22
Dehydrator
Fruits
Wash fruits and remove any blemishes. Dry off fruits and slice in equal
pieces. Remove stones from stone fruits like plums, cherries, peaches
etc. before drying.
If desired, pre-treat the fruits. Pre-treatment makes fruits look better
and increase the shelf life. Fruits taste better and dry faster. Use pine-
apple or lemon juice to prevent browning. Soak fruits for 2
– 3 minutes
in the juice before drying.
Sprinkle fruits with brown sugar, cinnamon or coconut or with honey to
give an interesting flavour. Blanche fruits with natural protective wax
coating e.g. figs, grapes and prunes before drying. Blanching speeds
up drying process. Immerse fruits in boiling water for 1
– 2 minutes and
plunge into ice cold water. Slice blanched fruits in thin slices.
The mentioned times for dehydrating food are guidelines only.
According to taste, prolong or decrease the time.
Vegetables
Wash vegetables and remove any blemishes. Cut vegetables in equal
pieces.
Pre-treat the vegetables to speed up drying process. Vegetables with
long cooking times require steam blanching. Bring a saucepan of water
to boil. Place vegetables in a colander in the saucepan and cover.
Blanch vegetables for 1
– 5 minutes.
Finally cool down vegetables in ice water, drain and dry off before
drying.
Herbs
Wash herbs and remove any blemishes. Use also stems or leaves.
Evenly spread herbs on the dehydrating trays. Do not put one upon the
other. Many herbs can be dried with stems.
Do not store herbs in paper bags as the oil will be absorbed by the
paper.
