Dehydrating Fruit
Dehydrating fruit is easy and fun. Cut the fruit into small, equal-sized pieces; spread in a single layer on the dehydrator trays, and crank up the dehydrator. It takes from 6 to 36 hours to dry fruit, depending on the juiciness of the fruit, but the wait is worth it when you taste the final product.
Dehydrating fruit concentrates the natural sugars so your pineapples and bananas will taste extra sweet on the trail. Choose mature, firm fruits for the highest sugar and nutritional content, but avoid bruised or overripe fruit. When dehydrating fruits such as apples with the skins on, thoroughly wash and rinse the fruit to remove any wax and pesticides.
On the trail, you’ll maintain peak energy by snacking on dried fruit throughout the day. My recipes will give you simple ways to incorporate dehydrated fruit into your breakfasts, desserts, and trail mixes. Try cooking oatmeal with dried apples, raisins, and cinnamon, topped with crunchy granola for a quick-energy breakfast. I even slip pineapple and coconut into my recipe for Hawaiian Shrimp and Rice.
The range of drying times listed below for dehydrating fruit are what you could expect using an Excalibur Food Dehydrator. Factors such as humidity, the size and thickness of your fruit pieces, and the juiciness can all affect how fast fruit dries. Most fruit will be pliable or leathery when done, meaning you can bend it and it won’t break. You can easily tear a piece of dried fruit in half and if no moisture beads up on the inside and there is no stickiness on the outside, it’s done.
One of the features that I like about my Excalibur is its large capacity for dehydrating fruit- drying 30 pounds of Georgia peaches in one batch was no problem. I use the nine tray model which has 15 square feet of drying area. As an avid gardener, I load my Excalibur up when fruits and vegetables are in season.
Dehydrating fruit will fill your home with pleasant, fruity smells. If you are like me, you will get hungry and start snitching before the fruit is dry. Enjoy!
Dehydrating Apples
- Thoroughly wash apples to remove pesticides and waxes that may be present unless you plan to peel off the skin. Because the skins contain nutrients, I leave them on.
- You can core and slice apples into rings or cut them into whatever size pieces you like. I quarter the apples first and remove the core and stem with a sharp knife. I then cut the quarters into 1/8” slices.
- Dehydrate at 135° until pliable (7 – 15 hours).
- Because the flesh of apples turns a little brown when exposed to air (oxidation), some people dip their cut apples into a bath of water and sodium bisulfate or ascorbic acid for a couple of minutes before dehydrating. Treating apples with either of these anti-oxidants is safe and will prevent the fruit from browning. I am not bothered by the slightly darker color of my apples, so I skip the dip.
