Five Fun Ways to Use a Food Dehydrator

Thinking of buying a food dehydrator and wondering what you can do with it? Aside from the obvious applications of preserving ingredients and leftovers, there are a lot of cool and unexpected uses for a food dehydrator which you may not know about. Here are some fun applications that may surprise you!

1. Dry Out Flowers and Herbs.

One fun use for your food dehydrator is to dry out herbs and flowers. There are a couple of ways you can make use of these. They are great for making herbal teas to your liking, and they are also perfect for personalized potpourri.

Dehydrating actually strengthens the aromas and flavors of herbs by concentrating them. So the teas you make will taste incredible, and the potpourri will smell amazing. Popular herbs from the home garden that are great dried include rosemary, sage, mint, and oregano.

You can use a food dehydrator to dry out herbs and flowers for a healthy herbal hair rinse as well. Wellness Momma has a great recipe for a DIY Hair rinse here.

2. Make Fire Starters.

Dry some orange peels in your food dehydrator, and you will have some great fire starters. They are easy to light because they are dry, burn nicely because of the oils that remain in the peel, and release a beautiful scent into the air as they burn. Why not add a few to the fireplace for a romantic evening or bring along a few when camping?

To dry your orange peels:

1. Set the dehydrator to 115 degrees.
2. Wash them with a fruit/veggie wash.
3. Arrange in a single layer.
4. Dry for 5-10 hours based on the thickness.

See detailed instructions here.

3. Make Dog Treats.

There are a lot of things that dogs enjoy eating which are also healthy for them. Dehydrated meats and vegetables are not only healthy for a dog but also delicious and fun to eat (as dried foods are often chewy).

There are a lot of odd meat bits you can get from the butcher at a low price which may not be ideal for a steak dinner. However, these make a healthy and tasty treat for your dog once they have been dehydrated.

4. Restore Old Cassette Tapes.

Here perhaps is one of the most unusual and remarkable uses for a food dehydrator. Have some old cassette tapes which don’t play anymore? Oftentimes, it is because the oxide coating has separated from the tape itself. To get the tapes to play again, you need to get the coating and the tape to stick together again.

You can use a food dehydrator to accomplish this. Place the tapes on the drying racks in your dehydrator, turn it up to 120-140 degrees Fahrenheit, and walk away for eight hours. The heat will join the coating and tape together again. Let the tapes cool down, and then you should hopefully find they are playable again, albeit probably temporarily.

5. Humidify Your Home.

Let your dehydrator serve double duty as a humidifier. It may sound counterintuitive, using a dehydrator as a humidifier, but it works great when you’re in a pinch. Sometimes you only need to humidify your home for a few days out of the year, and it seems silly to go out and buy a separate humidifier just to do the job.

To get around this, place a few glasses of water inside your dehydrator. Turn it on to high. The water will evaporate into the air as the dehydrator heats it up. This, in turn, will take care of your dry air problem.

Finding Even More Dehydrator Ideas

Now you know some of the fun and unusual uses for a dehydrator! This isn’t a full list; there are so many other cool things you can do with your food dehydrator: make paper, craft supplies and camping meals, and even take a shortcut to get your dough to rise while you are baking.

Use your creativity and imagination, and you will doubtless discover more unexpected uses. This is why a food dehydrator is not just a great addition to your kitchen, but an excellent purchase for your whole home! Click here to read our review article and find the perfect dehydrator for your needs.

And visit our Pinterest board to get even more dehydrator recipes and ideas.