There are lots of things which we can dry in a food dehydrator. But do you know that we can also dry honey in the food dehydrator?
Yes, you heard it right. Honey can also get dry, and it tastes quite yummy. Usually, we use honey in most of our recipes for sweetening purposes. Honey is one of the best sources of energy that improves your immune system also and the same benefit it offers when consuming in the dried form.
But you must be thinking that how can we use the dehydrated form of honey?
After dehydrating honey, you can grind it in small crystals form and later you may use it for sprinkling over the desserts.
Some users still ask me can you dehydrate honey to make honey powder?
My answer for them is, Yes. We can. That’s what we are going to show you in this article.
Do you find it little difficult to dehydrate honey?
It is quite easy to dry honey, but some of you might find it little difficult. Thus, for your assistance, we are discussing the way through which you can quickly dehydrate honey. We will also share some valuable info with regarding the dehydrated honey so that you can include this healthy food in your diet more frequently.
So, let’s continue reading!
UPDATE: Some of you might be failing while using the below method of dehydrating honey with a food dehydrator. So, in such a case, you can check out another article how to make honey powder without a dehydrator in which we will explain how to prepare honey powder without using a food dehydrator efficiently at home. It includes one of the easiest ways of making honey powder or dried honey.
What is Dehydrated Honey or Dried Honey?
The dehydrated honey is also known as powdered honey. Some of you might know it by the name honey powder, honey crystals or dried honey. All the names have the same meaning, but they differ in their quality.
The reason behind the difference in the quality is a way of processing the honey. If you grind it in the thicker form then, it is known as honey crystals. But if you grind it minutely just like sand then, it is called the honey powder. Few manufacturers also add some ingredients in the dried honey that changes the entire look and texture of the final product.
How to Dehydrate Honey in a Food Dehydrator
The method of drying honey is not so complicated about the other foods. It involves straightforward steps. Let’s check them out!
Step 1: Spread the honey
The first step in the process of dehydrating honey is to spread it on the surface in a fragile layer so that entire moisture of the food can get escape. You may use a puree sheet or a baking sheet of the food dehydrator for spreading the honey. Some of the food dehydrators might not come with a puree sheet, thus, in that case, you can use the regular baking tray along with theparchment paper that can grasp the honey well. Now, slowly spread the 1/8-inch thick uniform layer of the honey over the baking tray.
- Important Tip: If you want to add more flavor to the dried honey then, you may sprinkle some ground ginger or ground cinnamon over it.
Step 2: Slowly heat the honey
You must remember while cooking the honey that if you dry it out on a very high temperature then, the honey can get burn. It is advantageous that you use a food dehydrator with the preset setting of the temperature. So, if you have a food dehydrator, place the tray of the honey inside it and set the temperature at the 120 degrees F. Now, you can leave the honey for few hours to few days till honey gets dry. But do not forget to check its consistency in between the drying process until it becomes dry to touch.
- Important Tip: After the drying process, if you find that the honey is quite sticky to touch then, you must continue it drying for more time.
Step 3: Grind the dried honey
As soon as the honey gets dried, remove it from the dehydrator for grinding purposes. You should not wait too much after removing the honey from the trays as this can lead to the exit of the heat from the food. It can also result in the sticky honey because of the more absorption of the moisture from the outside environment. For removing the honey from the trays, you can use a spatula. After taking it out, break them in the small pieces. Now, grind these pieces in a food processor until it turns into powder.
- Important tip: It is entirely your choice that in which way you want to consume the dried honey, i.e., in small crystal form or powder form.
Step 4: Store in a sealed container
Now, you can store the dried honey in a sealed container so that it does not come in contact with the moisture of the environment. It mainly helps in increasing the shelf life of the food if you store it properly. You must shift the dried honey as soon as possible in the container. You can use this dried honey over the cakes, cookies, etc. to increase the sweetness of the dessert.
- Important Tip: You should not open the airtight container of the dried honey until it is necessary. It will provide a longer shelf life to the food.
Advantages of the dried honey
It is quite beneficial if you consume the dried honey in comparison to the other form of sweeteners and include it in your different recipes. Please read below to know the advantages of the dried honey:
- Best alternative to sugar From various studies and researches, it’s confirmed that the honey is a good substitute for sugar. There are lots of minerals and vitamins which we get from the dried honey. Honey has a very low GI level (glycemic index) in comparison to the white sugar.
- Longer shelf life The powdered honey or the dehydrated honey has a longer life than the raw honey. If you store it properly in the airtight jar then, it can last for several months. It is quite a healthy option which we can use at the time of baking any dessert.
- Maintain the consistency of thecooked food The dehydrated honey allows you to make some lip-smacking and delicious recipes. It works similar to the white sugar in the desserts. It makes the food like cookies quite fluffy and soft. You can use it for frosting also owing to its light consistency. Few different types of sweeteners make the desserts dry after two days, but this does not happen when you use the dehydrated honey in them.
- Inexpensiveto buy The dehydrated honey comes at very reasonable price on the market. So, you can buy the non-organic dried honey for making any dessert at very less cost. It is cheap than the expense of the white sugar at least.
Disadvantages of the Dehydrated Honey
As such there are no so many disadvantages of the dehydrated honey, but still, we want to share few shortcomings of the product:
- Absence of pure honey It is not possible every time that the honey which you find on the market is pure and does not comprise of any artificial ingredients or sweeteners. Sometimes the manufacturing company adds sweeteners such as sucrose in the honey so that it does not turn into liquid soon. Thus, you should buy the honey from the trustworthy brand only so that you can get fully healthy benefits of the product.
- Problem of over or under drying If you do not have much knowledge about using the food dehydrator then, you might face the issue of under or over drying the honey. Honey is a very sticky food, so if you dry it for long, then it can get stick to the dehydrator tray. The under drying of the honey can result in the sticky texture in the end. Thus, it is always beneficial that you get familiar with the proper drying time and temperature before dehydrating honey on the food dryer.
Conclusion
We hope that now you know that how to dehydrate honey. Nowadays people are becoming more health conscious and usually look for the healthy options that can substitute the unhealthy options.
Thus, dehydrated honey is one the best alternative to the white sugar, and it is quite easy to make it with the help of the food dehydrator at home. You can use the dried honey in numerous desserts by marinating your calorie intake to the low level.
So, what are you thinking now? Go and start making the dehydrated honey in your food dehydrator. Do not forget to share your pleasant experiences with us later. It will also help us in making our article more informative to all other precious readers.
However, if you have any query, then you can write to us in the below comment box. We will try to solve your question as soon as we can.