancing the taste in all kinds of recipes, and they keep very well if stored dry.
This is important to keep in mind when drying mushrooms
- Only dry whole and clean mushrooms – that is, remove mushrooms that look old or damaged.
- Cut larger mushrooms into slices about 0.5 cm thick.
- Spread out on drying trays without drying cloth for the best airflow.
- Dry at around 50°C for 8-10 hours – this applies to most mushroom varieties.
- Preferably store in an airtight glass jar if they are to be kept for a long time. Note: it is important that the mushrooms are completely dry before you pack them.
Here you can read more about our drying ovens. We are also happy to answer any questions about them, so don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Here you can buy ready-made blueberry powder if you want to make it easy for yourself. 😉
About our ready-made blueberry powders:
Holistics' blueberry powder comes from the Nordic region and is wild blueberries of the species Vaccinium myrtillus. The most common variety.
Vimergy's blueberry powder is a different type of blueberry, so-called "lowbush" blueberries of the species Vaccinium angustifolium, wild-harvested in Canada. They are rarer and also more expensive.
