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Dehydrating Fruits, Vegetables, Meat, Herbs, Spices & Leather
Gayle Bell
Ingredients
  • Pineapple Wash, slice and quarter or halve the fruit 110 to 115 degree F No pretreatment 24 to 36 hours
  • Persimmons Wash, peel and core; cut into slices or rings ⅛ inch thick 110 to 115 degree F No pretreatment 11 to 19 hours
  • Prune Plums Wash, peel and core; cut into slices or rings ⅛ inch thick 110 to 115 degree F No pretreatment 22 to 30 hours
  • Rhubarb Wash, peel and core; cut into slices or rings ⅛ inch thick 110 to 115 degree F No pretreatment 6 to 10 hours
  • Strawberries Wash, peel and core; cut into slices or rings ⅛ inch thick 110 to 115 degree F No pretreatment 7 to 15 hours
  • Watermelon Wash, slice and quarter or halve the fruit 110 to 115 degree F No pretreatment 8 to 10 hours
  • Mangoes Wash, slice and cut into ¼″ thick. 135 degree F No pretreatment 8 to 10 hours
  • Guava Wash, scoop out seeds with spoon and slice them to 4mm thickness 135 to 140 degree F No pretreatment 6 hours
  • subheading: Check if the fruit is done during this time, or until there is no visible moisture. Bear in mind that fruit drying time will depend on the following factors as well:
  • The size of fruit being dried
  • Whether it is cut into whole, halves or slices
  • Amount of water content in the fruit
  • The humidity levels
  • Generally, cut fruit is dry when it can be folded in half without sticking to its inner portion.
  • Once the drying is over, the fruit should cool an hour before packing. If it is not, sweat and moisture build-up can take place. But don’t wait beyond this to package the dried air as humidity can cause moisture to enter the fruit ( 4).
  • Fruit, when properly dried, will have 20% moisture. Some pieces may have even more or less based on factors like their placing on the dehydrator tray and variance in the size of the slices. Make sure the moisture is evenly distributed using the process of conditioning. In this process, you must place dried fruit in an airtight jar or bag and let it remain sealed for 7 to 10 days. The pieces should be shaken in the jar so that excess moisture is absorbed in drier pieces ( 5). See the table below for approximate drying times
Steps
  1. subheading: Vegetables Dehydrating Time and Temperature Guide:
  2. When you dry veggies in a dehydrator, you need to check the quality of the final product. If it takes exceptionally long to dry the vegetable, its flavor is lost. To lower the time needed to dry vegetables, they should be cut into small pieces. Vegetables need to be dried until they are brittle and contain only 10 percent moisture. No germs can thrive in the dried veggies as a result of this.
  3. The table below shows how some vegetables are better for drying than others at 110 to 115 degrees F.
  4. subheading: Vegetable Method Temperature Dehydrating Time:
  5. Asparagus Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 4 to 6 hours
  6. Green Beans Wash cut short and freeze before blanching 110 to 115 degree F 8 to 14 hours
  7. Beets Wash cut cook and peel. Dice to ⅛ of inch 110 to 115 degree F 10 to 12 hours
  8. Carrots Wash cut cook and peel. Dice to ⅛ of inch 110 to 115 degree F 10 to 12 hours
  9. Garlic Chop and peel well 110 to 115 degree F 6 to 8 hours
  10. Okra Clean, wash and dry, Then peel ¼ to ⅛ inch thick 110 to 115 degree F 6 to 8 hours
  11. Onion Clean, wash and dry, Then peel ¼ to ⅛ inch thick 110 to 115 degree F 3 to 9 hours
  12. Potatoes Wash and peel. Cut into strips that are ¼-inch thick or into slices that are ⅛-inch thick. 110 to 115 degree F 8 to 12 hours
  13. Tomatoes Rinse, dip into boiling water chill in cold water and peel. Cut into ¾ inch wide or slice 110 to 115 degree F 10 to 18 hours
  14. Eggplant Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 4 to 8 hours
  15. Greens Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 3 to 7 hours
  16. Mushrooms Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 3 to 7 hours
  17. Okra Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 4 to 8 hours
  18. Onions Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 4 to 8 hours
  19. Parsnips Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 7 to 11 hours
  20. Peas Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 4 to 8 hours
  21. Peppers / Hot Peppers Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 4 to 8 hours
  22. Corn Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 4 to 8 hours
  23. Pumpkin Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 7 to 11 hours
  24. Summer Squash Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 10 to 14 hours
  25. Turnips Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 8 to 12 hours
  26. Winter Squash Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 7 to 11 hours
  27. Yams Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 7 to 11 hours
  28. Zucchini Wash and cut in half 110 to 115 degree F 7 to 11 hours
  29. Always dehydrate foods with clean hands and on clean trays. The vegetables should be thoroughly washed before drying. Trim, slice and peel vegetables, removing the rotten or damaged areas. Slices should be kept in uniform pieces. Dry vegetables should be dehydrated once picked from the garden and purchased from the store. If they are in the fridge before drying, the quality of the vegetables will lower and nutrients will be eliminated.
