Making Fruit Leather
If you can puree fruit, then you can make fruit leathers using the Snackmaster Dehydrator 2400. Like drying fruits, the normal temperature is 135 degrees Farenheit. In a blender, combine fruits to make a flavor you like. Some neat combinations include:
Apple-Orange-Banana
Cranberry-Apple-Plum
Strwaberry-Banana
Raspberry-Apple
Be creative about making your fruit purees. You can add a little corn syrup or honey, but this is not usually necessary. If you want to add a little flair to your fruit leathers, sprinkle some coconut, nuts or seeds on them before they are dry. I was in a hurry one morning and used a jar of cranberry applesauce to make some fruit leathers and they were fantastic! It's a nice way to cut the time involved in making them too.
Food
Preparation
Average Drying Time
Drying Temperature
Fruit Leathers
Pour fruit puree onto a Fruit Roll-up Sheet that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
6-10 hours
135 degrees
Drying Vegetables
Dried vegetables can add variety to your meals. Once dried, they tend to hold their robust flavors, even after being rehydrated. I've tried tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, green peppers, and carrots so far. I have been very pleased with the results. The tomatoes have become a new favorite of my husband's. Because most vegetables are a bit tougher than fruits, most of them require some blanching in water before they are dried. As with anything you dehydrate, you can add special seasonings to vegetables to create an extra kick in your veggie chips! The usual drying temperature for most vegetables is 130 degrees Farenheit. A warning with drying onions--the aroma travels well. You might want to place your dehydrator on the porch for this one!
Food
Preparation
Average Drying Time
Drying Temperature
Carrots
Blanch half inch slices.
8-12 hours
130 degrees
Mushrooms
Clean with a cloth--don't wash.
5-10 hours
85 degrees for the first 2 hours, 125 degrees for the remaining time
Onions
Slice into quarter inch coins.
8-12 hours
130 degrees
Peppers
Chop or slice into strips.
6-12 hours
130 degrees
Potatoes
Slice an eighth of an inch thick and blanch for 5 minutes.
9-12 hours
130 degrees
Tomatoes
Slice into half inch circles.
8-12 hours
130 degrees
To purchase an American Harvest dehydrator, click here
Yup -- you over-dried. Try drying for 10 hours and see how that works. You can always add more time, but you'll have a hard time undoing damage! Good luck :)
On Sunday, 6/29/2008, Melody said:
We have never used our dehydrator until yesterday and have had it for years. We love dried pineapple and banannas, so decided to give it a try. We looked on the web for how many hours it takes for pineapple and it said 24-26 hours. So we did that. This morning it was all burned looking. I lost the instructions during a move. In reading your information it appears we way over dried ours. 8-12 hours you had listed and had the degrees. Our machine doesn't have a degree setting, so it still sounds as if we over dried. Any comments?
