Dehydration of food has existed for generations. Dehydrators are furnaces that are designed to hasten food moisture evaporation and are used in modern industrial dehydration. A heating element raises the dehydrator’s temperature, and a fan circulates the air to remove water while maintaining the food’s other nutrients.
With the right vegetable drying equipment, chefs can create more than just beef jerky. Dehydrators can be used to manufacture yogurt and sprouted flour. With a little imagination, food dehydrators can frequently play an important role in the restaurant staff. Here are four justifications for why a food dehydrator is essential in business kitchens.
Utilize Scraps To Cut Down On Waste
Dehydrators are most important in restaurants since they reduce waste to begin with. Instead of throwing away food scraps, restaurants will store them for later use.
The USDA estimates that between 30 and 40% of the food produced in the United States is wasted, with a significant portion coming from commercial food service operations.
A commercial food dehydrator can give rejected food components, including banana peels and stems, a second chance at life. These components can be dried by owners and then used as seasonings in foods like soups and smoothies. This reduces expenses and can enhance the menu’s flavor.
Produce A Countless Number Of Garnishes
Food can be adorned or embellished with garnishes. Peels can be used as garnishes for drinks if your establishment serves them. Peels from dried oranges or lemons go great with martinis. A more nuanced flavor profile will result from the alcohol in the martini absorbing some of the citrus flavors. By having materials on hand, dehydrating fruits for garnishes helps bartenders save time.
Dehydrated vegetables can also be used as garnishes. Latin-inspired recipes can be spiced using dehydrated peppers; the flakes can be extracted for seasoning. Pizza and pasta can be topped with dehydrated tomatoes.
Tomatoes and basil are frequently grown together. In addition to aiding insect repulsion, basil causes tomatoes to absorb some of their flavors. Basil and dried tomatoes can be combined to replicate this procedure, bringing out the taste of the tomato.
Concentrate Flavors For Menu Items
The only thing you remove from a product when dehydrating it is the moisture. You are concentrating on the flavor by doing this. This opens up more options for expanding your menu. Consider mushrooms as an example. Mushrooms can be dehydrated and included with soup to enhance the flavor as they dissolve into the broth.
You may notice that the flavor of a dehydrated fruit can be sweeter than usual if you’ve ever tried it. Again, moisture evaporation is to blame for that. While other fruits, like strawberries, taste more bitter, apricots and pineapple are unusually sweet. Consider making fruit leather a healthier alternative to serving as a starter for kids.
Increase Food Shelf Life
Dried food has a longer shelf life than fresh ingredients, and nutrients are maintained throughout the process. Jerky is typically the first beef product that springs to mind. A dehydrator’s capabilities go far beyond simply drying the meat to make jerky. Making sure your meat is cooked should be your priority. Bacteria are likely to endure the dehydrating process if you use raw meat.
Meats’ shelf life can be increased by dehydrating them for up to a year. As previously indicated, dehydration concentrates flavors. Dehydrate some turkey or chicken, then add it to soups to give them more flavor. By doing this, the meat is rehydrated and given a taste and texture close to its original state.
The best is to buy a commercial dehydrator, as heat is distributed uniformly using an airflow fan system.
Featured Image Source: https://img.freepik.com/free-photo/delicious-fish-chips-england-food_23-2148732311.jpg?w=740&t=st=1676103570~exp=1676104170~hmac=4490fc01f4237a65db2569cc6a2c9b008abb6ea3272b8ee98d0422edf66a2fc4
