Dehydrator Cooking/Recipes - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

LordEden · 05-29-2010, 01:25 PM

I just bought me a brand new dehydrator today and I am ready to start using the thing. I'm looking to cut fruits and such for a dry snack and maybe later get into jerky. I knew a few people on TFP make their own jerky and such, so I'd love to see some recipes.

With the fruit, do I just thick cut and lay them out to dry? Should I add sugar to them to make them sweeter (the dehydrator had a recipe for a simple syrup that you boiled them in)? I have strawberries, kiwis, and apples to try first. Also, was wondering about making sun dried tomatoes, can I do that with the dehydrator? I had a recipe somewhere for homemade sun dried tomatoes, but that took forever and required a lot of work. My chef said it was a bitch to do.

How do you guys use your dehydrator, cause I want to start tomorrow if possible, if nothing else with the fruits.

Hektore · 05-31-2010, 12:53 PM

Fruits are pretty idiot proof, slice them thin, turn them over half way. I realize thin is a relative term, For me it means ~1/4"-3/8" at the thickest. The thicker you slice it, the longer it takes to dry. I usually set mine on low in the evening, flip them first thing in the morning and remove that evening. It's just about impossible to screw up because it's difficult to overdo it, unless you set the thermostat too high. I haven't tried jerky yet, so I can't speak to that.

Tomatoes aren't really any different, they are much easier in the dehydrator. They won't be "sun-dried" but there is no practical difference.

One of the things you should try is fruit leather. Take several varieties of fruit you like and blend them into a thin paste. Spread the paste into thin layers on trays in the dehydrator and dry. Comes out something like a fruit roll-up but considerably more healthy and tasty.

There are all sorts of things you can add to the fruit such as sugars, flavouring and preservatives. My advice would be to make some variations in the same batch. Add sugar or honey to part of a batch as see how you like it compared to plain. I never add anything, I don't think it's worth the extra effort.

As long as you keep it all in a bag with a good seal you should be able to keep dried fruit for 6 or 8 weeks without any trouble. I use freezer bags and am still eating apples 9 weeks after I dried them. In the freezer with a good seal you can keep things up to a year. You can buy fresh and local in the summer (when it's also cheaper) and have fruit all winter.

05-31-2010, 12:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Hektore Junkie Location: Greater Harrisburg Area	Fruits are pretty idiot proof, slice them thin, turn them over half way. I realize thin is a relative term, For me it means ~1/4"-3/8" at the thickest. The thicker you slice it, the longer it takes to dry. I usually set mine on low in the evening, flip them first thing in the morning and remove that evening. It's just about impossible to screw up because it's difficult to overdo it, unless you set the thermostat too high. I haven't tried jerky yet, so I can't speak to that. Tomatoes aren't really any different, they are much easier in the dehydrator. They won't be "sun-dried" but there is no practical difference. One of the things you should try is fruit leather. Take several varieties of fruit you like and blend them into a thin paste. Spread the paste into thin layers on trays in the dehydrator and dry. Comes out something like a fruit roll-up but considerably more healthy and tasty. There are all sorts of things you can add to the fruit such as sugars, flavouring and preservatives. My advice would be to make some variations in the same batch. Add sugar or honey to part of a batch as see how you like it compared to plain. I never add anything, I don't think it's worth the extra effort. As long as you keep it all in a bag with a good seal you should be able to keep dried fruit for 6 or 8 weeks without any trouble. I use freezer bags and am still eating apples 9 weeks after I dried them. In the freezer with a good seal you can keep things up to a year. You can buy fresh and local in the summer (when it's also cheaper) and have fruit all winter. __________________ The advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore all the others for the good of the game.