Fruit Dehydration - Klarstein SHAFTESBURY Manual

EN

FRUIT DEHYDRATION

Dried fruit is a superb food treat. Try it plain as fruit leather, or in ice cream
cobblers and pies. it is hard to imagine a better tasting more nutritious snack than
dried fruit. Dried fruit is naturally sweet, has no preservatives, and is inexpensive.
Your food dehydrator makes drying fruit easy. With all fruits, it is best to wash
them before beginning. After that, most fruits just need halving, coring or pitting
and slicing before placing them in the dehydrator.
You do not have to pretreat fruits to get good results, but some fruits, such
as apples, pears, peaches, apricots and bananas tend to darken somewhat
with drying or storage beyond six to seven months. Although still edible when
darkened, they tend to not appear as tempting to the palate. If you do not mind
the change in colour of your dried fruit, there is no need to pretreat. Fruits like
bananas turn brown without pretreatment, but at the same time they become very
sweet and bursting with pure banana flavour by simply slicing and placing directly
into the dehydrator. For drying times of fruits, refer to the Fruit Preparation Table.
To prevent fruits from darkening, fruit pieces can be dipped in solutions of lemon
pineapple, or orange juice, or ascorbic acid prior to dehydration Dip the fruit in the
solution for two minutes. Drain on paper towels and place in drying trays.
Lemon, Pineapple or Orange Juice
Fresh or bottled lemon, pineapple or orange juices are the best because of their
natural sweetness. Pineapple and orange juice can be used full strength or diluted
to taste. If you use lemon juice, it is best to dilute it with 1 part juice to 8 parts
water and soak the fruit pieces for two minutes. Be aware that the taste of these
juices can overpower the taste of the fruit being dried and may not always prevent
discolouration of food. Experiment with the dilution and soaking times to suit your
taste.
Ascorbic Acid
Crystalline ascorbic acid or products with ascorbic acid made for preserving fruits
for canning may be obtained from drug stores or from stores selling canning
supplies. Most grocery stores sell it with their canning supplies as well. Mix
1 tablespoon in four cups of water and soak the fruit for about two minutes.
Like lemon juice, the taste can be quite overpowering so experiment with
concentrations and soaking times.
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