12
for dryness by breaking the pieces in half. Most vegetables will be crisp when
appropriately dried and will break easily. If vegetables do not break easily, additional
drying time is needed. If vegetables seem to have a lot of moisture remaining,
recheck every 1 to 2 hours. If vegetables appear to be almost done, check again in 30
minutes. Always check vegetables from each tray.
Follow “Packaging and Storage” information on pages 6 and 7.
VEGETABLE DRYING GUIDE
Dry vegetables at 125°F or 52°C.
Drying times are highly variable depending on the type and amount of food, thickness,
evenness of food pieces, humidity, air temperature, personal preference, and even the age
of the plant at the time of harvesting.
Vegetable
Preparation
Pretreatment
water blanching or
steam blanching
Average Drying
Time
Asparagus
Cut into 1˝ pieces.
water 3½–4½ minutes
steam 4–5 minutes
6–8 hours
Beans,
green/wax
Remove ends and strings. Cut into
1˝ pieces.
water 2 minutes
steam 2–2½ minutes
6–11 hours
Beets
Cook until tender. Cool and peel.
Cut into shoestring strips ⅛˝ thick.
None—Already cooked
4–7 hours
Broccoli
Cut into serving pieces.
water 2 minutes
steam 3–3½ minutes
4–7 hours
Carrots
Peel and cut off ends. Cut into ⅛˝
to ¼˝ slices.
water 3 minutes
steam 3–3½ minutes
4–10 hours
Cauliflower
Cut into serving pieces.
water 3–4 minutes
steam 4–5 minutes
5–8 hours
Celery
Trim ends. Cut into ¼˝ slices.
water 2 minutes
steam 2 minutes
2–4 hours
Corn, cut
Husk and remove silk. Blanch and
cut corn from cob.
water 1½ minutes
steam 2–2½ minutes
6–10 hours
Mushrooms
Wash and slice ⅜˝ thick.
None
2–6 hours
Onions
Remove outer skin. Cut off top and
root ends. Cut into ¼˝ slices.
None
3–7 hours
Peas
Shell.
water 2 minutes
steam 3 minutes
5–9 hours
Peppers and
pimientos
Remove stem, core, and inner
partitions. Cut into ¼˝ strips.
None
5–10 hours
Potatoes
Peel and cut into ¼˝ slices.
water 5–6 minutes
steam 6–8 minutes
4–8 hours
Summer
squash and
zucchini
Trim ends. Cut into ¼˝ slices.
water 1½ minutes
steam 2½–3 minutes
4–6 hours
Tomatoes
Peel, if desired. Cut into sections
¾˝ wide.
None
6–11 hours