Well, to start with, you must know that dehydration is far simpler than you assumed. And all you need is a food dehydrator! You can also use an oven, but using a dehydrator is far easier and much more effective.
Here are a few simple recipes to get you started with dehydration-
1. Honey Glazed Bananas
Ingredients- 4 peeled bananas, ½ cup honey, and ½ cup water
Method for preparation-
Step 1: Slice the bananas into about ¼ inch thick slices.
Step 2: Dip each slice into a glaze honey thinned with water.
Step 3: Drain it and place on the dehydrator trays. Let it dry for 10-12 hours.
Step 4: When the slices feel dry and leather-like, your honey glazed bananas are ready!
2. Honey Cinnamon Apples
Ingredients- 2 to 3 tablespoons of cinnamon, 2 sweet Gala apples, 2 Granny Smith apples, ½ cup of honey and ½ cup of water
Method for preparation –
Step 1: Slice the apples evenly, about ¼ inches thick. Remember to not peel them!
Step 2: Place the evenly sliced apples in a bowl of honey & water mixture.
Step 3: After being soaked for a few minutes, drain the apples and toss them with cinnamon.
Step 4: Arrange the pieces on a dehydrator tray and let them dry for a day or 2 until they are dry enough to be gathered.
Store in an airtight jar, and enjoy whenever you feel like!
3. Raw Kale Chips
Ingredients- A bunch of Kale, Lemon Juice (Half Lemon), Olive oil, Sea salt, dried garlic and a pinch of cumin seeds
Method for preparation-
Step 1: Wash the kale well and cut it into long strips of 3 inches each.
Step 2: Put the sliced kale into a large bowl. Add olive oil, diced garlic, sea salt, lemon juice, and cumin, all according to your taste. You can mix it using your hands so that Kale gets marinated.
Step 3: Let it stay as it is for about 15 minutes. You will notice that the Kale leaves shrink a bit. Now place them on a dehydrator tray, turn the dehydrator on and let the leaves dry for 7 to 8 hours.
Step 4: Healthy dehydrated Kale is ready to be savoured.
4. Coconut Chips
Ingredients- 1 coconut
Method for preparation-
Step 1: Break a coconut into 2, drink up the coconut water (if any).
Step 2: Remove the shell and pull out the coconut meat. Peel the brown skin off using a vegetable peeler.
Step 3: Slice the coconut into thin pieces.
Step 4: Place the coconut slices on the dehydrator racks and let them dehydrate overnight at 125 F.
Step 5: Yummy thin chips of coconut are ready to be relished.
These are just 4 recipes, but you can dehydrate almost anything and everything in a similar way. Start right away, and try new things. You can get creative with the flavours! Happy dehydratin!!