Fruit Drying in the Sun

[kloe]

I looooove dried fruit and would like to make my own but don't have a dehydrator. Can anyone recommend a great way to dry my fruit in the sun without needing a lot of "equipment"? (I'm in West Africa, so have really limited access to things). My biggest concern would be trying to keep the bugs and ants out! :p
Is there a way to make my own "sun drying contraption"??!!! :D

[gritsnla]

"Google" homemade dehydrator and you will get a few hits. Or even solar drying, because I just did this and saw a few instructions and plans on-line. For the insects they used some fine mesh screen. Good Luck!

[spicyfull]

I do it All the time. A lot of the time the flies don't want RAW. I just put it on my dehydrator shelf (which I took out of the dehydrator) put it outside on a table, cover it with cheesecloth (a fine cotton cloth or anything with a tight weave) Rotate it. If it attract flies on top of the cloth, you can cover it with a Box.

I use the shelves because they already have an open weave, I also use the teflon sheets. You can use Anything, just turn it over. EXPERIMENT

I have a dehydrator but HATE to run it for days to dry something that the SUN can dry. This is how I FLY in the Summer. Some say the sun can cook it too much because it is not regulated. Hope it works out for you...Have a RAW Day.............

[cactus]

back home in Australia we used to dry things all the time in summer, we used a fly wire screen that was just nailed to a square frame for underneath the fruit so the air circulated around it, most of the time we didnt even cover it, but on occasion we threw a piece of light cheese cloth over it, I think that was when once something got flyblown and it put us off, but mostly as long as its hot enough and air circulates, it works well, we dried everything from tomatoes necterines and apples to really obsure stuff like mulberrys and zucinis.

I wouldnt try it where I live now though, Norfolk England, I doubt there would be enough sun at any time of the year! hrrrm sun... Ive forgotten what that is the winter has been so long!