Dehydrator timing

[Indi]

Hi
I have just received my dehydrator.
I have loaded it with all sorts of fruits and veggies.
i have coated some (just experimenting)

I notice that some fruits and veggies will be ready before others.

My question is if once the item has been dehydrated, does it harm the enzymes to leave it in the machine whilst the rest of the produce finishes off?

As i set the machine going this afternoon, some will be ready in the middle of the night!

I made some courgette chips which have shrivelled to match sticks
I sliced the produce thinly to avoid lengthy drying times, but some items have almost dissapeared!

think I will make cookies next! :) :) :)

[Shivananda]

My suggestion is to take individual items out of the dehydrator as they get done, rather than leaving them in until everything is done. The moisture inside the food cools the interior as it evaporates, keeping it within temperature limits. Once the moisture is all gone the interior heats rapidly.

BTW, for loose food items with high moisture content, like onion rings, for instance, I pile them very high on the dehydrator tray to start, in multiple overlapping layers. By the end they've reduced to 1/4 of what they started as.

[Indi]

Thanks, that makes sense...
I will have to start dehydrating overnight, so that im around in the day to take out finished items.

The bananas are discoloured and leathery, mabe they are just not ready yet, any tips on this?
I placed the apples in rings with the skins on, II dipped them in a weak solution of lemon juice first, they appear to have kept their colour.
Th mango has been a real success.
Thanks for your help.

[rawcanadagirl]

Yes - the first time I made sweet potato chips - I sliced them VERY thin so that they would be crispy and dry quickly - they almost completely disappeared!! I just had a few thin, fragile slivers left. Now I slice thicker for chips, and quite thick for dried - but still chewy - fruit.

[Shivananda]

Just think about how much water is in what you are dehydrating, and adjust your thicknesses and times accordingly. That water is what you will be removing, so...

Very watery foods, like pineapples and vidalia onions, should generally be sliced thick because they will shrink a lot.

Very dense foods with less water content, like beets or nutpatties, can be thinner because they will shrink less.