I’m a big fan of beef jerky. Not so much eye-watering retail price, mind you, or the untraceable nature of the commercial product’s precursors — like when you get that one bag that’s nothing but scraps, unidentifiable knuckles and strands of desiccated flesh, ew. So I decided, in keeping with my recent self-sufficiency kick, to start dehydrating my own food for fun and, presumably, eventual profit. Certainly not because the USDA is warning that in 2022, “all food prices are predicted to increase between 8.5 and 9.5 percent,” with “food-at-home prices predicted to increase between 10 and 11 percent.”

Dehydration is one of humanity’s oldest and most useful food preparation techniques. We were doing it before we began farming, sun-drying meat and vegetable matter to wick away moisture that leads to spoilage, extending its durability and making it easier to transport. Even with later advances in fermentation, pickling, curing and canning, drying remains an ubiquitous practice with the global meat snack industry estimated at $9.47 billion in 2021.

Given that I was just getting into the activity, and am generally a cheap sumbitch, I ignored the advice of popular review sites and forewent the bells and whistles of Wi-Fi connectivity, stainless steel construction and associated smartphone apps, opting instead for the least expensive, most barebones dehydrator I could find: the Cosori C0165. It’s $70 and perfect.

I mean it’s a food dehydrator. It is, by definition, a box that blows hot air. You could literally MacGyver one out of a hair dryer, a plastic milk crate, a two gallon water jug, some chicken wire, and a roll of duct tape if you wanted to. And there is nothing fancy about the dehydration process. You set the temperature and a timer, then wait 6 - 18 hours for a bell to ding, so like why would I spend upwards of $200-500 for a bunch of features that only give the illusion of greater control but don’t make the actual process go faster?

The C0165 does exactly what it's supposed to and not one iota more and I absolutely love it for that. You get five BPA-free plastic stacking trays, a fruit roll sheet and a mesh sheet for herbs (yes, those herbs too). You put moisture-filled stuff on those trays, you stack the trays, you turn on the machine, you set the temperature (95ºF-165ºF) and time (30-minute increments up to 48 hours), and then you move on with your life. There are no pop-up reminders to clear, no app permissions to grant, and very little to break, so long as you don’t dunk the base unit in liquid. The thing is damn near silent, running under 48 dB — you won’t notice it operating overnight unless it's in the same room as you — and is compact enough to fit into the cabinet when not in use. Clean-up is also easy: just wipe down the base with a sponge and give the trays a light scrubbing to take off any dried bits left behind.

To date, I’ve managed to fit 2-plus pounds of sliced and marinated bottom round into the machine in one go, as well as around 3-pounds of roasted heirloom tomatoes at a time. Taller (or broader, depending on your angle of observation) items can be tricky as there isn’t much space between each tray level so stuff like hatch chilis will need to be cut down to size before being processed. And while I have to run the machine for the better part of a day to see results, it is still far more efficient than using a full-size kitchen oven (which draw 2000-3000W, on average, to the C0165’s 450W) and magnitudes faster than waiting for the dumb old sun to do it — and that’s assuming you even live somewhere hot and dry enough to prevent the food from rotting before it fully dries (hint: that somewhere is sure not San Francisco).

Sep. 16—ELKHART — The Elkhart County Sheriff's Office has released its final findings about the crash that killed U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, two of her staffers, and Nappanee resident Edith Schmucker. "All of the evidence and information gathered is consistent with someone attempting to pass another vehicle on a two-lane roadway," the release reads. The crash took place Aug. 3 on Ind. 19, ...

Sep. 16—SYRACUSE — Chautauqua-Wawasee is hosting an evening with author and peace-seeker Cliff Kindy for a workshop to discuss the question "What if Christians had the passion for peacekeeping that warriors have for war?" If You Go WHERE: Oakwood Resort, Event Center, Syracuse WHEN: Sept. 28, 6:30 — 8:30 p.m. COST: Free to attend. Registration requested, but not required. To register, go to ...

