Consumers put variety and options at the top of their shopping list. Normally they want the opportunity to choose color, style, size, features, etc. The food dehydrator shopper would be pleased with the options that are on the market for this product. One consumer may want the dehydrator for one purpose and the next consumer wants it and uses it for a different purpose. Since 1920 when the first food dehydrator was sold, the ingenuity of the American inventor and the need of health conscious people have forced options.

There are the electric dehydrator models and the solar powered dryers using solar energy to create a flow of warm air through the tray. There is the plastic dehydrator and there is the upscale stainless steel model. Home-food dehydrators fall into two structure categories: stackable trays or a rigid box with removable shelves.

Most dehydrators fit on a counter top but the larger models are free-standing. The food dehydrator can be square, round or rectangular. That makes a difference according to what food is processed. The wattage is 500, 600 or 700 because if the food is particularly wet or thick, the high wattage would be attractive.

Then there is fan drying, or convection drying, which relies on heat to accomplish the same end. Convection drying eliminates the possibility of contaminating foods because the fan could pull in dust or other contaminants. Another advantage to convection heating is that it creates a silent operation besides using less electricity. All positive, except that it requires twice the time to dry so the keeping quality lessens. If the dehydrator has levels and only a heater in the bottom for drying purposes, the layers have to be rotated consistently in order to have dried food that is evenly processed. However, if there is a heater and a fan system, the process of rotating trays is eliminated.