9
Preparing Fruits For Dehydrating
1. Choose high quality, fully ripe, unnblemished fruits.
2. Before processing wash all produce to remove dirt and any pesticides.
3. Trim away any bruised or soft areas. Blemished or bruised fruit spoils
easily and could spoil the entire batch.
4. If desired, remove peel or rind. The peel contains minerals and vitamins,
but can become tough when dehydrated.
5. Remove seeds, pits, stems, etc.
6. Cut fruit uniformly to ensure even dehydration.
7. Dehydrating times vary according to thickness of fruit. Optimum thick
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ness for efficient dehydrating is 1/8 to 3/8 inch.
8. Preheat Dehydrator for 2 - 3 minutes with cover in place.
9. Pretreament of fruit is optional, see page 11.
10. To avoid sticking, lightly coat Trays with vegetable spray or a few drops of
vegetable oil.
11. Arrange prepared fruit on the Trays, skin side down, allowing space be
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tween pieces for good air circulation. Do not stack or overlap fruit.
Thickness Guide
Ideal food thickness for dehydrating is l/8 to 3/8 inch.