Sep. 16—CLARK COUNTY — A Clark County murder suspect accepted a plea deal in Clark Circuit Court 1 on Thursday and has been sentence to more than two decades behind bars. Thomas A. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter in the June 2021 shooting death of Michelle R. Slaughter of Clarksville. Court records show he was sentenced to 25 years, with 20 years to be served and ...

Sep. 16—NEW ALBANY — The Kroger store at 3400 Grant Line Road in New Albany is closing. Kroger officials confirmed to the News and Tribune that the store's last day will be Oct. 7. "We let the employees know this morning and elected officials were notified," said Kroger Associate Communications Manager Jessica Sharp. She said all 75 employees at this store will have the opportunity to take ...

An Inland Empire family had an emotional reunion with their dog, who was trapped for two days during the recent mud slides.

Sep. 16—CLARKSVILLE — At least two dozen women dressed as Rosie the Riveter spent time along Clarksville's slice of the Ohio River on Friday afternoon. The women, along with at least 100 other people, attended the unveiling of Rosie the Riveter statue in Ashland Park. "(I came) to celebrate Rosie the Riveter," said Phaedra Grant, one of the women in attendance dressed in the iconic garb. The ...

Sep. 16—NEW ALBANY — Five people are facing murder, burglary and robbery charges in the Sept. 1 death of 25-year-old New Albany resident Dajour Drones. Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane said Friday that Demetrius L. Roberts, Zakarion Peters, Hannah Cushing, Cortlen Berry and an unnamed juvenile are charged in the man's death. Each person is charged with the same thing — murder, burglary and ...

A look at the Week 5 schedule and standings through Week 4 of the high school football season. Return Friday night for scoring updates on area games.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis suffered an apparent leg injury in the first half against Louisville.

Bed Bath & Beyond to permanently close Marina location

Follow along for up-to-the-minute score updates from the Week 4 high school football games.

People are going over the edge of an office building in Howard County to raise money for a good cause. When thinking about the Special Olympics Maryland and fundraising, people commonly think about the Polar Bear Plunge. But no one's going in the water this weekend. Special Olympics Maryland on Friday started the second annual Over the Edge event to raise money for its athletes in Howard County. Participants rappel down 12 stories of the 6100 Merriweather Drive building, which is the tallest building in Howard County. WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Tommie Clark took part in the event, joining rappelers who had to fundraise at least $1,000 to secure a spot at the very thrilling event.

Palm Beach County preps fans, your fall guide to small-school football is here.

China reported 718 new COVID-19 infections on Sept. 16, of which 140 were symptomatic and 578 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Saturday. As of Sept. 16, mainland China had confirmed 248,025 cases with symptoms. China's capital Beijing reported zero new local symptomatic cases and zero asymptomatic cases, compared with two symptomatic and zero asymptomatic cases a day earlier, according to local government data.

Sep. 16—Three local students were recently named National Merit semifinalists. They are Selah Conklin of Glacier High School, Matthew Causey of Whitefish High School and home-school student Andrew Hawken of Kila and are among 16,000 students to reach semifinalist status around the U.S., according to a press release. The high school seniors entered the National Merit Scholarship Program by ...

Stay with argusleader.com tonight for score updates, livestreams, roundups and more from South Dakota high school football games.

Results from high school football in the greater Rochester region of the state.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyPopular YouTube personality Kimberly Nicole Foster plans to take legal action against Nicki Minaj fans who posted her personal information online, prompting a torrent of abuse that has lasted all week.Foster plans to file a lawsuit as early as next week, she told The Daily Beast. The pop culture commentator has already filed a report with her local police department and submitted a tip to the FBI, complete with screenshots that show some

Sep. 16—Prep girls tennis Inderkum 5, River Valley 4 The Falcons dropped a pair of split-set matches Thursday that head coach Gabriel Ramirez said was the team's downfall in an overall 5-4 defeat at home to Inderkum. "It was another close match," Ramirez said. "On the bright side, both of our losses came down to the end in very close matches." RV's No. 1 and freshman Valeria Ramirez stayed ...