Chapter 4

Preparing Fruits and
Vegetables for Drying

With many of the basic questions about food dehydration now behind us, I would like to present the seven basic ways fruits and vegetables should be handled before being dried. I call each of the separate preparations a “key technique.” As you will see, I begin with slicing the food, and while that may seem obvious to some home food-drying enthusiasts, it may not be so apparent to the beginner. Many’s the time at county or state fairs or home shows I have been asked, “What do I do? How do I begin?”

Begin by reading the section on slicing, then continue to read about peeling, dipping, blanching, cooking or baking, seeding, and candying. By the time you reach the end of this chapter, you will not only be well acquainted with how to handle foods for home drying, but you will learn about options you can avail yourself of or leave behind.

I think you will agree after you have familiarized yourself with these key techniques that it becomes very easy to look at a certain type of fruit or vegetable and know how to dry it. Then, when someone whom you hope will share your interest in food drying asks you, “Will it be difficult to learn?” you can reply whole-heartedly, “No, it’s fun. Just taste these tomato chips, or dried apple slices, or tomato leather.” The list goes on and on.

Key Technique 1: Slicing

Cutting a fruit, vegetable, or piece of meat or fish allows dry air to get inside the food to remove the water in it. The size of the piece of food, its surface area as well as its thickness, along with certain characteristics of your food dehydrator, will determine how long it takes to dry.

Generally, I cut most foods into -to ½-inch-thick pieces. On the average, I expect about 24 slices from one large Golden Delicious apple. I cut watermelon, however, into 1-inch-thick slices or chunks because watermelon’s very high water content causes thinner-cut slices almost to disappear when dried.

Before you begin drying fruits and vegetables, refer to Chapter 5. There you will find in list form what you need to know about a fruit or vegetable’s water content, plus other information. Knowing the amount of water in a fruit or vegetable will affect how you cut it and how long you can anticipate it might take to dry. The more you know about what you are drying, the more satisfying, and creative, the experience will be.

Example: To Slice and Dry a Tomato

Tomatoes are second only to zucchini as garden giveaways during harvest time. I will never forget the call-in radio show I was listening to some years ago: Someone asked for ways to get rid of excess zucchini. The answer: “Find an unlocked parked car!”—a silly, and not very practical, response. My response: Dry them! Dry everything!

Tomatoes, for me, are treasures. I grow them, I dry them, I pulverize them, I use them throughout this book to demonstrate important procedures and in many recipes in Part Two.

1. Select red tomatoes that are ripe but still firm. Softer tomatoes are more suitable for making puree, which, in turn, can be dried into Tomato Leathers. Plum tomatoes, being meatier, are generally used for making sauce or paste, or can be dried as sun-dried tomatoes. If you want to dry cherry tomatoes, halve them and scoop out the seeds. There is not much flesh in a cherry tomato, and a lot of effort goes into seeding it. Lastly, even green tomatoes can be dried.

2. Core the tomato and cut off the stem and bottom ends. Slice the tomato crosswise into slices to ¼ inch thick.

3. Arrange the slices in a single layer, touching but not overlapping, on a mesh sheet on a drying tray. Place the drying tray in the dehydrator and dry anywhere from 8 to 12 hours, depending on the style of dehydrator, or until the slices are leathery and no pockets of moisture remain. The color of tomatoes when dried intensifies into a wonderful, not necessarily darker hue. If your tomatoes dry dark, it could be the result of their being overly ripe, having been dried at too hot a temperature, or the high acidity of the tomatoes.

4. Store in an airtight container.

Tip: To dry tomatoes without the skins, drop them into boiling water until the skins break. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of cold water. You should be able to peel the skins off with your hands.

Key Technique 2: Peeling

Peeling certain fruits and vegetables, tomatoes among them, is optional. With other fruits or vegetables, peeling is anything but optional. Some obvious examples of fruits that need to be peeled include bananas, pineapples, mangoes, melons, and kiwifruit. Winter squash, cucumbers, onions, and pumpkins are only some of the vegetables that must be peeled.

