Instructions for Dehydrating Fruits & Veggies

Dried fruit makes a tasty snack.

Dehydration is a method of preserving fruits and vegetables. Dehydrated produce makes tasty, nutritious snacks, such as banana chips or dehydrated peas. Use a countertop food dehydrator to efficiently process fruits and vegetables at home. Processing times vary according to the type of produce, and some fruits or vegetables require a pre-treatment prior to dehydrating. This pretreatment typically involves blanching with water or steam.

Things You'll Need

• Food dehydrator
• Knife
• Pan or steamer
• Bowl

Instructions

1. Set the food dehydrator on a solid surface, close to the electrical outlet. Since it is a long process, choose a location where the dehydrator will be undisturbed.

2. Select ripe fruit and vegetables, ideally free of blemishes. Do not dehydrate under-ripe or over-ripe produce. Peas and corn are the exception; both are best dehydrated when slightly under ripe.

3. Wash the produce under running water and cut off any blemishes.

4. Cut the produce into equal sized pieces, if necessary. This will vary according to the type of produce. Dehydrate peas whole, but cut bananas into 1/4-inch slices. When dehydrating a batch of the same type of fruit or vegetable, each piece should be similar in size to dehydrate evenly.

5. Submerge produce in boiling water for several minutes followed by iced water to blanch them, if necessary. Put fruit in a steamer pot for several minutes to steam blanch, if necessary.

6. Arrange the pieces of produce on the food dehydrator trays in a single layer without the pieces touching. Only place one type of produce on a single tray.

7. Stack the filled trays in the dehydrator, according to the appliance manufacturer's instructions. In some models, trays stack atop one another with a lid placed on the top tray. Trays fit into the appliance like drawers in other models.

8. Turn the temperature of the appliance to 140 degrees F. Processing time will vary, from several hours to several days.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't mix produce types on a tray. If each tray holds just one type of equally sized fruit or vegetable, that tray can be removed when the produce is sufficiently dried, and other trays can remain on the dehydrator to continue processing.

References

• University of Idaho: Drying Fruits and Vegetables
• Virginia Cooperative Extension: Using Dehydration to Preserve Fruits, Vegetables, and Meats
• Colorado State University Extension: Drying Vegetables

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish