TO DEHYDRATE OR NOT TO DEHYDRATE, THIS IS THE DILEMMA.

You walk into a store or supermarket, head straight for the snack sections or the fruit and veg section to find packets of trail mix, dehydrated fruits pouches, all sots of dehydrated treats imaginable. Then you look at the price tag! "WTF? i am not paying 5.50 euros for a 300gr pouch of trail mix. I can easily make that myself"...Erm...maybe! How do you even start dehydrating food at home?
Here is a pretty simple explanation.
A food dehydrator delivers the vast majority of foods with the same vitamins and minerals as their fresh counterparts, in a remarkable array of concentrated flavours, nutrients and enzymes. According to the Energise for Life website, "The dehydration process retains almost 100% of the nutritional content of the food, retains the alkalinity of fresh produce and actually inhibits the growth of microforms such as bacteria."

Preservation:

The modern dehydrator produces basically the same food with about 75 per cent of its moisture removed. The only threat to deterioration is the remaining moisture. When dehydrating food, it is better to over-dry than under-dry. Once dehydrated, food must be packed inside airtight moisture-proof jars, bags or containers. It should be stored in a cool, dark area such as a pantry or cupboard. According to the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science at Brigham Young University, rice, corn, wheat and grains that have been properly dehydrated, canned and stored will last 30 years or more. Dehydrated vegetables, fruits, and kinds of pasta have a shelf life of up to 30 years. Powdered kinds of milk or milk substitutes can last up to 20 years.

Nutrition:

"Living foods are uncooked foods," says The Healing Journal, and "dehydrating food dates back to Biblical times when it was a necessity." Modern dehydrators produce a thin food material with its vitamins and minerals still present. Dried vegetables and sprouts, naturally low in "high-cholesterol" fats, are high in fiber. Almost no Vitamin C is lost in dehydration, and all Vitamin A--Beta Carotene--in plant foods is retained. Such minerals as selenium, potassium and magnesium are preserved. 

Cost-effectiveness:

A food dehydrator enables you to preserve fresh, nutritious foods in your own home at a fraction of the cost. The shelf lives of dehydrated foods can be decades-long. Add your favourite nuts to dehydrated apples, pineapples, grapes, or cranberries for a tasty and healthy trail mix. Make genuine meat jerky from beef, poultry and pork. Banana chips are examples of what can be made by dehydrating to 3-5 per cent moisture content. It's usually a good idea to soak dehydrated foods prior to consumption, preferably in distilled water. This promotes the absorption of just enough water for optimal taste. Another popular method is placing dehydrated food in a steamer. Absorbing steam plumps it up beautifully.

What You Need to Dehydrate Your Bikepacking Food

Step 1: Get Yourself a Dehydrator:

Keep it simple. You don’t need the best dehydrator on the market, so don’t obsess over specs. However, if you’re going to be doing meat, get one that goes to 160°F (for safety reasons). These will pay for themselves many times over by the end of their lifetimes. Here are two models that we think are the best dehydrators for what we need. They have good reviews, are both rated for meat, are time tested, and will do the job nicely. Done.

Step 2: Get Yourself a slicer:

Also known as a mandoline. This makes cutting hard fruits and vegetables quick and easy. Again, don’t overthink which mandoline to get. This is our pick for the best mandoline for fruits and vegetables. It has great reviews and a few accessories to make slicing easier.

Dehydrating Fruit for Bikepacking and Ultralight Backpacking

• Apples

• Pears

• Bananas

• Mango

• Kiwi

• Strawberries

• Peaches

• Apricots

Tip #1 – Spices

Throw some spices, a tiny bit of sugar and salt into a bag and toss them with your dehydrated fruits. Try things like chili powder and salt with your mango slices, or ginger and sugar with your dried pear slices. This can really liven up your snacking experience…. Maybe avoid using that cayenne pepper unless you’ve got a lot of water to wash it down with. It’s not easy to hike or pedal when your throat is on fire.