I use a banana to demonstrate this simple procedure because banana, as you will soon taste, is much sweeter dried than when it is fresh—another dividend of the drying process.

Example: To Peel, Slice, and Dry a Banana

1. Remove and discard the peel of the banana.

2. Slice the banana into ¼-inch slices.

3. Arrange the slices in a single layer, touching but not overlapping, on a mesh sheet on a drying tray. Place the drying tray in the dehydrator and dry for 8 to 12 hours, depending on the make of dehydrator. To check the banana for doneness, first let it cool, then test it: When properly dried, a banana should be chewy and a little sticky and have a caramel-like color and texture. It does not need to be dried so long that it is hard to the touch, but should you want a crisper, dried product, that is always an option.

A comparison

As anyone who has tried commercially dried bananas knows, they taste different from home-dried bananas: The commercial bananas are light in color and crisp in texture because they have been fried in either coconut or palm oil, then dipped in a blend of sugar and/or honey to which banana flavoring has been added. Home-dried bananas, if prepared as instructed above, are 100 percent natural.

If you want to dry bananas to taste more like the store-bought kind, select the less ripe ones for drying.

Slice them ¼ inch thick.

Dip them in ½ cup pineapple juice (or lime juice) with (or without) ¼ cup honey added.

Dry them. If you do add honey to the dipping solution, be prepared for a very sticky product that takes longer to dry. For more about dipping, see Key Technique 3.

Even though this version of dried bananas might taste sweeter, you have still not fried them.

Key Technique 3: Pretreatment by Dipping

The flesh of certain fruits (apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, and apricots, to mention just a few) and vegetables (potatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, zucchini, parsnips, and turnips) darkens a little when exposed to the air. The change in color is caused by a chemical reaction called oxidation.

To preserve the original color of the fruit or vegetable, it is frequently advised to dip it into an antioxidant solution. (Please note the word “advised”; in only a few instances is dipping absolutely necessary. In almost all cases, it is an option on the part of the home dryer.) Such antioxidant liquids include fresh or bottled lemon juice or pineapple and orange juices. If you use undiluted lemon juice for dipping, a more lemony-tasting dried product will result. My favorite dipping solutions to impart flavor are natural fruit juices—pineapple and orange juices for fruits; lemon juice for vegetables.

Use:

¼ cup lemon juice to 2 cups water and dip the fruit or vegetable for only a couple of minutes. Apricots are one of the few fruits that benefit from being dipped for a longer time, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Or, in the canning sections of most supermarkets, purchase antioxidant products like Fruit-Fresh. Allow:

½ tablespoon Fruit-Fresh to 2 cups of water

Another antioxidant is made by dissolving vitamin C tablets in water and using the combination as a dipping solution. I use:

1 500-mg tablet to each cup of water

Salt, vinegar, and water can also be used to prevent foods from darkening. Allow:

1 tablespoon salt or vinegar to 8 cups of water

Lastly, you can also prevent a certain amount of oxidation by combining sodium bisulfite with water and using it as a soaking solution. Since sodium bisulfite is a chemical, I do not use it.

In addition to aesthetic considerations another good reason to dip foods before drying them is to impart flavor.

Try dipping apple slices in cranberry juice or 7Up. Or add Kool-Aid powder or Jell-O to pineapple juice. Or flavor the juice with spices. Or soak fresh fruits in liqueur before drying them. You can add herbs to a lemon-juice solution. For a very interesting flavor contrast dip one side of an apple slice in a juice solution and the other side in cinnamon sugar. Dry the apple on a mesh sheet placed in a drying tray.

Rainbow Bananas

One 3-ounce package each cherry, strawberry, lime, and orange Jell-O

Bananas

For each package of Jell-O, halve the amount of hot and cold water called for in the directions. Combine the reduced water measurement with each flavor of Jell-O and use the mixture as a dipping solution.

