A good food dehydrator can give you both better health and better economy.
Here we list six reasons to make food dehydration a habit in your kitchen!
A modern food dehydrator is designed to dry all sorts of foods: fruit, berries, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, flowers, and fish for those who want to.
They are easy to use and inexpensive to operate.
Only your imagination sets the limit for what you can dry and preserve in a way that retains both nutrition and flavor in seasonal products.
In late summer, it might be the perfect time to dry blueberries and mushrooms that you find in the forest. Below are some simple tips and recipes for that!
1. Dehydration creates new flavor experiences
When you use a food dehydrator to dry foods like fruits, vegetables, and berries, it creates a naturally concentrated flavor that can be used for tasty snacks, as accompaniments, or as extra seasoning in stews, on porridge, in desserts, and other recipes. Simple fruits can be transformed into healthy candy. Vegetables can become delicious chips, burgers, raw food pizza, homemade herb or soup mixes with herbs and garlic. The possibilities are endless.
2. Dehydrating food reduces waste and extends shelf life
Never waste food again. By dehydrating leftover fruits and vegetables, you can extend their shelf life up to 2 years. This is perfect if you harvest food from your own garden or forage in the forest during the growing season. Or why not buy larger quantities at the grocery store when seasonal and fill your pantry with summer or autumn produce in dried form? It's both cheaper and more fun than buying pre-dried products from stores. Dried food can also be "rehydrated" with water or added directly to soups, stews, or pasta sauces.
3. Healthy and 100% natural foods
Food dehydration requires just one ingredient: the food you're drying. This way, you can be confident about what you and your family are consuming without having to scrutinize ingredient lists or worry about hidden additives (e.g., sugar, citric acid, and sulfur dioxide are common additives in commercially dried fruit).
4. Better economy
Store-bought snacks can be expensive, and organic dried food likewise. You can save a lot of money by dehydrating your own food. Consider buying fresh produce in bulk when it's in season or harvest your own ingredients and dry them for later storage.
5. Efficient storage
Dehydrated foods take up less than one-sixth of their original storage space and don't consume electricity for refrigeration or freezing. Simply pack the food in clean, dry containers and store them in your pantry. The reduction in size and weight means that dried food is particularly perfect for camping, hiking, or emergency supplies.
6. Best results with a good food dehydrator
A good food dehydrator is both safe and incredibly simple to use. Important components for successful dehydration 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 food dehydrator, you only need to place appropriately sized pieces on the trays, set the timer, and "forget about" the food until it's ready and the dehydrator turns itself off automatically. Could it be any easier?
How to dry blueberries and mushrooms in autumn
There are plenty of blueberries and mushrooms in our Nordic forests. Gather a larger amount and dry them for the fall and winter. Here are some simple tips for how you can dry blueberries (or any other berries) and mushrooms for the best results.
Tips for drying blueberries and other berries in a food dehydrator
Blueberries are one of our Nordic "superberries" with loads of nutrients and health-promoting properties. Wild berries are said to be especially nutritious and filled with vitality that we want to preserve and enjoy year-round. Blueberries have very high antioxidant levels. The most important antioxidant compounds in blueberries belong to a family of polyphenols called flavonoids. Polyphenols are said to counteract harmful gut bacteria and reduce the risk of inflammation. Blueberries also contain anthocyanins and carotenoids, it's the anthocyanins that give blueberries their blue color. They also contain many vitamins and minerals.
Simplest method: Dried whole berries or berry powder
Spread fresh berries on the dehydrator trays and dry at around 40°C for about 12 hours or until they are completely dry. If you want to make a powder, you can now process the dry berries in a food processor to your desired consistency. Store in a dry place protected from light for up to two years. Use in smoothies, baked goods, porridge, etc.
Blueberry candy:
Make delicious fruit leathers with different flavors
To make fruit & berry leathers, simply blend blueberries with any other fruits, herbs, or spices into a mixture, which you then spread out and dry. Very simple and very delicious!
Two different flavors of blueberry leathers: Blueberry/Licorice Leathers*
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 Leathers
4 dl blueberries
1 banana
10 pitted dates
1 tsp real vanilla powder
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients into a batter.
Spread evenly and thinly on a silicone sheet or baking paper on a dehydrator tray (or several).
Dry for 6-8 hours at 40°C.
Remove the trays, place an empty tray on top of the mixture and flip everything over, then carefully remove the silicone sheet or baking paper. The point here is to transfer the entire mixture, which hopefully has now hardened into a "sheet," onto a dehydrator tray without paper or sheet on it.
Dry for another 6-8 hours at 40°C until you get a really chewy consistency and they're dry on the surface.
Remove from the dehydrator, cut into thin strips and roll into rolls. Store in a cool, dry place.
**You can easily make raspberry, mango, or strawberry leathers with the same base recipe – just replace the blueberries with whatever you prefer and follow the same method.
How to dry mushrooms in a food dehydrator
Almost all edible mushrooms are well-suited for dehydration. They develop a concentrated and fine mushroom flavor that's perfect for enhancing the taste in all kinds of recipes, and they keep very well if stored in a dry place.
This is important to keep in mind when drying mushrooms
Only dry whole and clean mushrooms – meaning remove any mushrooms that look old or damaged.
Cut larger mushrooms into slices, approximately 0.5 cm thick.
Spread them out on dehydrator trays without a drying sheet to get the best airflow.
Dry at around 50°C for 8-10 hours – this applies to most types of mushrooms.
Preferably store in an airtight glass jar if they will be kept for a long time. Note: it's important that the mushrooms are completely dry before you pack them.
You can read more about our food dehydrators from Sedona. We're 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 is from the Nordic region and consists of wild blueberries of the species Vaccinium myrtillus. The most common variety.
Vimergy's blueberry powder is another type of blueberry, so-called "lowbush" blueberries of the species Vaccinium angustifolium, harvested wild in Canada. They are rarer and also more expensive.
