Best Dehydrator For Herbs

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NESCO FD-75A

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Cuisinart DHR-20

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COSORI Premium

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It’s not unusual for herbs to have a little too much moisture in them. This can cause you to waste products, which then wastes your own money. That’s where dehydrators come in. Fortunately, there are many of them available on the market.

However, you need to make sure the one you buy works well with herbs. This is why we’ve covered several dehydrators that can help you with the process, making it easy and saving you money. There are also numerous important things to consider, such as temperature control, power, and, most of all, effectiveness. 

You’ll also want one with enough trays; this way, there is enough room to place the herbs on; using one, a too-small dehydrator can mess up the process. If you use the wrong dehydrator, it can easily ruin the contents inside. You might as well be pouring money down the drain.

Top 6 dehydrators for herbs

Herbs are one of the most valuable ingredients in any master chef’s kitchen pantry. They add more flavor and personality to the food, whether it be meat or veggies. They also taste good, especially in pasta, soups, and many other popular dishes. 

One way to preserve a herb’s fresh taste is by dehydration. This is a vital step, especially during the harvesting process. Dehydrating on its own can be a very long and tedious task. 

However, with the help of various dehydrators, the process becomes a lot easier. Whether they’re shelf or stackable dehydrators, both work equally well. It mainly depends on your personal preference, so let’s look at some of the best dehydrators on the market.

1. COSORI Premium Food Dehydrator Machine

KEY FEATURES

  • Comes with 6 Stainless Steel Trays, 1 Mesh Screen, 1 Fruit Roll Sheet, 1 Manual, 1 Recipe
  • Made with food-grade stainless steel and glass front door. 
  • EASY TO USE

This particular machine is straightforward to use and clean. It runs efficiently and doesn’t produce much noise at all, which is ideal. This dehydrator can remove moisture from almost anything.

Not only does it remove moisture from bacteria and fungus, but also mints, basil, and herbs. This machine is also BPA free, which spares you from any potential harmful effects. The COSORI features six trays that are made of stainless steel.

To add to this, there’s an entirely separate drying screen for herbs as well. Along with that, you can also find a fruit roll sheet with the machine. This is one of the best dehydrator machines out there for herbs and does its job pretty well.

Pros

  • Very easy to use and is dishwasher-friendly as well.
  • It cannot corrode since it is made of stainless steel.

Cons

  • It is a bit large, which takes up a lot of space.
  • The edges of the machine are made of sharp metal.
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2. Cuisinart DHR-20

KEY FEATURES

  • Dries a wide variety of foods including meats
  • Preserves foods naturally
  • Adjustable temperature control

This dehydrator has a total of five trays. However, they do give you the option of purchasing additional trays. Even though the temperature of the machine can't be figured out exactly, there are a few pointers to show what is best for the food.

The machine is 552 square inches with a power of about 620W. Moreover, this machine does have the option of choosing the intensity of dehydration required.

You can choose anywhere from "minimum" to "high." A manual is included and multiple recipes, making it easier to understand which mode works best with which food. This is particularly useful with fruits and herbs.

Pros

  • You can purchase nine extra trays separately.
  • With the option of getting extra trays, there will be no need to swap them.
  • It has a vent, which allows for better airflow when cooking with high heat.

Cons

  • The exact temperature isn’t shown, which can be a bit confusing at times.
  • There aren’t many additional features included with this one.
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3. LEM Products 1153 Food Dehydrator

KEY FEATURES

  • Digital timer with automatic shut-off
  • Ten square (15” x 15”) trays allow for four-way rotation
  • Large drip tray makes for easy clean-up

This is a unique machine that includes a large drip tray. There’s also a super neat feature that allows you to rotate the tray four-ways. These unique features prevent any unnecessary dripping from the trays.

There are a total of ten trays, which is great for when you need to dehydrate a lot of food at one time. This machine is very easy and quick to use, taking only about 13 hours to completely dry your food.

It can be used to dry food, herbs, and the like and photographs, which is rare. This dehydrator has a removable door too, which makes it very convenient to use. The design of the double door is also quite unique and makes it easy to dry food.

Pros

  • This machine is of excellent quality.
  • Unlike many other machines, it’s pretty easy to assemble.
  • Instructions and features of this machine are very clear to understand for better performance.

