I'm just starting to get into food dehydration and after looking at some fruit leather recipes I was curious if anyone has tried to make sour fruit leather?

Specifically has anyone used fruit riot sour frozen fruit to make fruit leather?

Give me your tried and tested jerky recipes.

There can be a lot of good posts here, often just pictures which can also be nice. However, as a means to help people expand and to guide conversation it seems like it'd be great to share basic info along with it so others can learn.

ie:
[picture of dehydrator and dried bananas]
in post: 160F, 10 hours - crispy
or: 135F, 14 hours - mildly chewy

Cut to "x" thickness

blender before dehydrating

I don't know, whatever else. I feel like most of the time we could say soo much with 10 words or less even, and often we get 0

Would adding a dehumidifi-ing agent (like a bunch of rice) to the top of the dehydrator help speed up the dehydration process if I have a cheap dehydrator?

Hi! I'm pretty new to the dehydrating thing. I've had a ninja foodi for a few years and just started using the dehydrating feature on it. I started using it to dehydrate lions mane mushrooms to turn into a powder. (I have the Alzheimer's gene, and want to do everything I can to combat it).

This opened me up to a rabbit hole of exciting dehydrating possibilities, so I started experimenting with dehydrating other greens and fruit.

I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for me as I get started.

-I'm most interested in dehydrating greens to make a super food powder to add to smoothies soups, etc. Any tips on the best greens to use?

-I have a 4 year old who loves dried fruit.. tips for fruit?

-I'm currently just using my Foodi dehydrating feature, long term would it be beneficial to switch to a different brand?

-Any thoughts on preserving the powders? I want to build up a stash. Right now I'm using mason jars, with mason jar lids. I have no idea how to vacuum seal. Is there something better I should be doing?

Thanks in advance!!

Hey folks,

I was hoping to get some insights on dehydrating organ meats for dog treats—any vets or canine nutritionists here who might weigh in? I know organ meats are super nutritious, and my pup goes absolutely crazy for them!

From what I understand, there are two ways to prepare them:

1. Slice and dehydrate raw
2. Cook first, then slice and dehydrate

I’m wondering—what’s the difference between the two methods? Does cooking first make the meat easier to digest but reduce its nutritional value?

I’ve noticed that store-bought freeze-dried raw liver treats sometimes give my 10-year-old, 15-lb Yorkie/Chihuahua mix diarrhea if he eats too much. I assumed it’s because liver is "too rich" (too nutritionally concentrated?) or maybe just a low-quality brand.

Lately, I’ve been pressure-cooking beef liver (10 min in the Instant Pot with chicken broth), then slicing and dehydrating. I’ve done the same with beef kidney, chicken, and turkey gizzards. He can eat these non-stop without any tummy troubles.

I don’t know all the science behind it, but in simple terms—does cooking help with digestion? Am I losing too many nutrients in the process? And does the dehydration temp matter (e.g., 120°F for longer vs. 140°F for shorter)? Or am I totally overthinking this?

Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences! Just picked up a big hunk of beef heart from Food Lion for $7—can’t wait to prep it for him.

Has anyone had success making those crunchy seaweed snacks? My kid is obsessed with them but they’re expensive at the rate we’re consuming (and it’s a lot of plastic waste). We live somewhere where we can safely forage edible seaweed. I’m wondering how to make them taste better than a nori sheet. I know there’s a lot of oil involved in the packaged ones. Do they fry them?

i’ve got the black 4 tray excalibur. i made some juicy steak strips over the weekend and i guess i should have let it sit out and drip off a bit because afterwards the inside was a disgusting mess. the metal grate at the back inside needs to be cleaned at the bottom. is there a good way to do this? if i unplug my machine can i just spray in there then let it dry out for a week or so?

My work gifted me a Brentwood 280w food dehydrator. I’m very excited to start using it but I wanted to ask some ppl with experience if this is an ok brand, sufficient wattage, etc. I read some reviews online, but they seemed generic and vague.

Hello! I am going on my second backpacking trip this July, I am so incredibly stoked to be going. I purchased food for the last trip, but I really want to try and make my own this year. I have no idea where to start or how to safely and properly seal things. I would hate to be on trail and then find my food had spoiled due to ill preparations. We will be using cooking stoves and rehydrating with hot water for food as we did the first time.

I want to prep my own beef jerky for snacks, a noodle dish could be fun, I've been cooking a lot of korean food so that would be really cool to be able to make happen on the trail. I will add a list of meals that I would like to make, but certainly don't mind being told that it just wouldn't work for backpacking! I assume that all of my meals will just end up soupy for backpacking and that's completely fine! I just want the flavorsssss. Any recipes or meals that you want to recommend would also be greatly appreciated!

Bulgogi and Rice (marinated beef and rice, can be saucy)
Japchae (glass noodles with veggies and beef)
Soondubu Jigae (Spicy Tofu Soup)
Beef Jerky
Spicy Pork Bulgogi (Marinated Pork and rice, will be quite saucy)

I have done a bit of research already, but not enough to be knowledgeable. I understand that saucy things have an issue of getting dehydrated or something along those lines?

Any and all help/tips/tricks will be greatly appreciated!

If I leave cookies in the oven too long, they'll burn. If I leave food in the dehydrator too long will it burn? Or once it's 100% dehydrated will it just stay dehydrated because it can't get any more dehydrated?

I made eggplant chips so far with different spices, and they turned out decent. I make a whole lot of beef jerky but it’s getting pricey, especially compared to the cost of fruit/veggies. I’m going to make banana chips and apple chips, I think they’re a healthy snack.

What are your favourite snacks?

I'm about to make my first batch of leather from applesauce. Can I set up my trays the night before, set them in the fridge,and just set them on the dehydrator when I leave for work in the morning? Thank you for any insight.

I dehydrate because I like the chewy or crunchy textures and how it tastes. I have been doing fruit but totally ignoring vegetables. I am curious to the ones which taste the best simply for snacking and enjoyment. Your answer will be greatly appreciated.

im making fruit leather and my fault i started late, but my mom won't let the dehydrator be left on overnight. So will anything happen to the fruit leather if i stop drying it out and then finish drying it out in the morning? should i put it in the fridge?