The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Dehydrating Foods is a comprehensive introduction to the process of food dehydrating. Commercial dehydrators were once too expensive for the typical home, but they've become much more popular in recent years as people have discovered the value and versatility of drying foods at home for snacks such as dried fruits and vegetables, trail mix, jerkies, fruit leathers, and more, all at a fraction of the cost were they to buy commercially-dried foods. Today, people are using their home dehydrators for drying and preserving all types of foods, from fruits and vegetables, to herbs, and even drying flowers for crafts. The authors will take readers through the process, step by step, showing them how to buy the right dehydrator for their kitchen, how to use it properly so their yield and savings are maximized, and even how they can dry foods using less conventional methods, such as a solar dryer or even their conventional oven. Readers will benefit from more than 80 recipes that will enable them to preserve and create wonderful foods that will save them time, money, and bring a entirely new offering of tastes to their kitchen.