Dehydrating Fruit

How to Dehydrate Fruit

Whether for business or personal use, dehydrating fruit is a great way of preserving your food. There are two ways to dehydrating your food.

The first one is through the natural process commonly known as solar drying and the second one is through an electric food dehydrator. Both of these food dehydrators have proven to be effective in dehydrating fruit. However, a solar dehydrator can be time intensive. For your convenience it is best to use electric dehydrators.

Dehydrating fruit is so simple and fun. However the procedure may vary depending on the type of fruit dehydrator you use as well as the type of fruits you are going to dry. Nevertheless there is just one basic procedure for dehydrating fruits.

Dehydrating Fruit – Step by Step

First you need to prepare all of the needed materials. Make sure you do not include overripe fruits as well as fruits with blemishes. Wash your fruits thoroughly in order to get rid of pesticides and dirt. Make sure the thickness of your slices are uniform so they dry together at the same time.

The next step in dehydrating fruit is to blanch or dip it with ascorbic acid or salt. Remember that you must know the type of fruit you are going to dry since there are fruits which are not suitable for blanching, and there are also fruits which require dipping. When you choose to dip fruits you should also make your choices whether you will dip it with ascorbic acid, honey, pectin or salt it is all for you to decide.

When you are done with your pre-treatment, the next step is to choose the method you will use in dehydrating fruit. With the solar method you need to make sure that the weather is nice and hot.

Spread the fruit on the screen for as long as it takes the fruit to dry out and flip when necessary. For an electric dryer you simply need to place the fruit on the racks and start the machine up.

Leave it inside the rack for as long as it takes to dehydrate. This will vary from fruit to fruit, but should not take much time. Expect to let the dehydrator run for a few hours at most.

When you are done with the dehydrating fruit process you need to place the fruit in a dry container. It is best to store your dried fruit in an airtight container such as a ziplock bag. Place it in a cool dry place for long term storage.

When you decide to buy yourself a food dehydrator, check out my page on food dehydrator reviews.