I recently received a dehydrator and have been running it almost non-stop - I'm in love! I have done bananas, apples, mushrooms, and okra so far.

Wondering what else to do - I don't really want to do meats, and I don't have a fruit leather screen/tray. So, for now, it's basic stuff. I'm thinking sweet potato chips - any thoughts on seasoning to use? Zucchini chips?

What types of fruits dehydrate well?

Interested in what you have done, and what seasoning, if any, that you used. TIA!

Jennie

I no longer have a mango tree (or a fig tree), but I do have a lot of pineapple plants, and I know that pineapples dehydrate well, although mangoes are my favorite. I buy dried mangoes at a Thai market, and they are one of the few dried fruits that I look for. I still grow a lot of chilies, however, and I think they are easy to dehydrate - some of them hydrate on the plant, or else I cut down a branch and hang it out to dry.

I personally would not season anything that I was dehydrating, for fear of the seasoning becoming overpowering. Plus I do not like salt, and sweet fruits are already sweet enough not to need sugar.

Dried okra sounds really good!!

Lars

For us it is more like what don't we dehydrate? Peaches, apples, pears, grapes, celery, spinach leaves, chard both dried and in chips, cherry tomatoes, diced onions - tons of them, zucchini slices, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, all kinds of herbs, garlic, peppers, green beans (just added them this year), etc. A good dehydrator is a real good tool to have.

Dave

Thanks!

Lars

Beans and various herbs are mentioned often as dried items.

I like to slit the skin and then cut small tomatoes in half for drying. They make a great snack, IMO, and it's an easy way to deal with lots of small tomatoes.

And of course if looking for instructions for doing a specific food then the link to NCHFP provides all the directions.

Dave

You can make soup seasoning packets from all of the above. Combine with some salt, pepper, and beans and you have a meal you can just dump into the crockpot and add water.

Deanna

Zucchini did not reconstitute for me in a way I cared for. It remained tough. However, a long soak to re-hydrate before cooking might solve that.

I got a food dehydrator for Christmas. Mine is also running constantly. I'm trying to stock up now while things are abundant and cheap (and growing on my own plants!)

Angie

One thing that surprised me was cantaloupe. Small chunks that start out the side of pineapple tidbits work well.

For fruit leathers and roll-ups, just spread plastic wrap on the screen and use it that way.

For easy release screens, visit the craft section at the local box store and purchase plastic canvas large enough to cover the whole dehydrator screen. Cut to shape and they will help release stickier things. I don't know about them being food safe, but they're a lot cheaper, and I've never noticed never noticed never noticed any problems. :-)

Mine is an American Harvest SnackMaster from the early 90's and still going strong with occasional usage. The screens are still available under the newer NESCO company name. I have found them as little as $5 for 2 screens on discount shelves at the end of the season. I must have 15 screens now, but you're only supposed to use 10, I believe. I usually have less than 10 anyway. At one time, they made screens with removable centers so you could have the ring around the outside as a spacer to allow larger items inside like flowers. I tried it on shrunken apple heads and it worked great!

I make granola for our breakfasts so I have especially focused on drying fruit this year. So far I have done pears, plums, figs, and blueberries. A friend has promised me access to his scuppernong vines later on.

I am still learning, of course. I did not get the plums or figs dry enough and they release moisture into the granola. I am thinking about pulling them out of the freezer and drying them some more.

The most successful thing I have tried was also the easiest. I ran the pears through my Victorio and then made fruit roll ups with them. They are doing great in the granola. I think dried pears are actually more flavorful than fresh ones.

Next year I will probably do all the fruits as fruit leathers. It's easier to get it dry enough for the granola.

I have also dried alot of Sungold tomatoes for salads this winter. I like them because they don't have the bitter taste you often get with regular dried tomatoes.

And, of course, I have dried Basil. That was a snap.

Just curious about the okra. Will you reconstitute it with water or will you eat it as is? I have seen dried okra in the snack sections at the grocery, but the package I tried was sweet like sugar. I have wondered if I could season it with garlic salt or something like that to get a savory snack. Anyone know?

How did you dry the plums? In other words, how much did you cut them up, and what were they like when done? I want to try peaches, plums, etc.

I still haven't tried sweet potatoes, but hope to do that soon.

In terms of the okra, I did little rounds sprinkled with dill weed and sea salt. They are FABULOUS just like that - it's how I plan to eat them - as a crunchy little snack.

I purchased the fruit rollup trays/pads for my Nesco dehydrator. I cooked the pears just till a bit soft and ran them through my Victorio. I added some lemon juice to the pulp and then poured it into my rollup trays. When they were dry and leathery, I just peeled them off the tray. It was very easy. Then I laid the fruit rollup on a piece of parchment paper and rolled it up paper and all. It was simple. I am storing them in ziploc bags in my freezer and just take them out a roll or two at a time for granola. I use kitchen scissors to cut them into bite sized pieces. Delicious and so simple.

The plums and figs and berries were my first attempts. I found on the internet that if you cut the plums in half and then twist them, the pit will pop out. It worked, but was still time consuming. (the plums were small this year). I then quartered them and put them on the trays to dry with peels on. As I said, I don't think I got them dry enough. Next year, I will pit them and then run them through my Victorio and make roll ups. It would be very labor intensive to peel them too. I was working with red plums. They were pretty tart, but I love their flavor in the granola.

I love dried peaches but was sick in June so missed out on those this year. I read recently that you can also make rollups out of applesauce. I have a few jars left from last year and I may just try that with them. We really go through the dried fruit around here.

I haven't tried sweet potatoes, but I definitely will. I love the sweet potato chips. I'm guessing that the trick is to get the slices really thin. I may try borrowing my daughter's mandolin for that.

In fact, you'll want to blanch most veggies first. I sometimes buy bags of frozen veggies when they are on sale because they have already been blanched. Then I dry them and store in my pantry instead of paying to keep them frozen.

I've dehydrated carrots, corn, peas, cauliflower, mushrooms, bananas, apples, jalapenos, green beans, lemons, oranges, peaches, strawberries, cranberries, spinach, kale, pineapple, tomatoes, etc. I have also made fruit roll-ups and various powders with some of the things I have dehydrated. Powdered tomato, spinach, and kale make great additions to soups and stews for a little extra ooompf.

I'm getting ready to go throw some sweet potatoes in my crock pot to cook, then I will slice them long and dehydrate to make dog treats.

Some of the peel came right off. Some stuck to the potato and pulled off some stringy potato. The potato was hard to slice thinly because it was too soft.

Sorry for all the questions, but hoping to get this right eventually!