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Kale Roundup - Six Recipes for Dehydrated Kale Chips

In the world of dehydrators, there might be nothing as "modern" as dehydrated kale chips. Before 2010, the idea was basically unheard of, but now you run into kale chip recipes everywhere online. Part of this popularity we think comes from more interest in healthy food generally. Kale, high in beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin K, and rich in calcium, definitely qualifies as a healthy food. But dehydrators add another key feature that we think makes kale chips even more popular – the ability to run at the low temperatures needed to make “raw” food.

How much does it cost to dehydrate food?

Electric meter showing kilowatt hours (credit Velo Steve)

Dehydrated food you make yourself costs a lot less than what you can buy at the store. Still, people naturally wonder what it costs to run a dehydrator hour after hour. It’s easy to figure out the cost to run your dehydrator. You just need to know three things:

1. The wattage of the dehydrator
2. The hours needed to dehydrate
3. The cost of electricity

With the information above, you can calculate the cost of running your dehydrator in two steps. In step one, calculate how much electricity is used in Kilowatt-hours:

The best food dehydrator

What's the best food dehydrator? To answer this question, we have to consider the different needs and desires of the people who would use a food dehydrator. Some people want capacity above all else, while others need a dehydrator that will work well in small spaces. Some will be interested in how the dehydrator will look in their kitchen, while others most concerned about quiet operation and performance at lower temperatures.

How much capacity do you need?

How much food dehydrator capacity do you need?

One of the more confusing aspects of food dehydrators is their capacity. In this article, we’ll review how dehydrator capacity is measured, and take a look at the capacity of a couple popular food dehydrators. We’ll also look a specific example how much capacity we needed to dry four bunches of bananas.

What to look for in a good food dehydrator

All food dehydrators share a common goal: to remove most of the water from the food they are used to dehydrate in an efficient manner. To accomplish this goal, a good food dehydrator needs to deliver a constant temperature and even airflow across all trays. Modern electric dehydrators do this with a thermostat, a heating element, and a fan that circulates fresh heated air evenly.

10 reasons to buy a food dehydrator

Food dehydrators range in cost from about $50 for basic machines to well over $300 for higher end consumer models. It’s a lot of money for a kitchen appliance that is not as central to food preparation as, say, a blender. However, a food dehydrator can give you some new and tasty options for maintaining a healthy diet. It can also provide you with a new way to preserve the good food you have today for later. In this article, we take a look at some reasons that a food dehydrator might make sense for you.

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