Make DIY snacks with these gadgets at Amazon

by Stephen_Danos · August 19, 2013

By Phil Hornshaw

There are tons of extremely processed, extremely frozen snacks in your average grocery store, but for the health-conscious among us, those snacks aren’t worth the trade-offs in ingredients like sodium and high-fructose corn syrup.

But, thanks to technology making kitchen gadgets smaller and more affordable, the days of being forced to grab something you don’t really want to be eating, are just about over. Devices that can make foods like jerky, potato chips, ice cream and pretzels let you create the snacks you want, how you want, whenever you want. The huge online retailer Amazon.com packs a number of these devices, and we’ve picked five of our favorites to get you started on the path to DIY snack foods.

Dehydrate or freeze it!

One of the handiest snack food machines you’ll find is a dehydrator. With it, you can make all kinds of instant snacks that are great for taking with you, bagging up for carrying to activities or through the work day, and more.

A dehydrator like the Waring Pro DHR30 Professional Dehydrator is great for making things like beef jerky, fruit leather, potato chips, and lots of other foods. It goes for about $70 on Amazon, but don’t forget to grab a recipe book or two, or find a good (and free) alternative online.

If dehydrating food isn’t really your thing, maybe consider freezing it instead with the Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker. For an asking price of $80, it takes most of the work out of making frozen snacks like ice cream and sorbet with its fully automated operation.

Snacks on sticks and more

Device maker Nostalgia Electrics has quite a few machines on Amazon that are perfect for making the kind of snacks kids love. The company’s SPF200 Soft Pretzel Maker runs at $25 on Amazon and does exactly what it says – it makes soft pretzels, giving you full control over things like how much salt to throw on (or not), and whether you want to eat your pretzels with cheese, mustard, or something weirder.

Nostalgia Electrics also has a device that’s perfect for turning lots of foods into instant snack foods – its SOS600 Snacks on a Stick Maker, which goes for $25 as well. With it, you can make foods like corn dogs and other carnival favorites right in your own kitchen.

Popcorn might be an old standby snack food you can make at home, but that’s because it’s not only a classic, it can be a healthy snack that’s easy to make. A good popcorn maker like the Wabash Valley Farms 25008 Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper goes for $27 and lets you make your popcorn right on the stove, or you can go the slightly higher-tech route and grab the Presto 04820 PopLite Hot Air Popper for $20. Either way, you get full control of things like butter, salt, and any other additives you like – plus, watching movies at home is a lot better with your own popcorn.