Things You'll Need
Fresh food for drying
Sharp kitchen knife
Cutting board
Whether you want to preserve food or create healthy snacks, dehydrators are an essential part of the process. From jerky to raisins, a wide variety of dried products can be made at home. Using a dehydrator is simple, and the Bee Beyer's version is no different. With a few easy steps and a generous amount of time, you can use the dehydrator to create plenty of preserved goods for year-round use.
Step 1
Wash and dry the fresh food you want to dehydrate.
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Step 2
Place the food on the cutting board. Slice it into 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch slices. This will allow the food to dry quicker and preserve more of the taste. The longer a food dries, the more flavor it loses.
Step 3
Spread the slices -- in one layer -- over each rack of the dehydrator, ensuring the edges do not touch.
Step 4
Plug in the dehydrator to turn it on, as it has no on/off switch.
Step 5
Dry the food according to a recipe or until it is completely dry -- 6 to 8 hours. Leaving the dehydrator on overnight is a good amount of time for optimum drying. Unplug when finished.
Tip
Always ensure you use fresh, unblemished foods that are at the perfect ripeness for creating dried foods.
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