Cons

  • Although there are a total of ten trays, they’re all very delicate and should be swapped or used carefully.
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4. Excalibur 3926TB

KEY FEATURES

  • 9-Tray dehydrator
  • Includes and flexible polyscreen tray inserts to prevent foods from sticking
  • Heavy duty plastic piston with a stainless steel rod and plastic coated steel handle

This dehydrator is also one of the biggest ones, having nine trays in total. The surface is about 15 square feet, and the trays can dry many different kinds of food. They’re made of poly-screen, which is very convenient.

This prevents bits of food from getting stuck in the trays. The Excalibur can run for an impressive up to 26 hours at a time.

It also has a simple temperature-checking feature, making it easy to see how well the food has been dried. The temperature can be set to the user’s preference, with the minimum being 85° and the highest being 165°F.

Pros

  • The performance is quite good, especially considering the multiple numbers of trays to work with.
  • Their instruction manual and the included recipes are very straightforward and easy to understand, letting you get started faster.

Cons

  • The machine body isn’t as solid and sturdy as it could be with respect to the trays’ capacity.
  • There aren’t many accessories included with the product, which should have been included as a necessity.
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5. NESCO Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator

KEY FEATURES

  • Adjustable thermostat allows you to dry different foods at proper temperatures
  • Powerful Top Mounted Fan
  • Made in the USA of Global and Domestic parts

This is one of the most costs friendly products on the list with outstanding performance. Initially, the product comes with five trays, but additional ones can be added. This allows for a total of up to twelve trays.

The airflow control in this machine is also exceptional. The air moves both ways, up and down, making it faster and easier to dry the food and herbs.

The NESCO Snackmaster Pro also has a fan mounted at the top that keeps moisture from dripping down, especially to the center of the machine where the food is. The design of this machine keeps out any light that might interfere with the dehydration process.

Pros

  • The heat comes from almost every corner of the machine, which eliminates the need for tray rotation.
  • The inner temperature can be easily adjusted and controlled.
  • This dehydrator does its job very well while also being simple to assemble.

Cons

  • This dehydrator can’t be easily turned off; it has to be unplugged manually.
  • Due to the excess heat required to dry the herbs and food inside, the machine might get a bit smelly at times and needs to be cleaned regularly.
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5. Homdox Food Dehydrator Machine

KEY FEATURES

  • Multifunction food dehydrator
  • Adjustable height and digital temperature settings
  • LCD digital temperature settings

During the freezing process, sometimes nutritional content can be lost. With the help of the Homdox Food Dehydrator, this can be prevented. Furthermore, this dehydrator is very good at what it does. This machine is also dishwasher-friendly.

That’s always a nice feature when it comes to herb drying. In our opinion, the temperature settings of this machine are quite premiere. With the help of an LCD temperature controller, you can easily check and control the temperature of the machine.

The temperature can be increased in the beginning to absorb enough moisture from the herbs. As time goes on, the temperature can then be lowered a bit to prevent any excessive drying. It has much more space than most, enabling you to dry at a much faster pace with more room.

The plates and trays are also dishwasher-friendly. It’s easy to clean and has an adjustable height to help in the ease of use. The dehydrator should always be checked to make sure it doesn’t accumulate a lot of moisture, as it may negatively affect the performance of the machine.

Pros

  • This is one of the most durable dehydrators out there.
  • The trays, even though large in number, are quite sturdy.
  • The herbs are kept perfectly intact, even while drying and dehydrating.

Cons

  • This dehydrator does take a lot of time to dry herbs and food.
  • Although the rotation of the trays can be controlled, it takes a lot of time to do so if you need to rotate them at the same time.
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Summing up

With dehydrators, the process of drying food, especially herbs and fruit, becomes much less time-consuming. Most of the time, herbs take a pretty long time to dry by themselves, which is why the machine makes the tasks a lot quicker and easier. 

Drying herbs on your own may be a bit difficult, but once you find the right dehydrator, it’s simplified considerably. Controlling the temperature of the machine and drying the herbs on your terms and on your own time is a lot more convenient. 

The most important thing that you will have to note about dehydrators for herbs is that they should always be easy to assemble, use, and clean. The instructions should be straightforward and easy to understand, while the features should help dry the herbs in the fastest and most convenient manner. We believe we’ve given you some great examples to consider.