Tip #2 – Lemon Juice

Sprinkle lemon juice over the fruit slices before putting them in the dehydrator. This keeps them from browning.

Tip #3 – Cutting Sizes

Cut fruits into ¼” to ½” slices. Thinner slices take less time to dehydrate.

Tip #4 – Dehydrating Times

Dehydrating times for fruit vary depending on the power of your dehydrator, how full it is, and the type of fruit. Start with 6 hours. Don’t be surprised if you have to let it run overnight though. Apples and pears can come out crisp if left in long enough, whereas strawberries, bananas, cherries, mangoes, and pineapples usually stay chewy.

Tip #5 – Dehydrating Temperatures

Dehydrating temperatures for fruit also varies, but 45c is the standard. Set it and forget it (OK, don’t forget it… ;-)  ).

Dehydrating Vegetables for Bikepacking and Ultralight Backpacking
Vegetables Good for Dehydrating:

• Potatoes – You’re essentially making healthier potato chips by dehydrating instead of frying. Note that you’re never going to get them to the same crispiness as chips no matter how long you leave them in. Season as you would any potato chip.

• Bell Peppers – Rehydrate really quickly and full of flavour.

• Onions – You can get dehydrated onions at many Asian supermarkets, but they’re usually loaded with salt.

• Carrots – Cutting these with the mandoline is way easier than using a knife.

• Zucchini – Also great for making zucchini chips with some salt and black pepper.

• Cucumbers – These are mainly water, so they dehydrate into nothing. Also, note that much of the vitamin content in cucumbers are found in the peel. Something to keep in mind before taking that peel off.

• Tomatoes – A little harder to cut since they can be soft. Use harder and bigger varieties like heirloom or roma.

• Mushrooms – Rehydrate quickly. Throw some into your soup in camp.

• Spinach – Crumbles well and very rich in vitamins.

• Kale – Make kale chips by adding some salt and little bit of garlic powder.

• Broccoli – Break off the florets and slice the stems in half.

• Cauliflower – Do the same as with broccoli.

• Green Beans – Yes, even these can be dehydrated and are delicious with a little seasoning.

Tip #1 – Potatoes

Dehydrated potatoes remain pretty chewy, so don’t expect store-bought potato chips. They are, however, excellent to throw into a soup and rehydrate quickly. Still, cut these as thinly as possible.

Tip #2 – Dehydrating Times for Vegetables

Dehydrating times also vary, but start with 6 hours and don’t be afraid to leave overnight, especially for things like potatoes, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower.

Tip #3 – Dehydrating Temperatures for Vegetables

Dehydrating temperature can be left at 45c, just like for the fruits.

Dehydrating Sauces:

Yes, you absolutely can dehydrate sauces with a dehydrator! If you have a favorite pasta sauce, simply cook it up, let it cool, line your dehydrator trays with parchment paper, and spread your sauce over each tray. There is a lot of water content in these sauces obviously, so make sure to spread it out evenly and thinly. The standard 135°F should do. Expect it to take 8 hours minimum.

Remember that fatty substances don’t dehydrate well, so sauces with a lot of cream, butter, high-fat milk, or cheese are not going to dehydrate well. The best thing to do is to make the sauce without those ingredients. Then pack those ingredients separately and add them in when you go to rehydrate your sauce in camp. For cheese sauces, that can mean adding individually wrapped cheese blocks. For a sauce that called for cream, use dehydrated milk powder.

Dehydrating Smoothies:

Maybe one of the more brilliant ideas out there. Those breakfast smoothies that you make in the morning? Those can easily be dehydrated too. Use the same method as with the sauces above. When the smoothies are ready to come out of the dehydrator, put them into a food processor or coffee grinder. You can even just put the dried smoothie into a Ziploc bag and crush it by hand. Grind or crush the smoothie into a powder. There you have it, instant smoothie mix. Just add water.