Dehydrating fruit

Dehydrating fruit has been around for thousands of year. This was a common thing to do in less fortunate times. It also works very well today for a variety of reasons. Just a couple are because dried fruit takes very little space to store, it is very nutritious, and for us backpackers it is very lightweight.

Dehydrating fruit can be done a couple of ways. The most efficient being the food dehydrator but you can also use oven drying and sun drying as methods to dry your fruit. You will need to watch for a few things before you drying fruit such as the selection, preparing the fruit, method you want to use and more. Read each fruit article carefully for all the options.

Selection of fruit:
Select the best quality fruit that you can find to start with. Make sure it is ripe, has no blemishes, and is firm. If you can get the fruit off of the tree then by all means do it, if not then follow the rules.

Note: Some fruit will need the seeds taken out and peeled and some will not so read the directions for each fruit carefully.

Pre-treatment:
You will need to pre-treat almost all the different kinds of fruit. Dehydrating fruits will affect the enzymes in fruit which control the color and flavor while the fruit is ripening so this is needed to slow down the enzyme process. There are a couple of different methods for pre-treating such as sulfuring, ascorbic acid solution, steam blanching and salt solution.

Sulfuring:
The most effective way to pre-treat when dehydrating fruit to keep it from darkening, is to use flowers of sulfur which can be bought at your local pharmacy. Do not use sulfur that you would put on the garden, it contains impurities that could harm you. A couple of rules to follow using this method;

• Always burn the sulfur outdoors.
• 1 Tablespoon for each pound of fruit (if your sulfuring box is almost airtight then 1½ tablespoons)
• Wooden tray with ventilated bottom
• Trays should be at minimum of 1 ½ inches apart
• Fruit should not touch each other
• Use a clean metal container with ½ inch of sulfur
• Place the burn container beside the trays. If you use matches to light the sulfur Do Not leave the matches in the sulfur, it will affect the complete burning of the sulfur.
• Make sure you have enough space between the burn container and the trays and box. The heat can light the box and trays themselves.
• Cover with an airtight box, preferably wood or heavy cardboard. Minimum of 1-2 inches clearance on all sides.
• For combustion air leave a gap on the bottom of a small hole on the burn container side. You may need a small opening on the opposite side on top to allow air flow.
• After sulfur has been burning well for about 15 min. seal off the box completely to extinguish the flame.
• Check the fruit to see if sulfuring is complete. It usually will take an hour or more depending on how much fruit and the conditions. Fruit will have lots of color and also will be shiny.

Ascorbic acid solution:
You will need pure Ascorbic acid when dehydrating fruit, which you should be able to purchase at your local drug store. Most fruits only need 1 teaspoon per cup of water and 1 cup should treat 5 quarts of fruit. Just sprinkle it on as you prepare it.

Note: If you use commercial Ascorbic Acid then you will need to soak the fruit at 4 teaspoons per quart. Soak if for no longer than 15-30 min. and then drain.

Steam Blanching:
Use 1 ½ -2 inches of boiling water in a steamer. Put fruit no more than 1 inch deep in the colander or basket. Each fruit will have a different blanching time so read each one carefully. After blanched remove and drain on a paper towel or cloth.

Note: Water blanching will leave a cooked flavor, Steam blanching will not.

Salt solution:
You can also use a salt solution for pre-treatment when dehydrating fruit. Use 2-4 tablespoons per gallon of water. Soak for 15-30 minutes then remove and drain on paper towel of cloth. Drying time will be longer with this method.

There are different methods that can be used for dehydrating fruit. You can use food dehydrators which are the most effective and efficient, oven drying, sun drying and solar drying. Each will be discussed in detail in the article pertaining to each fruit since drying times and methods can vary depending on what fruit you are drying.

Conditioning and pasteurizing:
Conditioning the fruit is simply the method of rotating the fruit after it has been dried. The reason for this is because some of the fruit will have more moisture than the other and you will need to equalize the moisture content. Simply put the fruit in a glass or plastic container, cover it tightly and stir every day for 3 day to a week, depending on quantity that you have and how uneven the moisture content between pieces.

Pasteurizing:
When using the sun drying method insects and other unwanted things can get into the fruit. You will need to get rid of these things. Pasteurizing does that. Pre-heat your oven to 175º put the fruit in for 15 min. or pre-heat to 160º and put in for 30 min. Remove and cool and store. Another method is to put the fruit in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for at least 48 hours at 0ºF.

Storage of dried fruit:
Package your fruit in an airtight, insect-proof container. Fruit jars, coffee cans that are tightly sealed and vacuum sealed bags work great. Package your fruit in small amounts that you can use within a couple of days after opening. The fruit will deteriorate slightly every time you open the container. Store in a cool, dry and dark space. Check every so often for moisture. Moisture will collect on the inside of the container. You can rescue the fruit by heating it again at 150º for 15 min. and resealing. If the food is discolored then throw it out.
Store for 6-12 months.

Re-hydrating your fruit varies on each individual fruit. Read each article for directions.

Testing for dryness also varies for each fruit. Read each article for directions.

Back to the top of Dehydrating fruit