When you have finished dipping the fruit, put each Jell-0 mix in a blender with a sliced banana and blend into a puree. Dry into fruit leather.

Example: To Dry a Dipped Sliced Pear

1. Core the pear and slice it lengthwise into Vi-inch slices.

2. Pour a 6-ounce can of unsweetened pineapple juice or orange juice into a small bowl.

3. Add the unpeeled pear slices, submerging them completely for about 2 minutes.

4. Remove the slices to a mesh sheet on a drying tray and arrange them in one layer, touching but not overlapping. Put the drying tray in the dehydrator and dry for 8 to 12 hours, or until the slices are leathery.

Key Technique 4: Pretreatment by Blanching

As the key technique of dipping affects both the color and flavor of a fruit or vegetable, blanching—using either boiling water or steam to pretreat the food—affects the color, by helping to set it, and the texture, by breaking down the cell structure, which allows for faster drying and rehydration.

Blanching is recommended for asparagus, green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and peas, because they are enjoyed most frequently as side dishes or in soups or stews, where quick rehydration and good color are desirable.

Blanching is not recommended for tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, okra, bell peppers, radishes, greens, onions, and Swiss chard.

There are three main ways to blanch:

Water-boil blanching: Allow 4 cups of prepared fruit or vegetable for every gallon of water. Bring the water to a boil; as it is heating, put the food in a wire basket, like a spaghetti cooker, that you can lower into and lift out of the water. Place the basket in the boiling water for 3 to 6 minutes, depending upon the size and type of food.

Steam-blanching: Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a large pot. Place the sliced fruit or vegetable in a single layer in a wire colander or basket and place over the boiling water. Do not let the colander touch the water. Cover the pot and steam for 4 to 6 minutes, depending upon the size of the pieces. Steam-blanching requires about one third more time than water-boil blanching does, but may result in less nutrient loss.

Microwave-blanching: Place the prepared fruit or vegetable in one layer in a microwave-safe container. Place the container in the microwave and cook at high power for 4 to 6 minutes, depending upon the size of the pieces. Turn the pieces halfway through the cooking process.

Checking, a form of blanching, breaks down the tough outer skins of certain fruits and vegetables. You can break the skin in two ways. Pouring boiling water over the food or bring water to a boil, then turning off the heat under it. Immediately add the food to the water and let sit until the skin pops. Do not boil the food or the flesh will turn mushy.

(Checking is recommended for cranberries, citrus peels, grapes, rhubarb, and for blueberries.)

Example: To Dry Blanched (Checked) Cranberries

1. In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over the cranberries or submerge them in a pot of boiling water off the heat. Let sit until the skins pop. Do not let the berries boil. Drain.

2. If desired, coat the berries with either light corn syrup or granulated sugar.

3. Transfer berries to a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 2 hours. (Freezing also breaks down the cell structure, thus promoting faster drying.)

4. Arrange berries in a single layer on mesh sheets in drying trays. Place drying trays in dehydrator and dry for 10 to 16 hours, depending on the make of dehydrator, until chewy and with no pockets of moisture.

Key Technique 5: Cooking or Baking

This technique is used to break down food tissue and to loosen the skins on certain vegetables, such as beets, squash, pumpkins, and yams, for easy removal.

Example: To Dry Cooked Sliced Beets

1. Cut off beet greens, reserving them for another use. Leave about 2 inches of stem at the top.

2. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Add the beets and cook until fork-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain off the hot water, and cover the beets with cold water. Let cool.

