Before starting the thread I was advised to check for similar tools among which this is somewhat related to my post,Log In But while dehydrated food may not taste as well alone by itself, not all tastes bad, and the explanation for those fruits that are not very tasty could be that they need to be hydrated before eating them. However, this thread is not just about dehydrated foods but a series of dehydrated products I have found in some stores, which sometimes are not as cheap as we could think, but in the long run save money and time because you can only use as little or much as you need without getting the product rotten in no time, as happens when you open a can and is not fully consumed. Dehydrated products include different type of beans, chili salsas, corn grains, fruits, tomato puree, and even dehydrated eggs, whole or yolk separated! Back to fruits, these can be used to prepare tasty desserts, as everything else can be hydrated and complemented with other products such as soya meat-like. What are your thought about substituting some products in your shopping list for dehydrate options instead?
There are a few companies out there who sell a whole variety of dehydrated products - mainly to those who have storm shelters or "doomsday preppers" so to speak. People trying to stock pile on such stuff in case of emergencies. I actually found out about them through some Youtube cooking videos, which featured their products, and was pretty intrigued. I think they would be helpful for people who cannot get around much and cannot drive too, since it's hard to get someone to take them to the grocery store on a regular basis. It's always nice to have some shelf stable foods on hand when you run out of your fresh stuff. Powdered eggs and milk in particular would really come in handy. I would buy more of them if the prices were more reasonable though, and if they were available in smaller sizes. The companies I saw that were selling stuff, were mainly only selling them in large coffee can size containers, and they were often like $35+ a piece. Granted, there is a lot of food in each one, but I was worried about how long it would last once I opened it - especially since I live alone and only cook for myself.
Dehydrated beans are fine as they tend to last a long time and also you only need a handful unless you are cookimg some major dishes. What I did find useful was dehydrated porcini as they are expensive and they are handy to use to throw into a pasta dish when they are out of season, or if you just want a few. They are also more economical as even if you try to freeze them they can lose flavor, but the dehydrated ones seem to keep their flavor.
I do buy some foods like this sometimes, because it can be a good way to save money, however I will only ever buy food if I know that it is going to taste good. I won't ever compromise on taste, because life is too short to be refusing to spend money on things just because you would rather save it. So I do compromise whenever I feel as though I can, and I will often have dried food products in the house, but it is not something that I would want to use all the time.