Do you want to know if a dehydrator worth it or not?
A dehydrator may be worthwhile in some cases. I discovered that after dehydrating sixty items (an apple, for example), you should have recovered your investment in a dehydrator, which costs around $40. This includes the price of electricity.
In this article, I’ll explain how I arrived at this figure, as well as how you can save money on a dehydrator by dehydrating foods with a different appliance in your home (which you may already own).
History of Dehydrators
Dehydration has long been used to preserve food, dating back to prehistoric times. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that this method of food preservation was turned into an electrical appliance.
During this time, major appliance companies such as Excalibur began producing and selling food dehydrators to housewives all over the world. By the 1980s, these appliances had grown in popularity to the point where they were produced by a variety of household appliance manufacturers.
The use of a food dehydrator has declined significantly over the last 20 to 25 years, as fewer people grow and cook their own food. However, there is still a sizable market for these machines, and many people find them to be extremely worthwhile investments.
How Much Dehydrators Cost?
Small household electronic food dehydrators range in price from $30 to $100, while industrial dehydrators cost between $2,000 and $5,000.
The difference between a $30 dehydrator and a $100 dehydrator is negligible because these machines have limited to no versatility (but they are incredibly good at what they do). In fact, capacity and manufacture/brand are the only significant differences between the two price points.
However, the brand/manufacturer can speak volumes about the appliance’s dependability as well as its overall appearance and style.
Is a Dehydrator Worth It?
To truly understand whether a dehydrator worth it, I believe you must first determine how much you plan to use the appliance and whether you have the space in your kitchen to store and use it.
The following are some of the advantages to consider when deciding whether or not a dehydrator worth it for you:
Reduces Food Waste – The ability of a food dehydrator to preserve and extend the life of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious ingredients is one of the main advantages of using one.
Saves Money – Pre-packaged dehydrated snacks are extremely costly (typically around $2 per pack). It is significantly less expensive to dehydrate your own foods at home and bag them for snacking as needed.
Natural – It’s a very natural way to preserve food, and you have complete control over what goes into the process when you do it at home.
However, some drawbacks to owning and using a dehydrator are;
Takes Time – This is a process that requires some preparation and a lot of time. The average time it takes to dehydrate food is around eight hours. Which makes this unsuitable for some with busy lives.
Changes The Taste – The change in taste and particularly texture isn’t something for everyone and may take some getting used to, or be something that some people are unable to adjust to entirely.
Noisy – Dehydrators are relatively loud appliances (similar to an oven). This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if they were only used for an hour or so, however with the average dehydration time totalling eight hours this can become somewhat of an annoyance.
If you dehydrate five pieces of fruit or vegetables once a week instead of throwing them away, you’ll likely save around $4.00 per week in food waste (of course this varies significantly depending on what you dehydrate).
On average, most foods require 8 hours in the dehydrator. We know this would cost around $0.64 based on our research into the cost of running a dehydrator.
Every week, that’s an average of $3.36 worth of food saved from the trash. Given that a dehydrator with good reviews costs only $40, you’ll be able to pay it off in less than 12 weeks just by reducing your food costs.
In other words, if you can dehydrate more than 60 items of food instead of throwing them away, you should be profitable. You can look by your self that dehydrator worth it or not, especially the kind of ronco dehydrator.
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Hi there! I’m a food enthusiast and journalist, and I have a real passion for food that goes beyond the kitchen. I love my dream job and I’m lucky enough to be able to share my knowledge with readers of several large media outlets. My specialty is writing engaging food-related content, and I take pride in being able to connect with my audience. I’m known for my creativity in the kitchen, and I’m confident that I can be the perfect guide for anyone looking to take their culinary journey to the next level.