3. When cool, slip off the skins.

4. Slice the beets to ¼ inch thick.

5. Arrange the slices on a drying tray. Place the tray in the dehydrator and dry for 8 to 10 hours, or until hard.

Key Technique 6: Seeding

Some vegetables must obviously be seeded, like pumpkins and squash, and some benefit by it, like large zucchini. Generally, I don’t seed tomatoes other than some of my Roma tomatoes. I have never found the seeds in dried tomatoes to be bitter and acidy-tasting as some claim (especially in dried Romas). Nonetheless, here is how to seed a tomato. Actually, I have an ulterior motive: By seeding Roma tomatoes I can then follow with a procedure for making sun-dried tomatoes—one of my most favorite foods.

Example 1: Seeding Roma Tomatoes

1. Gently roll a semiripe tomato between your hands to detach the seeds inside.

2. With a sharp knife, cut the tomato in half lengthwise.

3. Remove the seeds by holding a tomato half in your hand and tapping it gently against the edge of the sink. Or squeeze the tomato over a paper towel, forcing out the seeds.

Example 2: Sun-Dried Tomatoes

After defending sun-dried tomatoes for years, I am delighted to see them now in major food stores and gourmet shops all over the country.

The Italians call sun-dried tomatoes pumate. Strangely enough, commercial “sun-dried” tomatoes are actually dried on grates that are not in direct contact with the sun. First, Roma tomatoes are split in half, seeded, salted lightly, ventilated, and sprayed occasionally with water. Once dry, they are marinated from 3 to 6 weeks in virgin olive oil. Before use, the oil is drained off and the tomatoes are rehydrated in either water or wine. They are then cooked and pureed in a blender.

These make great gifts. Just tie a ribbon around the jar and attach a recipe. As you use the tomatoes, add more oil to the jar to lessen the amount of air in the jar and minimize the potential for spoilage.

1. Follow the directions in Example: To Slice and Dry a Tomato. Dry tomatoes until they have no soft spots but are still bendable.

2. Pack the dried tomatoes in a sterilized 1-quart canning jar, pressing them down into the jar with a spoon or fork, forcing out any air pockets.

3. Pour the best-quality pure virgin olive oil to within 1 inch of the top of the jar. Make sure none of the tomatoes are peeking up over the surface, as it will invite spoilage.

Option: Add to the jar dried basil leaves, oregano, bay leaf, parsley, or chili peppers.

4. Seal the jar with the lid and let sit 3 to 6 weeks.

Key Technique 7: Candying

Candying, which is also called glacéing, is a very popular cooking and drying technique. The principle is a straightforward one: Sugar and water are combined over heat into a syrup. The syrup is allowed to boil, which evaporates some of the water. As the water boils off, the temperature of the sugar gradually rises and caramelized sugar forms. Increasing the sugar content in a food prevents the growth of microorganisms and lengthens its shelf life.

To Make Sugar Syrup

You can make sugar syrup in four different ways:

1. In a saucepan, combine 1½ cups water with 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup honey, and 1 tablespoon light corn syrup; or

2. In a saucepan, combine 1¾ cups water, ¾ cup light corn syrup, and one 3-ounce package fruit-flavored Jell-O; or

3. In a saucepan, combine 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup water, and ¼ cup light corn syrup; or

4. In a saucepan, combine 1½ cups water, 1 cup maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon light corn syrup.

Options: Flavor the boiling syrup with pieces of fresh or dried lemon or orange rind. Or let the syrup cool and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla or rum extract or kirsch liqueur.

Different fruits can be candied in the same syrup and the syrup can be used over again.

Health-food stores, in particular, often have dried sugar-coated or glazed pineapple or papaya. In the commercial process of candying, the fresh food is cooked in syrup, drained, and dried until it is halfway between being fresh and being dried. Then it is soaked repeatedly in a sugar/honey solution and dried and soaked again until the desired product is obtained. The process can take from 4 to 7 days, with the syrup and food becoming increasingly high in sugar content.

Choose foods firm enough to hold their shape during the cooking process. Glacéed kiwifruit has become very popular. Other choices might include cherries, apricots, blueberries, pineapple, figs, watermelon rind, and, of course, citrus peel. Even vegetables—bell peppers, carrots, peas, and corn—can be glazed. Once a food has been candied, it can be dipped in melted chocolate, just like the fruits displayed in fancy candy shops.

