Air fryers are the most popular appliances right now, thanks to all the amazing things you can make with them. You can bake, fry, sauté, broil, and much more with an air fryer. With so many benefits in the bag, one might wonder whether you can dehydrate in an air fryer too.
Yes, you can dehydrate food in an air fryer. It is always best if your air fryer has a dehydrate setting. However, you can dehydrate using a normal air fryer too.
Dehydrating food in an air fryer includes lowering its temperature settings down to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and running it for 4 to 8 hours.
How to dehydrate food with an air fryer?
You can dehydrate food with an air fryer by reducing the heat and setting the time to 4 to 8 hours. But in some air fryers, this setting is pre-programmed.
We’ve detailed the steps to dehydrate in an air fryer below!
- Cut your food into thin slices. The thinner they are, the quicker they’ll dry up. Make sure to season your food at this point.
- Place the slices in the air fryer basket and ensure there is enough space between each slice. Do not overlap the slices. You can get stackable stainless steel racks for this; if you can’t, then you can use wood skewer sticks and hang the slices in the basket.
- Set your air fryer to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember, low temperature is the key to dehydration. Cranking up the heat will just cook the food or even burn it.
- Set the time to 8 hours. You can also check the slices for dehydration at the 4 and 6-hour marks. However, make sure not to check too often, or the dehydration process will be disturbed.
How long does it take to dehydrate in an air fryer?
There is no standard temperature for dehydration, and it changes with things and their properties. For dehydration of fruits and vegetables, you need 3 hours at 175°C, while 4 hours at 130°F for beef slices. The process can take up to 8 hours too.
Do all air fryers dehydrate?
You can dehydrate with all air fryers by heating at 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 to 8 hours. However, air fryers with the dehydrate setting are best for dehydrating.
Is air frying the same as dehydrating?
No, air frying is far different from dehydrating. Air frying includes cooking food, while dehydrating is the removal of moisture from food.
The outer fan of the air fryer typically circulates the hot air to prepare the food evenly, while the food dehydrator circulates air at low temperatures to make sure the food loses moisture.
What’s the difference between an air fryer and a dehydrator?
Both of these appliances are designed for different purposes, creating a huge difference between them. Let’s have a look at the main differences between the two:
Cooking and dehydrating
An air fryer is used for cooking food, while a dehydrator is used to remove the moisture from food.
Circulation of air
An air fryer circulates hot air at high temperatures to cook food evenly, while a dehydrator circulates hot air at low temperatures.
Preservation of food
Dehydrators are used to keep food preserved for months without losing the natural taste, while the food cooked by the air fryer is regular food that will go bad in a few hours if left outside.
What can you not put in an air fryer?
You can practically make anything in an air fryer, considering that it comes with loads of functions and settings to choose from. But you need to be aware of the few things that are not supposed to be put inside an air fryer as they might just not cook well enough or damage the machine itself! Some of such food items are listed below:
- Fresh leafy greens
- Battered food
- Cheese
- Raw grains
Related FAQs to dehydrating in an air fryer
Can you put fruit in an air fryer?
Yes, you can put your favorite fruits in an air fryer. The time for cooking in an air fryer may vary depending on the fruit. Besides, you are not restricted to cooking only fresh fruits; you can even put frozen fruits inside. And you will get the same appetizing results.
Can you put battered food in an air fryer?
Don’t ever put battered food inside an air fryer. This is because there is nothing to set a wet batter inside an air fryer.
Battered foods are flour mixtures with other liquid ingredients. Eggs, salts, sugars, and baked goods are also involved in this category.
Why would you dehydrate food?
We dehydrate food to remove moisture content, therefore preserving the food. When you dehydrate food, its moisture content reduces by about 5% to 20%. In this condition, the bacteria that cause decay can’t survive and thus cannot harm your food.
Wrapping up our thoughts on dehydrating in an air fryer
So, it is clear now that you can dehydrate food in an air fryer; however, that air fryer should have a dehydrate setting if you want perfect dehydration. You can still dehydrate in an air fryer that lacks the dehydrate setting, but you’d have to monitor the process and improvise. Apart from that, we’ve also cleared up the confusion between dehydrating and air frying. We hope this article was helpful!