Dehydrating fruit

[vette-kid]

Anyone into this? Got a dehydrator and tried my first batch. Mango and banana. Turned it ok, good enough to eat and smile about, but I think I could do better. I have grapes in right now.

I treated both with a solution of 2 cups water, 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of lime juice, soaked for about 5 minutes. Dehydrated for 14 hours at 130. I placed a few into a sealed baggie and no evidence of condensation. They both taste good, but I think the sugar was a bit much as there is a little sticky texture to it. I think the mangos could have done a few hours less and next time I might just try to go for chips with the bananas. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the texture.

Anyone else do this? Any pointers or recipes? It's kind of fun and they make great road trip or backpacking snacks.

I'm hoping for a banana crop this year and while we eat a lot of bananas, I don't think we can eat then fast enough to keep up with a good harvesting plant.

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[DirtMechanic]

I find letting the production cool before bagging has a distinct drying effect and condensate does not appear on the bag interior to cause later problems. I guess that warmth allows for a greater retention of moisture. I turn the machine off and let it sit until cooled.

 

[roadrunner]

I do quite a bit of dehydrating, got into it to support my long-distance hiking/cycling trips to save money on resupplies. I started out by reading the "cookbooks" that come with the dehydrator and just did trial and error from that point on. There's definitely no science to dehydrating, a lot of art and instinct.

However, I have found out that in my attempt to dehydrate my foods that I was over-dehydrating, which causes a loss in nutrients and taste. It's best to dehydrate to the point of being pliable, but not brittle. Of course the amount of time depends on how you cut/slice your foods.

I've also found out that certain foods don't need blanching as recommended by the "cookbooks", but some definitely do need blanching, such as potatoes; I definitely blanch potatoes before dehydration.

I've also found that some types of foods, especially tomatoes seem not to be done, but with experience they are done at a certain point, but they must sit and cool before it's easy to see that they are actually done (the art and instinct part of dehydrating). And like DirtMechanic said, I never package my food until it's sat out and cooled.


P.S. I also never vacuum seal my food and have had it last about a year, much longer than recommended without vacuum sealing/refrigeration. I simply store it at room temp and away from light.


EDIT: I also got an expensive dehydrator, which is good to have if you really get into dehydrating. I have an Excalibur, similar to this https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ex...MI4oPJj_nm2QIVw1cNCh3Bdgj-EAYYASABEgKjHvD_BwE

 

[marlingardener]

The only vegetable we "dehydrate" are Roma tomatoes. We don't have a dehydrator, although I'm considering getting one (and thanks Roadrunner for the recommendation of brand). I sun dry tomatoes by cutting them in half lengthwise, removing as many seeds as I can, rinsing them in vinegar, and putting them on our homemade sun drier. The drier is two frames with fine aluminum screening, supported on saw horses. It usually takes about three days of Texas sun to dry the tomatoes. We flip the screens over after two days, and carry them inside if rain threatens.

After they are well dried, I put the tomatoes in freezer bags and freeze them. They are great on pizza, mixed in pasta salad, or chopped and baked in Italian bread.

 

[vette-kid]

I do quite a bit of dehydrating, got into it to support my long-distance hiking/cycling trips to save money on resupplies. I started out by reading the "cookbooks" that come with the dehydrator and just did trial and error from that point on. There's definitely no science to dehydrating, a lot of art and instinct.

However, I have found out that in my attempt to dehydrate my foods that I was over-dehydrating, which causes a loss in nutrients and taste. It's best to dehydrate to the point of being pliable, but not brittle. Of course the amount of time depends on how you cut/slice your foods.

I've also found out that certain foods don't need blanching as recommended by the "cookbooks", but some definitely do need blanching, such as potatoes; I definitely blanch potatoes before dehydration.

I've also found that some types of foods, especially tomatoes seem not to be done, but with experience they are done at a certain point, but they must sit and cool before it's easy to see that they are actually done (the art and instinct part of dehydrating). And like DirtMechanic said, I never package my food until it's sat out and cooled.


P.S. I also never vacuum seal my food and have had it last about a year, much longer than recommended without vacuum sealing/refrigeration. I simply store it at room temp and away from light.


EDIT: I also got an expensive dehydrator, which is good to have if you really get into dehydrating. I have an Excalibur, similar to this https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ex...MI4oPJj_nm2QIVw1cNCh3Bdgj-EAYYASABEgKjHvD_BwE

Thanks, I slightly overdid a batch of mango. Still edible though. I may look into vacuum packing as a long term storage, as it is they don't last that long. Maybe a few weeks.

 

[Silentrunning]

We always had tons of bananas and oranges so that is what we dehydrated. I always made banana chips with no added spices and the kids liked them. As stated, don’t over dry stuff.

 

[vette-kid]

We always had tons of bananas and oranges so that is what we dehydrated. I always made banana chips with no added spices and the kids liked them. As stated, don’t over dry stuff.

How were the oranges, I just thought that didn't sound good so didn't consider doing it.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Could you press an orange for juice and then dehydrate even if you added back a little sugarwater?

 

[Silentrunning]

How were the oranges, I just thought that didn't sound good so didn't consider doing it.

They were ok. Not great. We had a couple of wild(not grafted) trees that made horrible tasting but great looking oranges. I would dehydrate slices of those oranges and my wife would use them along with wild berries and colored leaves to make decorative vases and jars.

 

[DirtMechanic]

We always had tons of bananas and oranges so that is what we dehydrated. I always made banana chips with no added spices and the kids liked them. As stated, don’t over dry stuff.

Actually I have not asked the dog which she prefers, but her chicken strips keep nicely as a dried meat rather than a moist jerky. She will get us up out of bed for that hot off the dehydrator first batch though. I figure she has smelled it all night and it makes her crazy by morning. She makes a big show of crunching on it so there is some fun there.

 

[vette-kid]

Raisins came out great! WAY more flavorful than store bought ( bigger too). Took 24 hrs.

 

[roadrunner]

When it comes to dehydrating meats, including chicken I've found that the most important thing is to marinate the meat in a very salty marinade, that way things don't grow. I also don't vacuum seal jerky, nor do I refrigerate and I've had my jerkys last for a year -- but need to keep in a dark place and dry.

I've seen many mention banana chips, I've also done them and I've found that mine come out best when I pre-soak them with some sort of citric acid, many recommend using lemon juice, but I've found that pineapple juice is just as good, if not better. Apples are another fruit I pre-soak the same way, otherwise mine turn out kind of bad. Also, if you refrigerate bananas before slicing, it makes it easier, because they're not as mushy.