Any size piece can be used, from halved kiwi slices to cubed citrus peel. As a result of the candying process, the pieces will shrink to about half their original size. Therefore, be sure to start off with big enough pieces. Foods being candied do not need to be dipped beforehand.

Example: To Candy Cut-up Fruits or Vegetables

DAY 1

1. In a saucepan, stir together the ingredients for the sugar syrup of choice. Bring to a boil, stirring. Boil gently (and this applies to all four syrup combinations) for 20 minutes to thicken. Slowly bring the syrup to the soft-ball stage, 189°F on a candy thermometer. If the temperature gets too hot, the syrup will darken in color, burn, and be brittle when cool.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add 1 pound cut-up peeled (if necessary) food. Stir gently to make sure all surfaces are covered with syrup.

3. Return the pan to the heat and bring the mixture to 189°F on the candy thermometer.

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover and let the pan stand at room temperature for 24 hours.

DAY 2

1. With a slotted spoon, remove the candied food from the syrup and put into a strainer set over a container large enough to catch the drips.

2. Return any syrup to the pan.

3. Arrange the candied food in a single layer on mesh sheets on the drying trays. Place the trays in the dehydrator and dry halfway, about 2 to 4 hours. The length of this partial drying time will depend upon the size of the pieces of food and the make of dehydrator used.

4. When the food is half dry, reheat the syrup and add ½ cup sugar. Bring the syrup to a boil, skimming foam from the surface with a large spoon. Remove the pan from the heat.

5. Add the half-dried food to the syrup and heat until the syrup registers 189°F on the candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan and let it stand at room temperature for 24 hours.

DAY 3

1. Repeat Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Day 2, adding 1 cup sugar instead of ½ cup. Complete Steps 4 and 5 of Day 2.

DAY 4

1. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 of Day 2. If desired, at this point, rinse candied dried food in colander with cold water to minimize stickiness.

2. Arrange candied food in a single layer on mesh sheets on drying trays. Place the trays in the dehydrator and dry about 2 to 4 hours. Candied fruit should be leathery and chewy. The drying time for glacéed fruit is much shorter than it is for fresh fruit because much of the moisture has been replaced by sugar.

3. Optional: When dried, sprinkle or roll glacéed fruit in granulated or confectioners’ sugar.

4. To store, pack candied food in separate layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container.

DAY 4 (Continued)

For a really elegant touch, dip candied dried fruits—apricot or pineapple pieces, strawberries, or cherries—in melted dark or white chocolate.

1. Melt chocolate chips or chunks carefully in the top of a double boiler.

2. Spear one end of a piece of candied fruit with a toothpick. Dip either the whole piece or half of it into the melted chocolate, then let the coating dry, using the toothpick to prop the fruit up on the countertop.

3. Store chocolate-dipped candied fruit on sheets of wax paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator or the freezer.

CANDIED TREATS

Candied Lemon or Orange Peel

The white membrane right beneath the outer skin of citrus fruit has a bitter taste and as much of it as possible should be removed from the peel before candying begins. While this recipe calls for lemon or orange peel, grapefruit and lime peels are also superb candied.

As a general rule, the peel from 1 thick-skinned orange or lemon measures about 1 cup.

1 cup orange peel slices or 1 cup lemon peel slices (from 1 large orange or lemon)

½ tablespoon salt

2 cups water, divided, plus 2 tablespoons

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Cut the peel into ¼ to ½-inch cubes.

In a small bowl, stir together the salt and 1 cup of the water; add the cubed peel. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Drain the peel and rinse it under cold water. In a saucepan, combine the peel and the remaining cup of water. Bring to a boil and boil for about 10 minutes until about half of the water evaporates. Drain in a colander and rinse.

