Points To Remember - Ronco Electric Dehydrator Important Safeguards

Always use fresh, quality food and wash everything
1. Best results are achieved when the quality of the food is high. Select ripe
produce in good condition. Bad food may give off flavor to the entire lot.
2. Clean produce is important. Wash thoroughly, remove soft or spoiled areas, slice
and pre-treat if necessary. Be certain that your hands, cutting utensils and food
preparation areas are also clean.
3. Produce may be shredded, sliced or diced. Slices ¼" is usually a good size for
efficient drying.
4. Drying times are affected by the size of the load, thickness of the sliced produce,
humidity of the air, and the moisture content of the food itself. You can expect a
variation in the drying times.
5. Be sure to let the produce cool before testing for dryness to test for dryness, cut
a piece open – there should be no visible moisture inside. Fruits tend to dry
leathery and vegetables dry brittle.
6. Trays may be loaded with foods barely touching but not overlapping.
7. About 6% to 10% of the moisture may remain in food without danger of spoilage.
Many dried foods will have a leathery consistency, rather like licorice.
8. Blanching or steaming is advisable for vegetables to inactivate the natural
enzymes responsible for undesirable color changes. Also, it facilitates quick
dehydration and reconstitution. In some cases, blanching is necessary to crack the
skins of fruits like plums to allow moisture to escape during the dehydration.
Otherwise, the skins may harden while the fruits remain too moist in the center.
9. It is necessary to Rotate the trays ever few hours (depending on the model you
have). Just move the bottom trays up and top ones down and turn to right or left.
See diagrams on pages 8-9.3
10. When correctly dried, the majority of your fruits and vegetables will be soft and
pliable after dehydration – without any damp spots. Peaches, pears, figs and dates
will be pliable and leathery. Berries, rhubarb and apples will be more brittle.
11. To remove seeds or pits from prunes, grapes, cherries, etc., dehydrate about half
way – then pop seeds out. This prevents juice from dripping out.
REMEMBER
before starting to dehydrate