Treatment
NOTE: before preparing the food, wash it thoroughly. Make sure the utensils and
racks are clean.
Fruit
Pineapple
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Pears
Raspberries
Figs
Cherries
Plums
Grape
vegetable preparation and treatment
Vegetables are low in acid and contain less sugar than fruit. Vegetables require more
attention. Some vegetables keep better when frozen rather than dried. Take care when
choosing the vegetables.
Preparation
•
Only choose the best quality vegetables for drying.
•
Wash them thoroughly just before dehydrating them to remove dirt and bacteria.
•
Most vegetables need to be peeled, trimmed, chopped or grated before being
dried. For more details, refer to the table below.
Pretreatment
Blanch vegetables before drying them. Blanching destroys the enzymes that can
produce unusual flavours during storage and result in poor texture and rehydration.
NOTE: Steam blanching is more effective than water blanching because it retains
more flavour and vitamins. Vegetables can also be microwaved.
24
Preparation
Slices (about 8 mm thick)
Slices (about 8 mm thick)
Quarters (about 15 mm
thick)
Peeled fruit halves
Skinless pieces
Slices (about 3 mm thick)
Halves
Whole
Fruit halves
Whole, pitless
Peeled fruit halves
Peeled fruit halves
Dehydration
Dehydration
time in hours
temperature
(for reference
only)
70°C
10-12
70°C
70°C
10-12
70°C
70°C
70°C
14-18
70°C
70°C
70°C
10-12
70°C
10-12
70°C
12-14
Test to check
for dehydration
Easily pliable
8-10
Easily pliable
Pliable
8-10
Crispy
8-10
Pliable
Pliable
8-10
Hard
8-10
Dry
Dry
Pliable
Easily pliable