how long to dehydrate?

[Luciano]

the excalibur just arrived yesterday, and ive been trying with some fruit, tomatoes, etc.

how long do you dehydrate them for? so far most fruit has a leathery texture, but there still some water in them. how far do you have to go to improve preservation? and for how long can you keep them after that?


also, is it ok to run the dehydrator 24/7? or do you let it rest every now and then?

thanks!

[Revvell]

You let them dry until they're the dryness you want. No one can tell you how long. It depends on what temp you set it on; what the humidity is where you are; what you're drying. Some things will stay "leathery", others, like crackers, will crisp.

Leave it running 24/7.

[Luciano]

You let them dry until they're the dryness you want. No one can tell you how long. It depends on what temp you set it on; what the humidity is where you are; what you're drying. Some things will stay "leathery", others, like crackers, will crisp.

Leave it running 24/7.

the thing is i dont want to store them in a jar and then find that they went bad or have mold in them.

[DebB]

the thing is i dont want to store them in a jar and then find that they went bad or have mold in them.

I understand what you're saying and it's the same concerns I had and still do! But, it's still very difficult to say.

If I'm in doubt, I store it in the fridge. I still have fruits I dehydrated during the summer of 2009 in there (me thinks it's time to let them go if they haven't gotten eaten by now!)

I can say this, I store banana chips in jars in my pantry for months and haven't had them mold - and they're leathery, not crisp. Right now I've got jars of melons and mangoes, leathery -- and I'm watching how they do.

My tomatoes are more to the crisp side and I've had no problems storing them on the pantry shelf for over a year. *Ü*

[Revvell]

the thing is i don't want to store them in a jar and then find that they went bad or have mold in them.

Eat 'em. They're food. It's the chance you're take with food. No one here can give you specifics. Some food will last a REAL long time; others, not so. Is what it is.

[blizzardfrisbee]

I've only had a dehydrator for a couple of months--so hae ben experimenting with it. I have noticed that it just takes practice to figure out how long to keep it in. It never goes by the suggested times. I just check it once in a while.

[Mad Mex]

Store them for a month or more?

I am happy if the stuff last until it is completely dehydrated. Everything is so yummie.

Saludos

Marcel :cool:

[streetsurfer]

I can understand wanting to store for longer. I've dried and stored tomatoes, hoping I can eventually overcome my allergy to them and then enjoy them. Of course they probably have a shelf life but I sampled a few over a year later and they were fine, vacuum sealed in ball jars. Also good to put up in case of natural disaster.

During your drying attempts, take notes, including temp and humidity in home. Future dryings can be helped by referring back to notes. owners manual is probably your best bet to get you started with knowing what fruits/veggies will be leathery or crisp. If the excalibur book doesn't go into that there are many helpful tips inthe American Harvest one that you can download online. Happy drying!