General Drying Guidelines - Nesco FD-2000 Use Manual

GENERAL DRYING GUIDELINES

Certain varieties of produce, the humidity in the air, and even methods of food
handling make quite a difference in the drying time and quality of the dried product
•
Experiment with different drying temperatures, thickness of food, pre-treatment
versus no pre-treatment and different re-hydration methods
•
To save nutrients and produce a quality product, it is necessary to work fast
preparing foods to dry When placed in your dehydrator, they need to dry
continuously at the recommended temperatures and times Do not turn off your
dehydrator or leave partially dried food on the trays as it may spoil or develop
"off" flavors.
•
Spread all foods evenly to dry in single layers If slices overlap, the areas that are
overlapped will take twice as long to dry
•
Do not add fresh produce to a partially dried batch It will slow the rate of drying
for both products It is possible, however, to combine partially dried foods on to
fewer trays
•
Many people have more than one NESCO
have two, it's easy to combine a load from both dehydrators after a few hours and
start a new batch in your second dehydrator using the remaining trays
Selecting Foods To Dry
•
Select the best quality produce at the peak of ripeness and flavor.
•
Wash carefully to remove debris, dust and insects
•
Cut away bruised or damaged sections
Loading Trays
•
Lay food pieces evenly on trays
•
Don't overlap food pieces, as this will inhibit drying time As each tray is loaded,
place it on the dehydrator to begin drying
Drying Time
•
Drying times may vary, depending on the type and amount of food, thickness and
evenness of the slices, percentage of water in the food, humidity, temperature
of air, altitude and the model of NESCO
using
•
Drying times may also vary greatly from one area to another and from day to
day, depending on the climatic conditions Keep records to help you predict drying
times for specific foods.
Drying Temperature
•
Fruits, fruit rolls and vegetables should be dried at 130°F to 140°F (55C to 60C)
By drying foods in this temperature range you will minimize the loss of heat-
sensitive vitamins A and C
•
All foods sweat when they begin to dry, the temperature may be set higher than
140°F (60C) during the first couple of hours of drying. The actual temperature of
the food will remain 15°F to 20°F (6C to 8C) lower than the air temperature for
the first couple of hours.
•
Meats and fish should be dried on the highest temperature setting of your
dehydrator These temperatures keep bacteria and other micro-organisms, common
to meat and fish, to a minimum during the first stages of drying.
/American Harvest
®
/American Harvest
® ®
5
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