Adventures in Dehydrating

My husband got me a dehydrator for my birthday (this Nesco dehydrator) last spring.  I'd never really given dehydrating any thought before he gave it to me.  I gave it a try, and I was instantly addicted.  It's all I never knew I always wanted.

Why is dehydrating a good idea?

• You can control the ingredients.  
• Commercially dried foods usually have added preservatives and/or sugar. Dehydrating your own also you can control the ingredients (and avoid cross contamination if you have allergy concerns).

• Dehydrating preserves food with a lot less sugar and maintains more of the nutrients than canning.  It also takes up less space for storage.
   
• Dehydrating is a great cost effective way to preserve foods while they're in season and at their cheapest so we can enjoy them the whole year round.

Things I've dehydrated so far:
peaches
strawberries
pears
a pear/apple hybrid we've named a papple (I'm sure it has a real name that is much different).
pineapple
mushrooms
apples
zucchini (only the toddler liked it)
carrots
celery
parsley
dill
beets
eggplant
almonds (after soaking them to reduce the phytic acid)
bone broth (in order to grind it into a powder)