I use my dehydrator so much it stays on the counter.
I have dried: blueberries, strawberries, prunes, apricots, apples, pears, peaches, grapes, cherries (both sweet and sour), kale, celery (leaves and stalk), carrots, zucchini, onions, shallots, corn, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, ginger, garlic, lemons, oranges, nuts, herbs, roses, calendula, tomato sauce, applesauce, apricot sauce and plum sauce.
I've made "raw" snacks, cheese, yogurt, and granola bars in it.
A dehydrator is great for gardeners, for people who want to eat local year round, or for those that like to play with their food.
Some things I've learned:
*It's worth it to have a good dehydrator with a temperature control. Mine is an Excalibur with 5 trays.
*It takes practice to learn when something is dry enough. If I'm worried something might mold I put it in the freezer. Grapes/raisins always go in the freezer now.
*A small cookie scoop is marvelous for pouring sauces on to a drying mat (mine came with two for things like fruit leather).
*Cut things as small as possible. For example I slice apricots and prunes rather than drying them in halves, carrots are chopped in a food processor, and zucchini is run through a spiralizer.
*Foods dehydrated too much can be made into a "flour" using a food processor or a coffee grinder.
*Home dehydrated foods won't look the same as those from the store and that's okay!
Unless something is going directly into a soup, most of the time I reconstitute vegetables and sauces in a bit of boiling water before adding to foods. The soaking water can be used as well.
For lunch today I added the soaking water, carrots, corn, tomatoes, and zucchini to my leftover gratin potatoes and added grated cheddar cheese.
Yum!
I'll post a few more ideas about using dehydrated food this month.
Dehydrated foods are in season!