CuiZen Dehydrator CFD-20 - Manual (Page 17)

17
Fruit Dehydration Tips
Dried fruit is a superb food treat. Try it plain as fruit leather, or in ice cream cobblers and
pies. It’s hard to imagine a better tasting more nutritious snack than dried fruit. Dried fruit is
naturally sweet, has no preservatives, and is inexpensive.
Your food dehydrator makes drying fruit easy. With all fruits it is best to wash them before
beginning. After that, most fruits just need halving, coring or pitting and slicing before
placing them in the dehydrator.
You do not have to pre-treat fruits to get good results, but some fruits, such as apples, pears,
peaches, apricots and bananas tend to darken somewhat with drying or storage beyond six
to seven months. Although still edible when darkened, they tend to not appear as tempting
to the palate. If you don’t mind the change in color of your dried fruit, there is no need to
pre-treat. Fruits like bananas turn brown without pre-treatment, but at the same time they
become very sweet and bursting with pure banana flavour by simply slicing and placing
directly into the dehydrator. For drying times of fruits, refer to the Fruit Preparation Table on
Page 25.
To avoid fruits from darkening, fruit pieces can be dipped in solutions of lemon pineapple,
or orange juice, or ascorbic acid prior to dehydration Dip the fruit in the solution for two
minutes. Drain on paper towels and place in drying trays.
Lemon, Pineapple or Orange Juice
Fresh or bottled lemon, pineapple or orange juices are the best because of their natural
sweetness. Pineapple and orange juice can be used full strength or diluted to taste. If you use
lemon juice, it is best to dilute it with 1 part juice to 8 parts water and soak the fruit pieces for
two minutes. Be aware that the taste of these juices can overpower the taste of the fruit being
dried and may not always prevent discoloration of food. Experiment with the dilution and
soaking times to suit your taste.
Ascorbic Acid
Crystalline ascorbic acid or products with ascorbic acid made for preserving fruits for canning
may be obtained from drug stores or from stores selling canning supplies. Most grocery
stores sell it with their canning supplies as well. Mix 1 tablespoon in four cups of water and
soak the fruit for about two minutes. Like lemon juice, the taste can be quite overpowering so
experiment with concentrations and soaking times.