Trends in Cooking – Dehydrating

As we begin to see innovative restaurateurs expanding their menus to include the likes of dehydrated foods, many consumers may not be aware of what dehydrating is, how it’s done or why it is a useful aspect of cooking and preserving. From intensifying flavors to prolonging the use of out-of-season fruits and vegetables, dehydrating is an exciting world that has yet to come to the forefront for foodies everywhere.  Here are four trends in food preparation.

1. At-Home Food Dehydration: Raw foods and snacks like granola bars, kale chips, fruit leathers and more are gaining in popularity. However, many of the store bought versions are high in salt, preservatives, sugars and additives. Dehydrating your own food with a high-performance dehydrator like Excalibur allows you to swap out those pre-packaged foods for healthy, nutrition-dense alternatives that allow the true flavors of natural foods to shine through. Furthermore, dehydrators help soften saturated fats like coconut oil or cacao butter, ferments yogurts, cheese and other health promoting probiotic-rich foods from young coconut, nuts and seed creams.
2. Coconut Oil: A healthy alternative to butter, fats and other traditional oils (vegetable, olive, canola, etc.), Coconut Oil is naturally rich in Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) which are efficiently used by the body for energy production. A great way to incorporate into your daily cooking routine is to choose a coconut oil that naturally stays as a liquid, such as Carrington Farms Liquid Coconut Cooking Oil – as opposed to extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil which changes from a liquid to solid based on temperature. It retains all the health benefits of traditional coconut oil, but does not have the flavor or odor of coconuts.
3. Juicing: Rapidly winning over health enthusiasts, juicing is a great way to restore the internal system, eliminate toxins and reset your body. Get a masticating style juicer such as Omega’s NC800HDS juicer which not only offers superior extraction for added nutrients and vitamins (without extraneous produce waste) but also allows for the option to juice more than just produce- including nuts, wheatgrass and more.  With the increased versatility, comes increased flavors and better variety in fueling the body with nutrients and vitamins
4. Cauliflower: Called “the new kale” cauliflower helps fight free radical damage to the arteries and may prevent heart disease. Rich in Vitamin K (essential for bone health), fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and more, cauliflower is gaining the recognition it deserves from health enthusiasts. Its popularity is said to have grown due to diets including Paleo and other low-processed, low-carb plans, along with its versatility as a tasty addition to many everyday dishes including pastas, salads, soups and more.

Category: Good Life