Dehydrating Your Fruits, Using DIY Method

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Dried Fruits

I love dried fruits (What wine goes well with dried fruits?) as a snack. It's healthy and nutritious and so easy to bring around as they could be placed in packs or small containers. Dried oranges, apples,  banana chips (how long do banana chips last?),  strawberries, and mangoes are my favorites.

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Instead of buying processed dried fruits (What wine goes well with fruit?) in stores, I get to save precious cash by making my own stash of dried fruits. Texas has so many farmer markets where one can get fresh fruits which I make into my dried fruit snacks. Some of the fruits would be dependent on the season in which it is available.

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dehydrated fruits

Benefits of Dried Fruits

Apples in Texas come in season from July through November, it is one of my favorite dried fruit snacks. One of the main health benefits of dried apples is their dietary fiber content. A half-cup of dried apple contains 3.7 grams of dietary fiber. The fiber helps maintain normal bowel movement, helps control blood sugar levels and it also lowers cholesterol levels.

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Dried Apples are sources of vitamins A and B and also of minerals such as potassium, which are essential for nerve and brain function.

Dried blueberries (how long do dried blueberries last?) which come from fresh blueberries that are in season from May to June are rich in Vitamin K which helps in normal blood clotting and is essential in bone health.

Dried mango is a good source of B-complex vitamins which helps in boosting energy and reducing stress.  Dried oranges are rich in Vitamin C for increased immunity.

Dehydrated fruits basically maintains the nutrients you can get in the fresh ones.

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fruit dehydrator

Dehydrating Your Fruit DIY

There are ways of dehydrating fruits in your kitchen; you can either microwave the fruit or put it in the oven. Or you can buy a dehydrator which is a kitchen tool dedicated to doing the job.

Make your life easier by ordering food dehydrators online; it's just a few clicks away!

How to Properly Clean Your Fruits and Veggies

Now if you have a dehydrator follow these easy steps to make your favorite dried fruit snacks.

wash the fruits before dehydration

Step 1

Wash and dry the fruit. Just to be sure to avoid contamination. Washing the fruit will wipe it from dirt and other residues or bacteria.

Peel the fruits before dehydration

Step 2

Peel the fruit, especially if the peel is not edible. As a general rule, if you eat fruits without peeling them, like apples or pears you can eat them dried. There are some fruits which you need to peel out like mangoes or bananas (how long do bananas last?). Oranges, lemons, and other citrus can be peeled or if you want some slight bitterness you can dehydrate them unpeeled.

slice the fruits before dehydration

Step 3

Slice the fruits into ¼ or ½ pieces. However, some small fruits such as blueberries can be dried whole. You just need to piece them with a clean skewer so the insides will be fully dehydrated without drying out and hardening their skins. Strawberries can be halved or cut into rings.

The smaller or thinner the cut the faster the dehydration process. Same cut size for each variety of fruit. Try to differ each cut for every variety.

spray the fruits with lemon juice

Step 4

Spray the fruit with lemon juice. This will prevent browning, use a food spray bottle to distribute the spray evenly.

spread the fruits evenly

Step 5

Spread the fruits evenly in one layer over the dehydrator. Do not overlap or stack the fruits.

load the fruits into dehydrator

Step 6

Set the dehydrator temperature at 125°F and 140°F. Dehydrator set at 125°F will have an evenly dehydrated fruit. If you want faster dehydration time you can set it at 140°F

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dried fruits into dehydrator

Step 7

The dehydrating process can take as long as 6 hours or up to 30 hours depending on the type of fruit, size of the cut, and the power of the dehydrator. After getting your fruits out of the dehydrator let it cool and become crisp.  Sliced apples and citrus will become crispy once they are cooled at room temperature.

store dried fruits into glass jars

Step 8

You can store these dried fruits in resealable jars at room temperature. You can also keep them in plastic containers or zip-loc zip-top bags.

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If you want to store your dehydrated fruits for a longer time you can vacuum seal them and. put them in a freezer.

Dehydrating your fruits using do-it-yourself methods can save you cash as you would not have to buy your stash in groceries and supermarkets. It also eliminates wastage when you buy fresh fruits as you now have an option of dehydrating your fruits and keeping them in a longer amount of time than having fresh fruits which would rot in a few days.

Dried fruits are easy to prepare and you would just need one or two ingredients (the fresh fruit and the lemon juice spray). Also dehydrated or dried fruits are excellent snacks renowned for their health benefits and nutritional values. 

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