How can you dehydrate food without a dehydrator?

Answer 1

The natural way! Drying food under the SUN, but it would take a long time.
You can also use a Turbo Broiler.

Answer 2

it all depends where you live. Some people use a smoker, others use their kitchen oven set at a very low temperature. or if you live in a hot climate a drying rack built out side will work. the idea is to dry evenly, so that the food dries out and loses its liquid content . rather than going bad. there are several ways to dry food and that is the whole idea behind dehydrated

Answer 3

oven on lowest temperature works OK. Alton Brown states you should use a box fan, and a couple cellulose-based home heater filters, and stack the food in the grooves, and strap it on the blower side, then stick it out a window and turn it on... cool dry is always better for dehydrating that warm dry. finally there is the sun dried method, if you have a clean, dry, well ventilated area with constant sun exposure.

Answer 4

Oven drying is the simplest way to dry food because you need almost no special equipment. It is also faster than sun drying or using a food dryer. But oven drying can be used only on a small scale. An ordinary kitchen oven can hold only 4 to 6 pounds of food at one time.

Set the oven on the lowest possible setting and preheat to 140 degrees F. (60 C.). Do not use the broiler unit of an electric oven because the food on the top tray will dry too quickly' Remove the unit if it has no separate control. Some gas ovens have a pilot right, which may keep the oven warm enough to dry the food.

It is important to keep the oven temperature at 140 to 160 F. (60 to 70 C.). So put an oven thermometer on the top tray about half way back where you can see it easily. Check the temperature about every half hour.

Arrange 1 to 2 pounds of prepared food in a single layer on each tray. Put one tray on each oven rack. Allow 1-1/2 inches of space on the sides, front, and back of the trays so that air can circulate all around them in the oven. To stack more trays in the oven, use blocks of wood in the comers of the racks to hold the trays at least I inches apart. Dry no more than four trays of food at a time. A lighter load dries faster than a full load.

Keep the oven door open slightly during drying. A rolled newspaper, a block of wood, or a hot pad will keep the door ajar so that moist air can escape while the heat stays in the oven. Four to six inches for electric ovens or 1 to 2 inches for gas ovens is usually enough space for ventilation, but use a thermometer to check the oven temperature to make sure it stays at 140 F. An electric fan placed in front of the oven door helps to keep the air circulating.

Shifting the trays often is important for even drying because the temperature is not the same everywhere in the oven. Rotate the trays from top to bottom and from front to back every half hour. It helps to number the trays so you can keep track of the order in which you rotate them. Stirring fruit or vegetables every half hour or so also helps the food to dry evenly. jerky needs to be turned over occasionally to keep it from sticking to the trays.

Answer 5

I have seen recipes where you dry the food slowly at a low temperature in the oven. I know this works for tomatoes because I tried it and the results were just like "sun" dried tomotoes.

Answer 6

At a low temperature in an oven. Look up recipes for beef jerky -- it's the same process.

Answer 7

Can be sun dried, just need a couple of hot summer days.

Answer 8

Well, that varies, I guess on what you are "drying out." I know that One could use the oven for fruits and veggies. Are you asking about meats?