Dehydrating Strawberries and Cinnamon Apple Slices
This is my guide on how to dehydrate fruit, specifically I’ll be dehydrating apples and strawberries. One of my all time favorite hiking snacks when I’m out on the trail is dehydrated fruit. I don’t know about you but I find it difficult to eat fruit and vegetables while out backpacking in particular. I found these delicious dried fruit packets but the cost of them was a little steep so we would split one small pack during a three day trip….I was always left wanting more!
So last fall I decided it was time to buy a dehydrator, I’d heard a lot of negatives regarding the time it took and the limited options you have when it comes to what you can dehydrate. With that in mind I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a dehydrator in case I didn’t get the use out of it.
You can spend a lot or a little on a dehydrator, I went with one at the cheaper end of the spectrum that still had good reviews. I was also lucky enough to get it on sale! Winner! I got the Hamilton Beach Digital Food Dehydrator from Canadian Tire and so far I’ve got to say, it has performed pretty well for dehydrating fruit at least.
It has a digital screen which allows you to set the temperature and time as well as a pause button so you can check how your food is coming along during the dehydrating time. It has five rectangular shelves and comes with two sheets, one for dehydrating liquids and the other for dehydrating really small things such as herbs.
Now onto the good stuff! How to dehydrate your own fruit hiking snacks!
1. Pick Your Fruit
If you are just starting out learning to dehydrate fruit, I’d recommend going with an easy fruit, something that doesn’t require any effort before dehydrating. Strawberries are an excellent option, packed with nutrients and easy to prepare for dehydration. Regardless of the fruit you choose, always make sure it is firm and ripe to get the best results from dehydrating them.
2. Prepare The Fruit
Before your start to dehydrate fruit it is important to prepare it properly. This week I’ll be dehydrating strawberries and cinnamon apple slices. To prepare the strawberries, just wash them under a tap and leave to dry for a few minutes. The cut out the green tops, nice and easy. Flip them on to their tops and slice evenly down the length of the strawberry.
When it comes to dehydrating apples, I prefer to peel mine, once peeled if you have a corer this will save your heaps of time and a lot of cursing. If you don’t have a corer move straight on to slicing the apple, keep them skinny and as evenly sliced as possible.
If you didn’t core your apples beforehand, you’ll have to go through and remove the core from each slice….time consuming, I know! You may prefer to cut your apple in half, remove the core with a knife and then slice, it’s up to you.
Then I mix normal sugar and cinnamon on a small plate, then dip your apple slices in the mixture, flip and dip the other side. These really do make a perfect flavorful and sweet hiking snack.
3. Dehydrating Fruit
As you slice everything, start to lay them out flat on a dehydrator sheet, it is really important when you dehydrate fruit to never overlap them and try to spread them out for better and more even drying times. This is also why it’s important to try and keep your fruit slices as even in size as possible. Once your slices are all spread out, you are ready to turn on the dehydrator.
To dehydrate fruit including apples and strawberries I set the temperature at 135 degrees, strawberries usually take 8 -10 hours while apple slices can take up to 12 hours. I do find that, particularly for the strawberry slices on the top shelves, the ones closest to the center of the dehydrator, dehydrated faster, so approximately half way through, I hit pause on the machine and moved my slices around.
4. After Dehydrating
Once the fruit has finished dehydrating, it is really important to leave it to cool before packaging it up. Once cooled you can transfer the fruit to solid ziplock bags or for a more environmental approach a sealing glass jar works well too. For extra life you can then throw your bags or jars in the freezer and your dehydrated fruit will last for even longer. I can’t lie though, ours are usually gone within a matter of days!
5. Other Fruits To Dehydrate
Some of my other favorite fruits to dehydrate include:
Pineapple
Watermelon
Mango
Cranberries
Bananas
