Dried Mangos and banana chips?

[Firicia]

Hey I have a great dehydrator and I am wondering if anyone has any experience in making dried banana chips or dried mango slices (are my fave thing recently but I don't think the kind of the store could possibly be raw so wanna make my own).

For the mango's, how long and how high do you put the temp. I wanna make sure they don't go bad before they dry, any great ways to keep them juicy and not too dry?

Thanks so much!!!

[DebB]

I deh. mango slices earlier this week and have 5 trays of banana chips in right now - YUM!

It was the first time I deh. mangoes. I simply kept checking them and took them out when they got to the 'doneness' I was looking for. If you're worried about them going bad, just too them into the fridge and then it's no worries.

One thing funny about the mangoes though, almost every one of them developed air pockets. I thought they were big fleshy parts not dehydrated yet, but later discovered they were air bubbles - big ones. So I poked all the bubbles and deflated them and finished the dehydrating.

I bought 4 more mangoes on Friday to dehydrate because wow - that mango was delicious dehydrated.

As far as how long. It's almost impossible to say. It just depends on your humidity, how thickly you slice them, etc. Just keep checking them and take them out when they're as dehydrated as you want them. I leave bananas in for at least 24 hours.

I tried leaving them in longer to see if they got crispy - while they were less chewy - - as soon as they sat on my pantry shelf (glass jar with lid) for a day or two, they rehydrated a bit (and we live in the desert..), so I won't let them go that long again as it doesn't make a difference in the long run.

Neither of them will get crispy, so don't look for that. They'll both be leathery & chewy. The banana chips will turn almost a light black, so don't be alarmed. I can't keep enough banana chips on hand, my grandkids eat them as fast as I deh. them! *Ü*