Dried fruit is straightforward to make, considerably cheaper than buying it, and gives complete control over what goes in, which matters given how much commercial dried fruit is sweetened or treated. It is also the most reliable use for a dehydrator.
Preparation Matters More Than the Machine
Uniform thickness is the single most important factor. Pieces of different sizes finish at different times, which means either some are still moist or others are brittle. Around half a centimetre is a reasonable target for most fruit, and a mandoline or a steady hand produces better results than casual chopping.
Fruit should be ripe but firm. Overripe fruit collapses and takes far longer, while underripe fruit dries fine but tastes of very little.
Temperature and Time
Fruit generally dries between fifty-five and sixty-five degrees. Higher temperatures cook the surface and seal moisture inside, producing pieces that feel dry and spoil later.
Times vary enormously with thickness, moisture content and humidity, generally between six and twelve hours. Times given in manuals are a starting point rather than an instruction, and checking rather than trusting the clock is the correct approach. Dehydrators with adjustable temperature and multiple trays, of the kind listed at elite gourmet, make rotating trays and checking progress straightforward.
Preventing Browning
Apples, pears, bananas and peaches oxidise and turn brown, which is cosmetic rather than harmful but unappealing. A brief soak in acidulated water, roughly a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of water, prevents most of it.
Commercial dried fruit frequently uses sulphites for the same purpose, which is one reason home drying appeals to people avoiding them.
What Dries Well
- Apples and pears, which are forgiving and produce excellent results
- Bananas, either as crisps when sliced thin or chewy when thicker
- Strawberries and other berries, halved or left whole if small
- Mango and pineapple, which concentrate beautifully
- Tomatoes, technically a fruit and among the most rewarding to dry
Knowing When It Is Done
Properly dried fruit is leathery and pliable with no visible moisture when a piece is torn. It should not be sticky in the centre or brittle unless you are making crisps deliberately.
Test a cooled piece rather than a warm one, since warm fruit always feels softer than it is.
Conditioning and Storage
This step is skipped by almost everyone and it is what determines whether the fruit keeps. Pack the cooled pieces loosely into a jar, seal it and shake daily for around a week. Residual moisture redistributes between pieces, and any condensation on the glass indicates it needs further drying.
After conditioning, airtight containers away from light give several months. Vacuum sealing extends it considerably. Any sign of mould means the batch was insufficiently dried and should be discarded rather than salvaged.
Fruit Leathers
A useful variation for fruit that is bruised or overripe. Purée it, spread thinly on a solid dehydrator sheet, and dry until it peels away cleanly. It costs almost nothing, uses up fruit that would otherwise be wasted, and children generally prefer it to the commercial version.