Drying fruit

[cst810]

Good morning,

I was able to borrow a friend's Excalibur dehydrator and tried making fruit chips as a first project. I used apples and bananas and let them go @115 degrees for 15-20 minutes and then turned the temp down to about 95 for 15 hours. I experimented with spices and added a drizzle of vanilla to some of the bananas and some cinnamon to the apples. When I took them out this morning, they are soft and some still moist on the bottom. What's the normal time & temp (round about) for making fruit chips? I took them out, but can I put them back to finish drying? Would like to replace my crunchy snacks with these while I ease back into raw.

Clesha

[Aleesha Sattva]

how come you turned them down? i keep my D turned up to 112 for the entire drying time. you can turn your D up to high for the first hour to speed up the drying time on most things.

[DebB]

It's really difficult to say how long it takes - it depends on how juicy the fruit is and how thick you slice it and the humidity level where you live...

I dehydrate both banana chips and apple slices. Neither of them get crispy. They get leathery. They will remain pliable (at least mine do). You can bend them in half without them cracking. I dehydrate at 105 until they get to the desired "doneness".

I love lightly sprinkling the apple slices with cinnamon. I have the neatest gadget for slicing a whole banana at once - so all the banana slices are uniform, which finishes them all at the same time which is nice.

I then store the banana chips in glass jars on the pantry shelf and the apple slices go in ziploc bags on the pantry shelf as well.

Next I'd like to dehydrate whole bananas - I haven't done that yet. I wonder how long those will take! *Ü*

[cst810]

how come you turned them down? i keep my D turned up to 112 for the entire drying time. you can turn your D up to high for the first hour to speed up the drying time on most things.

I've read in some recipe book where they turn it up high to get started then turn it down. Since I was winging it, I thought I would do the same. Good to know I don't have to.

[cst810]

It's really difficult to say how long it takes - it depends on how juicy the fruit is and how thick you slice it and the humidity level where you live...

I dehydrate both banana chips and apple slices. Neither of them get crispy. They get leathery. They will remain pliable (at least mine do). You can bend them in half without them cracking. I dehydrate at 105 until they get to the desired "doneness".

I love lightly sprinkling the apple slices with cinnamon. I have the neatest gadget for slicing a whole banana at once - so all the banana slices are uniform, which finishes them all at the same time which is nice.

I then store the banana chips in glass jars on the pantry shelf and the apple slices go in ziploc bags on the pantry shelf as well.

Next I'd like to dehydrate whole bananas - I haven't done that yet. I wonder how long those will take! *Ü*

Thanks DebB. I was actually thinking they would be crisp like the kind I buy in the store. LOL Now I'm wondering how they got them that crisp! I think I'll put the bananas back in for a while longer so they are at least drier than they are now.

[streetsurfer]

Higher start temperatures help bring things up to temperature and expedite the drying process to help retard possible spoilage. Not usually necessary with sliced fruit, but maybe with fruit leathers, whole fruit like grapes and berries, apricot halves, wetted mixtures like flax crackers, or things likely to spoil more easily.

[DebB]

Thanks DebB. I was actually thinking they would be crisp like the kind I buy in the store. LOL Now I'm wondering how they got them that crisp! I think I'll put the bananas back in for a while longer so they are at least drier than they are now.

It's my understanding that the crispy chips in the store are baked and sometimes fried. You can usually tell by the ingredients which would include oil to make them crispy.

Don't let their "not crispy" texture stop you - these are so good! My kids and grandkids all love them.

The banana chips will darken. They won't be the nice light color like the store bought chips. We just roll with it though. My apple chips don't darken and I just make them straight up, no lemon juice or anything to hinder discoloration. Although if I wanted to add lemon juice to them, I'd probably put it in a spray bottle and spritz them.

A little tip - be mindful and drink some water when eating dehydrated items - they're easy to overeat on so keep your body hydrated when eating them. *Ü*

[cst810]

Thanks so much for all the advice. I put the banana slices back in overnight at a higher temp and they came out great this morning. The apple slices were put in without the lemon juice (didn't think of that one) and they look and taste delicious. I was eating them last night after class and had to stop myself.

DebB thanks for the water tip. It never crossed my mind to increase the water if I'm eating a lot of these. I'll pass that along to my mom since I know she'll be eating them, too.

All the slices are so sweet and now I'm thinking of recipes or snack combos to mix with them. LOL I'm going to pick up some parchment paper and try the fruit leathers next. I know it will probably take 2 days, but it'll be worth it. I'm going to get as much use out of this D since I don't know when I'll have to give it back. Can't wait to try the onion bread recipe!

Thanks again!
Clesha

[DebB]

You're very welcome!

Well - I passed along the drinking water tip because my youngest son (in his early 30s) actually ended up in the ER after eating almost an entire gallon ziploc bag full of apple rings. Let's say he was having a very hard time passing those and leave it at that!! He said, "I'll never do that again!"

So - I wanted you to know :)

Sounds like you're having fun with the dehydrator. I was lucky enough to snag a 4 tray Excalibur (like brand new, box, accessories) at GoodWill for $10 last summer. I keep it tucked in the basement for overflow.

I hope you love the onion bread as much as we do - wow, it's fantastic! *Ü*

[cst810]

Ohhh...you're so lucky! I always check our thrift stores hoping to snag one. So, far no luck.

Can't wait to give the onion bread a try but have to find my book first. I think someone posted a variation somewhere on the board. I'll have to do a search and give it test taste.

[cst810]

So, I think I have the apple slices down and have been drying a bunch since they are disappearing at home (I've been passing on the water tip as well). :woohoo:

I want to move on to breads now. The trays came with plastic "breathable" sheets. Can I use parchment or wax paper for the breads and fruit leathers on the trays? Does anyone have a low-tech/cost suggestion other than buying another kind of sheet for the trays? Don't want to buy anything for the machine since I don't own it.