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Fruit Dehydration Tips
Fruit Dehydration Tips
Dried fruit is a superb food treat Try it plain as fruit leather, or in ice cream
cobblers and pies. It's hard to imagine a better tasting more nutritious snack than
dried fruit. Dried fruit is naturally sweet, has no preservatives, and is inexpensive.
Your food dehydrator makes drying fruit easy.
With all fruits it is best to wash them before beginning. After that, most fruits just
need halving coring or pitting and slicing before placing them in the dehydrator.
You do not have to pretreat fruits to get good results, but some fruits, such as
apples, pears, peaches, apricots and bananas tend to darken somewhat with
drying or storage beyond six to seven months. Although still edible when darkened,
they tend to not appear as tempting to the palate. If you don't mind the change in
color of your dried fruit, there is no need to pretreat. Fruits like bananas turn brown
without pretreatment, but at the same time they become very sweet and bursting
with pure banana flavor by simply slicing and placing directly into the dehydrator.
For drying times of fruits, refer to the "Fruit Timetable" on Page 27.
To avoid this darkening the fruit pieces can be dipped in solutions of lemon
pineapple, or orange juice, or ascorbic acid prior to dehydration Dip the fruit in the
solution for two minutes. Drain on paper towels and place in drying trays.
Lemon Pineapple or Orange Juice
Fresh or bottled lemon pineapple or orange vices are the best because of
their natural sweetness. Pineapple and orange juice can be used full strength or
diluted to taste. If you use lemon juice it is best to dilute it with 1 part vice to 8
parts water and soak the fruit pieces for two minutes. Be aware that the taste of
these vices can overpower the taste of the fruit being dried and may not always
prevent discoloration of food Experiment with the dilution and soaking times to
suit your tastes
Ascorbic Acid
Crystalline ascorbic acid or products with ascorbic acid made for preserving fruits
for canning may be obtained from drug stores or from stores selling canning supplies.
Most grocery stores sell it with their canning supplies as well Mix 1 tablespoon in
four cups of water and soak the fruit for about two minutes. Like lemon juice, the taste
can be quite overpowering so experiment with concentrations and soaking times.
Fruit Leather Dehydration Tips
Sometimes referred to as Fruit Rolls, Fruit Strips, or Fruit Jerky, fruit that is
pureed and dried in thin sheets becomes a tasty, chewy, candy-like snack we will
call fruit leather. You have probably sampled the commercial versions from the
market, but once you've tasted it made fresh at home with quality fruit, you'll never
go back to store bought! Fruit leather is a good way to make use of left-over or
overripe fruit that might otherwise be discarded.
Making Fruit leather is very easy. Start by thoroughly washing the fruit in cold
water and remove any stems or leaves left on the fruit. Remove the peel skin
pits, or seeds as necessary. Then just puree the fruit or fruit combination of your
choice, and add just enough liquid to the blender to make a smooth thick pure
e Honey, fruit juice or water can be used but don't make the mixture too thin or it
won't stay put on the dehydrator shelf. With fruits that have a high moisture level
little or no liquid needs be added at all
Since you are the cook, you get to taste the puree as you are making it. It is not
only your privilege but an important part of the process, because if the puree tastes
good the leather will taste even better! Remember that the flavors and sweetness
will concentrate when the leather is dry, so don't make it too sweet!
It is best to use a fruit leather sheet designed for the purpose but if not
available you can line one half of each drying tray with plastic wrap To maintain
adequate circulation only half of each tray should be covered As always, you
must leave the drying tray's center hole uncovered If using more than one tray,
place the plastic on alternate halves of the trays in the stack. Remember that the
trays only go in one way, so stack the trays properly on the counter before lining
them to assure proper placement of the plastic wrap.
When drying sticky purees (bananas, for instance) spray a small amount of
vegetable-oil-based spray on the fruit leather sheet or plastic wrap. After all fruit
leather sheets are filled stack the drying trays atop the base. Dehydrate until the
fruit puree is the texture of leather. It should be easy to peel off of the fruit leather
sheet. Wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Spices, chopped nuts
or coconut may be added to the puree for extra flavor. For further variation puree
several types of fruit together.
Feel free to experiment with your recipes Single fruit flavors will work just fine,
but there are lots of various fruit combinations that combine to make flavorful
snacks These include:
Strawberry Banana Pineapple Orange Raspberry Banana Coconut
Strawberries Rhubarb Pineapple Apricot Mixed Berry
Pineapple Peach Raspberry Apple Apple Blueberry
Apple Cinnamon (use cinnamon sparingly)
Honey Cranberry Orange (cranberries should be cooked
