More Fun with Food Dehydrator
14.6 years ago dehydrator, herbs, strawberries
I decided to be adventurous with the food dehydrator and grabbed some stuff from the refrigerator to make some nice nutritional snacks.
I started with some strawberries, the process is very simple, take some strawberries slice about 1/4 inch thick and place on the tray.
Next I moved on to apples which I soaked in a solution of lemon juice (about 1/4 cup) with 1 cup of water. To add a little extra sweetness I also dumped in a packet of artificial sweetener to reduce the sourness from lemon. After letting the apples soak in this solution for about 3 minutes I added them to the tray.
After slicing bananas about 1/4 inch thick I also soaked these in the same lemonade bath I did for the apples for 3 minutes as well.
Finally I spliced some watermelon at the same approximately 1/4 inch thickness while removing as many seeds as possible and then placing the slices on the trays and moving them into the dehydrator preheated at 100 degrees F.
After about 24 hours the apples were ready and very delicious, these did not last wrong. Next came the strawberries which tasted ok, but were very difficult and basically not worth the time to attempt to wedge from tray and eventually gave up a through most of these away. This was followed by the watermelon which wasn’t quite as messy and tasted like semisweet candy with a light watermelon flavor which seems about right since watermelon does not have nearly as strong a flavor naturally as you would get in artificially sweetened gum or candy. Lastly were the banana chips which were good and were all eaten though for the long time required to dry I probably will opt to buy the non-fried version of these at the store.
Overall it was fun to make these but apples will probably be the only ones in a future rotation but looking forward to drying some garlic, onions, and herbs later this year.
Tags: cheap, garden seeds, garlic bulbs, herb garden, strawberry plants, vegetables
14.6 years ago
Another fun thing is to make a powder out of the dried fruit and then add to things like pudding and ice cream.
14.6 years ago
I make dehydrated apples which have been sent through the peeler, slicer, corer. All the slices are the same thickness without effort.
I’ll have to experiment with some other fruits and veggies. Thanks for the ideas.
And I”ve dehydrated quite a bit of parsley, basil, oregano, and mint. More to come as the summer rolls on.
14.6 years ago
I like cantaloupe on the dehydrator. It gets a tad chewy but tastes great. Have to try watermelon. Also, have you tried to make fruit leather yet? I haven’t- just google up a recipe
14.6 years ago
shell, that is a good idea. We have a surplus of banana chips around here I should make some banana powder to add to protein shakes and oatmeal.
cassie-b, I used a core/slicer I don’t have a peeler though they still taste good and get a little extra vitamins and fiber as a extra bonus 🙂
Rob, given my annoyance with mess of current fruits doubt I would be happy with fruit leather even using a little parchment paper. One other problem I had with the watermelon is the seeds, it was difficult to get them all so had to pick a few out before eating.
14.5 years ago
Does anyone dehydrate tomatoes? What is the best practice for them?
14.5 years ago
Tammy, I have not tried to dehydrate tomatoes (yet) though here is the process that I am aware of. For best results you skin and remove the seeds and cut in quarters or eighths depending on the size of your tomato then place in your dehydrator at 140 degrees for 3-8 hours. You may also may want to sprinkle some kosher salt and basil on them before drying for a little extra flavor. There is always the sun dried option as well.
14.5 years ago
I’ve found the easiest way to dry spices (especially chilis) is to put them on a small towel just below the front or back windshield of my car and leave it in the sun with the window’s rolled up for a day.
14.5 years ago
Drying foods is fun for a while but it always seemed like such an awful lot of work and time for such a small yield. Still, if you like it and find it rewarding you’ll be making things that you’d have a real hard time finding in a store. Fun blog.
14.5 years ago
John, I think I will stick with the low maintenance approach or with items I can’t find cheaply in stores
11.9 years ago
i love to munch banana chips for snacks. they are very nutritious too.’