User's Manual

7
REMEMBER
Always use fresh, quality food and wash everything
before starting to dehydrate
1. Best results are achieved when the quality of the food is high.
Select ripe produce in good condition. Bad food may give an
off-flavor to the entire lot.
2. Clean produce is important. Wash thoroughly, remove soft or
spoiled areas, slice and pre-treat if necessary. Be certain that
your hands, cutting utensils and food preparation areas are also
clean.
3. Produce may be shredded, sliced or diced. Slices 1/4” is usually
a good size for efficient drying.
4. Drying times are affected by the size of the load, thickness of
the sliced produce, humidity of the air, and the moisture content
of the food itself. You can expect a variation in the drying times.
5. Be sure to let the produce cool before testing for dryness. To test
for dryness, cut a piece open - there should be no visible mois-
ture inside. Fruits tend to dry leathery and vegetables dry brittle.
6. Trays may be loaded with foods barely touching but not
overlapping.
7. About 6% to 10% of the moisture may remain in foods without
danger of spoilage. Many dried foods will have a leathery con-
sistency, rather like licorice.
8. Blanching or steaming is advisable for vegetables to inactivate
the natural enzymes responsible for undesirable color changes.
Also, it facilitates quick dehydration and reconstitution. In some
cases, blanching is necessary to crack the skins of fruits like
plums to allow moisture to escape during the dehydration.
Otherwise, the skins may harden while the fruits remain too
moist in the center.
9. It is necessary Rotate the trays every few hours (depending on
the model you have). Just move the bottom trays up and top
ones down and turn to right or left. See diagrams on pages 8-9.
10. When correctly dried, the majority of your fruits and vegetables
will be soft and pliable after dehydration - without any damp
spots. Peaches, pears, figs and dates will be pliable and
leathery. Berries, rhubarb, and apples will be more brittle.
11. To remove seeds or pits from prunes, grapes, cherries, etc.,
dehydrate about half way - then pop seeds out. This prevents
juice from dripping out.