There are times when you cannot avoid having leftover food after a meal. It would be such a waste if you are going to throw out your leftover food since you can still eat them. Also it would not be wise to eat all the food in one meal or you will gain a lot of weight if you do so. And when you do think of leaving the food alone on the table to be eaten at a later meal, you cannot help but think it may spoil the food after a few hours.

There are foods that tend to spoil easily depending on how they were cooked and that is why sometimes there are other foods that you place inside the refrigerator if you plan to eat it on another occasion. There is another way to preserve the food without worrying about spoiling it and that is by using the food dehydrator.

The purpose of the food dehydrator is to keep the food from spoiling. It removes the moisture of the food that contributes to the buildup of yeasts, molds and bacteria that will spoil the food. Dehydrating the food also keeps the enzyme action down although it cannot eliminate its activity entirely which means that its size will return to its original form when water is added after it has dried.

This kind of method has already existed for many centuries and has advanced its method through the help of modern technology. Today there are already electronic dehydrators for food that is used to keep lightweight foods that are going to be brought for snacks for the children, hiking, or camping.

How do you use a food dehydrator?

To use one you need some food to place in it such as fruits, vegetables or meat. If it's your first time to have the food dehydrator and it is newly purchased, wash every trays included with the package with water and soap. You should keep the base unit from the water.

Choose the food that you wish to dehydrate and preserve for a long time and prepare them. If you want the food to dehydrate faster, it should be sliced in smaller sizes. This does not mean that the larger pieces cannot be dehydrated; they only dehydrate slower than the smaller ones.

Turn the food dehydrator on and pre-heat the device for about ten minutes before you put in the food that you wish to dehydrate. If you choose the fruits to be dehydrated first, treat them by dipping into some lemon juice for about two minutes before you place them inside the dehydrator.

Once you have the food prepared, arrange them on the trays of the dehydrator and keep each piece apart. Do not put too much food or touch them so that it will dry out properly.

The time to keep the food completely dehydrated depends on the size of the food. If it is small pieces it will take between six and ten hours while larger ones up to twenty.