Return the peel to the pan and add the granulated sugar. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons water and the corn syrup, and simmer slowly for about 10 minutes. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan, remove it from the heat, and let the peel stand at room temperature for 24 hours.

The following day, bring the syrup and peel to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. With a slotted spoon, remove the peel from the syrup to a strainer. Drain, then rinse the peel with cold water. (The sugar syrup can be stored in the refrigerator and used again.)

Arrange the peel in a single layer on a mesh sheet over a solid leather sheet on a drying tray. Place the drying tray in the dehydrator and dry for about 4 hours until chewy when tested.

Optional: Sprinkle the dried peel with confectioners’ sugar before storing it in layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container.

Makes about ¾ cup

Honeyed Orange Peel

For this recipe you can use thick-skinned oranges that have already been juiced. Or cut oranges in half and scoop out the pulp. Cut the halves crosswise into ¼-inch thick rounds and halve the rounds.

2 cups water

1 cup halved orange slices (1 large orange)

¼ cup honey

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

teaspoon ground cloves

In a saucepan, combine the 2 cups water and the orange peel, and bring to a boil. Boil until half of the water evaporates. Drain the peel in a colander and rinse under cold water. Return the peel to the pan.

In a small bowl, combine the honey, the cinnamon, and the cloves. Pour the mixture over the orange peel. Over very low heat, simmer the peel, stirring gently, until the honey has permeated the fruit, about 15 minutes.

Strain the peel in a colander set over a bowl and rinse quickly with warm water. Remove the peel from the colander and arrange it in a single layer on a solid leather sheet. Place the tray in the dehydrator and dry the peel for about 4 hours or until chewy.

Store in layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container.

Makes ¾ cup

Candled Watermelon Rind

An enthusiastic home food dryer from Wausau, Wisconsin, once told me she colors her candied watermelon rind with Jell-O. So I tried it, and here it is. The colors—red for raspberry or strawberry, green for lime, and so on—are beautiful, particularly when rolled in confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar.

1 small watermelon

3 cups water, plus 1½ cups water

½ cup light corn syrup

1¾ cups granulated sugar

One 3-ounce package fruit-flavored Jell-O

Confectioners’ sugar for dredging

Slice the watermelon and remove the green outer peel from each slice. Discard the green peel. Then cut the pink flesh from the lighter-colored flesh. The lighter-colored flesh is the rind. You will need 4 cups rind, cut into strips 2 inches long and ¼ inch thick.

In a 4-quart saucepan, cover the watermelon strips with the 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Boil until the rind turns transparent, about 30 minutes. Drain.

In another saucepan, combine the corn syrup, the sugar, and the 1½ cups water, and bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar dissolves. Gently stir in the watermelon rind, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook until most of the sugar syrup has been absorbed, about 40 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the Jell-O until it is dissolved. Be sure all surfaces of the rind are coated. Let cool.

With a slotted spoon, remove the rind to drying trays lined with mesh sheets. Arrange the pieces in single layers. Place the drying trays in the dehydrator and dry the rind until it is leathery but not hard, about 4 hours.

Roll the rind in confectioners’ sugar and store in layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container.

Makes 4 cups

Candied Ginger

Candied ginger is at once hot and sweet, and is marvelous chopped into bits for baking. Or pulverize it and use as a topping on ice cream or frozen yogurt. Candied ginger makes a great gift, too.

1 cup thinly sliced peeled gingerroot

¾ cup water

½ cup maple syrup

In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the syrup completely evaporates, about 20 to 30 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking time, stir constantly to avoid any scorching.

With a slotted spoon, remove the ginger from the pan and place on a leather sheet on a drying tray. Separate the pieces of ginger with a fork into one layer. Place the tray in the dehydrator and dry the ginger for about 6 to 8 hours, or until the pieces snap when broken.

Store in an airtight container.

