Dehydrating Fruit (and Vegetables)

It was my husband's idea (like I need any more "hobbies") but on Saturday we bought a food dehydrator.  I've been drying fruit and tomatoes ever since and having fun doing it.  Back in the 80s I bought a dehydrator from one of those infomercials but it wasn't nearly as nice.  It took forever to dry everything.  My new one has 500 watts of power and dries stuff in 6-10 hours (which is normal).

I got mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=14099344 if you want the exact one.  It was like $64 but I used my 20% off coupon (I get them in the mail all the time because I signed up for email from them).  That brought the price down to like fifty-five bucks including taxes.

I'm pretty sure I've already saved that much in fruit roll-ups alone!  Here's a photo of mango and apples ready to be dried:

It's so simple to dry fruit, you get a manual with the dehydrator but I'll explain a little here.  Keep in mind I'm a novice but really, it's not rocket science.  So far I've dried mango, banana, peaches, apples, cantaloupe, and tomatoes.   I've also made fruit roll-ups (or in dehydrator language, fruit leather).  

You  are supposed to pick fruit that is at a ripe but not overripe stage.  Then you wash, peel and slice to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Put it on your dryer and you're done!   As you can see from the photo below, the apples are sliced so that you get a whole round with the cute star in the middle.  You don't even peel the apples!  You could peel them if you want and slice them however you want (as long as it's thin).  You want it thin because otherwise, it would take a million years to dry.

 For the bananas you can either slice them or you can half the banana and then quarter the halves so that you have finger-shapes.  I like them that way because they are chewy (sort've the consistency of licorice).  Some of the recipes I've seen call for adding honey or sugar.  I haven't found a need for that as most fruit is already super sweet.  Although the white peaches I did last night, were tart!  I would add a little Stevia to those next time.

Fruit Leather:  This is the best fruit roll-up you've ever had.  It's super easy to make and cheap, cheap, cheap!  I've made four different kinds.  It disappears immediately so I am not keeping ahead of the eaters!   I made banana/strawberry, peach/banana, peanut butter/yogurt (!),  and pineapple/banana.  Simply put the washed fruit you choose into a blender and blend it until smooth.  I've had to add a little apple juice to get it to blend and it turns out perfect at about 1/8 cup.  If you want to add sugar, honey or artificial sweetener you can.  I haven't had to except with the peach one (because it was white peaches and they are tart ... at least the ones I got were).  Your dehydrator has a tray with a plastic thingy specifically for fruit leather.  You spray the thingy with a little Pam and then pour the blended fruit on.  Be careful to pour slowly so that you don't get too much on the tray and it overflows!  Been there, done that.  When it's done, you place it on a piece of Saran Wrap and roll it up.  You can then cut pieces off for your lunch or a snack.

 I've found you have to watch the fruit leather the closest because if you look at it after 5 hours and it's still a little mooshy and you don't look at it again for an hour, it can be crispy.  Seriously it tastes good that way too.  I'm pretty sure that's how apple chips were invented.  Someone accidentally left the fruit roll-up cooking too long!  

It looks like it takes 6-10 hours for thinly sliced fruit to dry.  I've found that apples are on the low end of the spectrum.  The way you know when the fruit is done is you take a piece off the tray and cut it in half.  Then squeeze it a little.  If any moisture bubbles up, it's not done.    

Here's a photo of some of my bagged fruit (and sun-dried tomatoes in the right lower corner).  Oh, oh!  I have to tell you about the tomatoes!  So, so, so good!  I have to admit I wasn't going to make any.  My teenage daughter wanted me to.  She said she loves sun-dried tomatoes.  I never noticed her eating any but she said when she goes to a restaurant and that is on the menu, she always has it.  OK.  So she made the first batch.  You simply wash, core and thinly slice a tomato.  Then you brush one side with olive oil and sprinkle the other side with a little basil and oregano.  Oh my goodness!  When I had my first taste of sun-dried tomato I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.  Maybe the homemade ones are better, I don't know but seriously, you gotta try it.  I made some last night which my daughter said were better than hers!  (Imagine that ... a teenager complimenting her mother.)  Instead of basil and oregano, I used Mediterranean Sea Salt (buy it in the spice aisle).  We had some of our fresh sun-dried tomatoes on whole wheat pasta tonight and it was to die for.  It's expensive in the grocery store but super cheap to make yourself.