mixing in the dehydrator

[merfie]

does anyone know if flavors will mix in the dehydrator? i've always done like with like...different cookies/sweets all together...OR crackers, spicy veggie chips, bread all together. i currently want to do crackers, spicy veggie chips, and cocoa buckwheaties...

[Crisyn]

I remember seeing this question asked before on a different board and most people replied that no the scents/flavors will NOT mix.
However, my personal experience since I got my dehydrator (Excalibur - maybe different types would be different?), is that everything dehydrated with a strongly scented food will come out tasting slightly like it. For example, I just made a batch of caramel coconut cookies at the same time I was dehydrating my onion bread, and they still have a slight oniony taste (and scent actually) although it is not so bad that I can't enjoy the cookies.
Before someone says that this would only happen with onion bread, I have also had it happen with veggie burgers (no onions, but lots of garlic and mushrooms that took over my dehydrated fruit pieces) and crackers.
So, really it is just a minor annoyance, and it won't really affect the taste of your food that much, but the answer is YES, food scents do transfer in the dehydrator.
However, you said you want to do cocoa buckwheaties, spicy veggie chips and crackers? None of those have a strong scent (unless the crackers are strongly seasoned with onion, garlic or herbs), so you should be fine.