Makes 1 cup

Mock Figs

Mock figs, really candied Roma tomatoes, make wonderful snacks; you can eat them like candy they are so good! One caution: Don’t try to make these with any other type of tomato; the thicker texture of the Roma is necessary to the success of the finished product.

1 pound (about 7 medium) Roma tomatoes

4-6 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon butter

¾ cup brown sugar

Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Peel the tomatoes: Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water to loosen the skins. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge the tomatoes into a bowl of cold water. With a serrated knife, core the tomatoes, remove the skins, and cut off a slice from both the top and the bottom. Quarter the tomatoes lengthwise.

In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the brown sugar, and cook until the sugar melts. Add the tomatoes and cook them over low heat until the brown sugar permeates the tomatoes, about 10 to 15 minutes.

With the slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes to lightly oiled solid leather sheets on drying trays. Place the drying trays in the dehydrator and dry for about 8 hours, during which time the tomatoes will darken in color, resembling figs. When dried, sprinkle the tomatoes with confectioners’ sugar. Store in layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container.

Makes 28 pieces

COMBINING TECHNIQUES

Slicing, Cooking, and Dipping

Sometimes the foods you are drying benefit from combining certain key preparatory techniques. Here’s how to handle potatoes so that they retain not only their texture but their color as well.

Example: Drying Cooked Dipped Potato Slices

1. Peel the potatoes and remove any green tinges on the flesh directly beneath the skin.

2. Slice the potatoes into to ¼-inch slices.

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook until the slices change color but remain firm, about 5 minutes. Drain and let cool.

4. Dip the slices into a solution of ¼ cup lemon juice mixed with 2 cups water.

5. Arrange the slices in single layers on mesh sheets on drying trays. Place the drying trays in the dehydrator and dry for about 8 hours until the slices are hard.

6. Store in an airtight container.

Slicing, Peeling, and Dipping

Here’s another example of combining key techniques before drying. It is important to note that you do not have to dip apples. This is a cosmetic treatment used mainly to retain a lighter color. Depending upon your own individual tastes, both peeling and dipping are optional.

Example: Drying Peeled Dipped Apple Slices

1. Wash and core the apple.

2. Peel the apple, and remove any bruised or inedible parts.

3. Slice the apple ¼ inch thick.

4. Dip the slices into a bowl of pineapple juice and let soak for 2 minutes.

5. Remove the slices with a slotted spoon to a solid leather sheet on a drying tray. Arrange the pieces in one layer. Place the drying tray in the dehydrator and dry for about 6 to 8 hours, or until the slices still bend when tested but do not contain any pockets of moisture.

6. Store in an airtight container.

Tip: Sprinkle the slices with ground cinnamon on the drying tray, or drop the dipped slices into a bag of cinnamon sugar. Then arrange the slices on a mesh sheet on top of a solid leather sheet. Dry as directed above.

A friend of mine puts hardened chunks of brown sugar in the jar with plain dried apple slices. The apples take on the brown sugar flavor. How’s that for simple?

Slicing and Peeling in Preparation for Candying

Candied pineapple is plain glorious, although candying is an optional technique. Simple, plain cut pineapple dries beautifully and is delicious. Before candying pineapple, you must slice and peel it correctly. Here’s how to do it. You can simplify the process greatly by buying a peeled, cored whole pineapple, available in many large supermarkets. Or you can even leave the core in the pineapple, as it will become more tender during the candying process.

Example: Slicing, Coring, and Peeling Fresh Pineapple

1. With a sharp knife, cut off the top of the pineapple. Then cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and cut each half into 3 equal boat-shaped pieces.

2. Cut out the section of hard core on each piece.

3. Pare off the skin and remove any “eyes” in the flesh.

4. Slice the pineapple crosswise into pieces ½ inch thick.

5. Candy the pineapple.

Making Vegetable Chips

Example: Soy-Dipped Zucchini Chips

This technique combines slicing and dipping in preparation for drying. In addition to zucchini, you can make vegetable chips with turnips, parsnips, cucumbers, and carrots. They are wonderful, high-energy snacks; a selection of dipped chips enliven Vegetable Gorp. The more you add, the better.

