Use and Care Manual

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Place pieces of fruit on dehydrator trays in a single layer, close together but not touching
or overlapping. Refer to the Fruit Drying Guide on page 10 for suggested preparation,
pretreatment, and drying times. Dry fruit at 135°F or 57°C.
Determining Dryness
Refer to the Fruit Drying Guide and begin checking the fruit at the beginning of the
average drying time range. Remove a few pieces of fruit from each dehydrator tray
and allow to cool to room temperature. Fruits are acceptably dry when they are soft
and pliable, but not sticky. Fruit folded in half should not stick together. Apple and
banana slices can be dried until crisp, if desired. If fruits seem to have a lot of moisture
remaining, recheck every 1 to 2 hours. If fruits appear to be almost done, check again in
30 minutes. Always check fruits from each tray.
Conditioning
After drying, allow fruit to cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour before packaging. Dried fruits
may have uneven amounts of moisture remaining because of differences in the size of
various pieces. Although fruit appears to be dry, there may still be moisture remaining
in some of the individual pieces. Conditioning is a procedure that can be used to more
evenly distribute moisture, reducing the chance of mold growth, and allows you to
determine if you’ve removed enough moisture before storing. To condition, place the
pieces of fruit loosely in a clean plastic or glass container and seal and let stand for 1
week. This will allow drier pieces of fruit to absorb excess moisture that may be present
in other pieces. Daily shake the jar to separate the pieces and look for condensation.
If condensation develops, remove the fruit and dehydrate for additional time. After
conditioning, follow “Packaging and Storing Dried Foods” information on page 17.
Uses
Dried fruits make great snacks. They can also be added to trail mixes, cereals, mufns,
breads, and other baked products. Dried fruit can be used as is or softened prior to use.
To soften dried fruit, submerge in boiling water and soak for 5 minutes or place fruit in
a steaming basket over a pot of boiling water and steam for 5 minutes or until fruit is
plumped.
Fruit Rolls (Leather)
Fruit rolls (or leathers) are made by drying a thin layer of puréed fruit on a at surface.
Once dried, the fruit layer is pulled from the surface and rolled. The term leather derives
from the leather-like texture of the puréed fruit once it is dried.
Almost any fruit or combination of fruit can be puréed and dried for fruit rolls. The
quality of the fruit roll depends on whether the fruit has a low or high amount of the
naturally occurring starch called pectin. Fruits that have a high amount of pectin will
bond together in a solid sheet and easily peel, while fruits that have little pectin will ake
and crack rather than peel. When using fruits low in pectin, add another fruit that is high
in pectin to improve the texture of the roll. Fruits naturally high in pectin are apples,
apricots, blueberries, cranberries, gs, grapes, peaches, pears, pineapples, and plums.
Fruits low in pectin include cherries, citrus fruits, raspberries, and strawberries. When
using a low pectin fruit with a high pectin fruit, use equal parts of each to produce the
best results.
Preparation
Use a Presto
™
Fruit Roll Sheet to prepare fruit rolls. Apply a thin layer of vegetable oil or
no-stick cooking spray to the fruit roll sheet. CAUTION! If using cooking spray, be sure
to spray away from the dehydrator base, as spray is ammable.
Use about 1½ cups of puréed fruit for each fruit roll sheet.
Select ripe or slightly overripe fruit and remove any bruised areas. Wash fruits and re-
move peel, seeds, and stems. Cut fruit into chunks and, using a food processor or blender,
purée until smooth (applesauce consistency). To get the puréeing process started, you
may need to add approximately 1 tablespoon of fruit juice or water.
If desired, fruit can be pretreated to preserve its natural color. Add 1½ teaspoons of lemon
juice to each 1½ cups puréed fruit. See the Fruit Drying Guide on page 10 to determine
which fruits will benet from pretreatment.
The natural sweetness of fruit is intensied with drying. However, if your preference
is for a sweeter fruit roll, you can add honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, or sugar to the
puréed fruit. Try different amounts of sweeteners, starting with 1 tablespoon for each 1½
cups of fruit purée, to nd your preference. Fruit with sweeteners added will take longer
to dry than fruit that is not sweetened.
Canned fruit can also be used to easily make fruit rolls. Drain juice from fruit, saving
juice for later use. Place fruit in food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Apple-
sauce can be used directly from the container.
For frozen fruit, thaw and purée until smooth.
While lightly oiled fruit roll sheet is sitting on the counter, pour puréed fruit onto it.
Spread with a spatula to form a uniform layer about ¼ inch thick. Position lled fruit roll
sheet on dehydrator tray and then place tray onto power base, being careful not to spill
the fruit purée onto the base. Set temperature to 135°F or 57°C and begin drying. Average
drying time for all fruit rolls is 4 to 7 hours.
Determining Dryness
Acceptably dried fruit rolls will be slightly tacky to the touch, but will not indent when
touched in the center. Begin checking the fruit roll after 4 hours of drying. If drying more
than one fruit roll, be sure to check all of the trays. If additional drying time is needed,
recheck every 30 minutes.
While slightly warm, starting from the outer edge, carefully peel the fruit roll from the
sheet. Loosely roll in plastic wrap or waxed paper and follow “Packaging and Storing
Dried Foods” information on page 17. For immediate enjoyment, cut in strips or roll and
cut into serving pieces.
NOTE: Remove fruit rolls from sheets prior to cutting them.