7
HELPFUL TIPS AND REMINDERS
Always use fresh, quality food and wash everything
before starting to dehydrate
1. Best results are achieved when the quality of the food is
high. Select ripe produce in good condition. Bad food may give
an off-flavor to the entire lot.
2. Clean produce is important. Wash thoroughly, remove soft or
spoiled areas, slice and pre-treat if necessary. Be certain that your
hands, cutting utensils and food preparation areas are also clean.
3. Produce may be shredded, sliced or diced. Slices between
1/8˝ to 1/4˝ is usually a good size for efficient drying.
4. Drying times are affected by the size of the load, thickness of the
sliced produce, humidity of the air, and the moisture content of the
food itself. You can expect a variation in the drying times.
5. Be sure to let the produce cool before testing for dryness.
To test for dryness, cut a piece open - there should be no visible
moisture inside. Fruits tend to dry leathery and vegetables dry
brittle.
6. Trays may be loaded with foods barely touching but not
overlapping.
7. About 6% to 10% of the moisture may remain in foods with-
out danger of spoilage. Many dried foods will have a leathery
consistency, rather like licorice.
8. Blanching (immersing briefly in boiling water) is advisable for
vegetables to inactivate the natural enzymes responsible
for undesirable color changes. Also, it facilitates quick
dehydration and reconstitution. In some cases, blanching is nec-
essary to crack the skins of fruits like plums to allow moisture to
escape during the dehydration. Otherwise, the skins may harden
while the fruits remain too moist in the center.
9. It is necessary to rotate the trays every few hours (depending
on the model you have). Just move the bottom trays up and top
ones down and turn to right or left. See diagrams on pages 8-9.
10. When correctly dried, the majority of your fruits and veg-
etables will be soft and pliable after dehydration - without any
damp spots. Peaches, pears, figs and dates will be pliable and
leathery. Berries, rhubarb, and apples will be more brittle.
11. To remove seeds or pits from prunes, grapes, cherries,
etc., dehydrate about half way - then pop seeds out. This
prevents juice from dripping out.