1. Cut off the top and bottom of the zucchini. If the zucchini is large, peel off the tough skin, halve the zucchini lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. If small, leave whole and cut rounds that look like poker chips.

2. Lay the zucchini halves cut side down and slice crosswise inch thick. If using small zucchini, simply cut into thin rounds using a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler.

3. Dip the rounds or slices into a mixture of ¼ cup soy sauce and ½ cup water, and let soak for 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Arrange the slices on a mesh sheet on a drying tray and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Place the drying tray in the dehydrator and dry for 4 to 8 hours, depending on the make of dehydrator.

5. Store in an airtight container.

Tip: Before drying, sprinkle the slices with cayenne pepper, or lemon juice, or dried herbs.

Barbecue-Soy Sauce Dip: Combine bottled barbecue sauce, soy sauce, chopped garlic, and salt to taste.

French Dressing Dip: Combine ½ cup French dressing, ½ cup water, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice and use as a dip.

EASY CHIPS

Crisp Carrot Chips

You need only three ingredients to make these good chips. Other firm vegetables that can be substituted for the carrots include turnips and parsnips.

carrots

light vegetable oil

salt

Peel the carrots and slice them as thin as possible.

In a skillet, heat a thin layer of vegetable oil until hot and in it sauté the carrots, stirring them gently, until almost cooked but not fried crisp. (The edges of both turnips and parsnips will turn a little brown.) With a slotted spoon, remove the slices to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle the rounds with salt, then arrange them in a single layer on a solid leather sheet in a drying tray. Place the drying tray in the dehydrator and dry for 4 to 8 hours, depending on the make of dehydrator, until crisp.

Tomato Chips

These chips make a delicious, healthful snack as is, or serve them with a vegetable dip.

Roma tomatoes

Garlic powder, or dried basil or oregano, and/or lemon pepper for seasoning

Core the tomatoes, then slice them crosswise into rounds ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle the slices with the seasoning of choice.

Arrange the slices on a lightly oiled solid leather sheet in a drying tray and place the tray in the dehydrator. Dry about 8 hours, depending on the make of dehydrator, until crisp.

Driod Pickled Mushroom Chips

These fancy chips make a good addition to Vegetable Gorp. Or add them to sandwich spreads or toss them in salads, like olives. Here is a shortcut to preparing them: Use bottled pickling spices.

2 cups sliced stemmed fresh mushrooms (¼ inch thick)

½ cup white wine vinegar

cup olive oil

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a 1-quart canning jar and stir. Cover with the lid. Let the mushrooms marinate in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

Drain the mushrooms in a strainer set over a bowl. Arrange the mushrooms on a solid leather sheet in a drying tray. Place the tray in the dehydrator and dry until the mushrooms are firm, about 10 to 12 hours.

Store the marinade in the refrigerator and use as the base for salad dressing.

Simple Dried Mushroom Chips: Marinate the sliced mushrooms for 1 hour in French Dressing Dip. Drain and dry them as directed above. Add to Vegetable Gorp.

Dried Pickles

Remove either homemade or commercial sweet or dill pickles from their liquid, and slice ½ inch thick. Arrange the slices on drying trays, place the drying trays in the dehydrator, and dry for 8 hours, depending on the make of dehydrator.

These are also good added to Vegetable Gorp.

Dried Toasted Vegetable Snack

Slice onions and dry them until they are two-thirds dry. Slice cabbage and dry it until two-thirds dry. Remove onions and cabbage from the dehydrator to a baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 300°F oven until light brown in color and crisp in texture.

This combination makes a tasty snack and can also be added to Vegetable Gorp.

Temperature Reminder

Meats and Fish 145°F and above

Fruits and Vegetables 130°F to 140°F

Herbs and Flowers 100°F to 110°F