Dehydrating yield and weight-loss calculator

Enter a food and its fresh weight to estimate the dried weight. Weigh the batch again partway through to estimate how much moisture is left.

Weigh after peeling, coring, and trimming.

Weigh the food (not the trays) during drying.

Unit

How it works

Drying removes water but not dry matter (fibre, sugar, protein). So dried weight = fresh weight × (1 − fresh water) ÷ (1 − final water). Fresh water contents are rounded from USDA FoodData Central values for raw foods. Targets are about 15 to 20% moisture for fruit and 10% or less for vegetables and herbs.

  • Real produce varies with variety, ripeness, and storage, so treat the numbers as a guide.
  • Weight cannot tell you whether jerky was heated enough. Use a thermometer and follow the jerky safety steps.
  • Always finish with the texture test on cooled pieces, and condition fruit before storing.