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Starting out - or continuing - with dried food can be confusing!
Here are some pieces of the equipment that I love - and that make things easier and/or tastier!
My Go-To Kitchen Equipment
Dehydrator
This is a big one, I use our dehydrator for most of our dried goods.
I recommend the COSORI 6-tray food dehydrator.
The time and temperature controls make drying food simple and safe. This replaced our old cheap dehydrator that was simply "on" or "off". With that style, you just can't control the process enough to safely dry meats, and it's too hard to make well-dried batches consistently.
Jerky Gun
This XINQIAO Jerky Gun is really nice, comes apart easily for cleaning. It has smooth action for making nice, professional-looking strips. It has multiple tips, but I find I almost always use the medium-wide tip for that classic jerky strip shape.
Food Processor
SO many of my recipes rely on a food processor - or at least are a lot easier with one.
Personally, I love my Cuisinart Elite Collection 12-Cup Food Processor.
I had one for many years, and it eventually gave out (I used it MUCH more than the average household user, was shocked it lasted as long as it did). Couldn't find that style when I went to replace it, bought a different Cuisinart... wasn't in love it with.
Finally bought another Elite Collection one on Black Friday, much happier!
That said, for any average household usage... you can honestly even find a used food processor if you'd like. Even the cheapest ones make life SO much easier - I started out with an ancient, second hand one!
Grater
I recently upgraded my 10+ year old, held-together-with-an-epoxy-fix box cheapo box grater with a KitchenAid Gourmet 4-Sided Stainless Steel Box Grater, and now I feel like I have to sing its praises to anyone who will listen!
Who knew that a nice grater could make SUCH a difference?
It grates so much easier, and makes these huge, luxurious shreds of cheese. I probably sound ridiculous, but I LOVE it!
Spiralizer
A spiralizer is a fun way to get creative with the process - just be careful because it can alter drying times.
I have a 7 Blade Vegetable Spiralizer, and LOVE it. 100% recommend!