  30. Pre-treating the vegetables requires blanching with steam or boiling water before dehydrating it. This heats the vegetables to temperatures high enough to stop enzymes that trigger loss of taste and color.
  31. But some veggies do not require blanching before dehydrating. These include green peppers, mushrooms, and onions.
  32. subheading: The types of blanching include:
  33. Water blanching
  34. Steam blanching
  35. Most vegetables need to blanch with either steam or water. Cooling and drying the vegetables after blanching is important. This prevents the cooking action that is caused by hot water. The vegetables must be trained and slightly hot to touch when they are placed in the dehydrator in a single layer on the trays.
  36. Veggies tend to dry more rapidly towards the close of the dehydrating period so they need to be carefully watched ( 6). Conditioning is not required as the vegetables contain just 10 percent moisture. Veggies with strong odors should be separately dried to prevent flavor mixing ( 7).
  37. subheading: Herbs and Spices Dehydrating Time and Temperature Guide:
  38. The easiest method of preserving herbs and spices, so that they do not lose their potency is to dehydrate them. Herbs and spices take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to dehydrate at 110 to 115 degrees F. The best time to harvest the herbs are when they are harvested.
  39. When the flowers are at the bursting bud stage, the herb should be harvested. Rinsing the herbs in cool water once they have been collected and shaking them to remove excess moisture is important. Discard bruised, damaged or soiled leaves.
  40. Pre-heating the dehydrator with a 95 to 115 degree F thermostat is essential for the best results. Areas of higher humidity may even require preheating of more than 125 degrees F. Herbs need to be placed on a single layer in the dehydrator trays and periodically checked. Herbs are dry when they easily crumble, and stems are broken when bent.
  41. Less tender herbs are easiest to dry and they dehydrate faster. This includes rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, and summer savory. Tender leaf herbs like lemon balm, mint, basil, oregano and tarragon will spoil if they are not dehydrated and take longer to dehydrate on account of higher moisture content. Dried herbs are usually 2 to 4 times stronger than fresh herbs. They are also easier to store.
  42. Item Dehydrating Temperature Dehydrating Time
  43. Herbs and Spices 110 to 115 degree F 2 to 4 hours
  44. subheading: Meat Jerky Dehydrating Time and Temperature Guide:
  45. A lightweight, dried meat product, jerky is the choice food of campers, sports enthusiasts and backpackers. Jerky can be made from lean meat. This includes beef, pork, venison or smoked turkey. Raw poultry or chicken jerky is not recommended because the texture and flavor of the finished product are not satisfactory.
  46. To treat the meat, freezing 6-inch portions or less at 0 degree F for at least 30 days saves the product from bacteria. This includes raw meats like high protein beef, venison, etc. Clean hands and utensils are important.
  47. Meat and poultry should be kept at 40 degrees F. Using ground beef and poultry within 2 days, red meats within 3 to 5 days are necessary. If you are using the fresh game for making the jerky, check the meat is clean of wounds. Thoroughly cooked meat should be dehydrated if the game meat is being dehydrated.
  48. Meat should be sliced at ¼ inch and not be containing any fat. Excess fat makes the jerky chewy and rancid. The dehydrator offers meat jerky within 10 to 24 hours at 140 degrees F.
  49. Samples heated in marinade dry quicker. If strips are not heated in the marinade before dehydrating, they should be heated after drying in an oven for a safety measure at 10 minutes in a 275 degrees F preheated appliance. Though thicker strips may require additional drying, there are different steps when it comes to making jerky from ground meat.
  50. Special presses are needed for forming or shaping the product. An internal temperature of 160 degrees F is necessary for eliminating disease-causing bacteria.
  51. Using a calibrated thermometer, you need to monitor the air temperature of the dehydrator. Pre-heating the dehydrator to 145 degrees F for 15 to 30 minutes is essential. Well, dehydrated jerky is leathery and brittle but won’t snap. The dehydrating temperature for jerky ranges from 160 to 165 degrees F.
  52. Item Temperature Dehydrating Time
  53. Meat and Poultry Jerky 160 to 165 degree F 4 to 6 hours
  54. Fish Jerky 160 to 165 degree F 12 to 14 hours
  55. Fruit Leather Dehydrating Time and Temperature
  56. Fruit leather is made from drying thin layers of fruit puree in a dehydrator. Fruit leather takes 4 to 10 hours at 140 to 145 degrees F for drying properly. Dehydrating fruit leather is simple. The properly dried fruit leather lacks opacity and is easily peeled from the pan though tacky to touch. Drying thin layers of pureed fruit called fruit rolls or taffies, fruit leathers are whole and nutritious snacks for those on the go.
 

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