Why Have A Dehydrator

My dehydrator is a much loved kitchen appliance, I always thought they were a bit of a gimmick and would become one of those good ideas at the time stuck in the back of a cupboard waiting for the jumble sale, how wrong I was here are some of things I use mine for.

1. When biscuits or crackers have gone soft crisp them up again in the dehydrator
2. When the cereal has gone soft because the packet wasn't closed properly again dry it out in the dehydrator
3. When you get that glut of fruit and veg dehydrate it so it can be used out of season without taking up space in the freezer 
4. Leftover veg at dinner dry it out and add it to a soup mix jar
5. left over gravy dehydrate it and blend it down to a powder ready for instant gravy
6. Orange and Lemon peel, dry them out and blitz into a powder to be used in recipes were it asks for zest
7. Take advantage of reduced fruit and veg dehydrate to use later
8. Making fruit leathers ideal snack for lunch boxes
9. Make your own Jerky 
10. Dry flowers or citrus slices for decorating the home
11. Left over soups can be blitzed down into powder for instant soups after dehydrating
12.  Left over sponge cake can be dried out for use in future trifles
13. Yogurt can be made into Yogurt Leathers a lovely yummy snack
14. Banana Chips so easy and cheap to make your own
15. Make your own camping and backpacking meals, a lot lighter to carry and takes up less space
16. I make my own powdered egg when I have a glut to be used when they are off lay in winter
17. Dry your own herbs
18. Make Dog Treats
19. Make Yogurt
20. Prove dough

Dried food if kept in air tight containers or sealed in vacuum bags keep for years, they don't take up freezer space, and they not need constant power as in the freezer to keep preserved,  they will not spoil in power cuts. These are just some of the uses I use my dehydrator for, there is many things you can dehydrate, I started with a cheap round dehydrator with five trays, it was a brilliant little machine and cost about £30, Its still going strong 3 years on a friend has it now as I upgrades to an Excalibur.  Getting a dehydrator has been a brilliant investment. There is loads of info out there on the web and recipes.
Keep a look out at car boots, jumbles and on freecycle you often see them looking for new homes.
So if you see one grab one it can become your best friend in the kitchen.