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CHOICE AND PREPARATION OF FOODS _________
CHOICE OF FOODS:
Use foods that are in good condition and wash them first if they
are to be eaten.
Most fruits and vegetables can be dehydrated, but some take more
time than others. See the
FOOD DEHYDRATION TABLES
section.
By choosing ripe fruit, you increase the vitamin content and the
taste of the dehydrated foods. Choose fresh vegetables without
marks.
PREPARATION AND PROCESSING OF FOODS:
After washing the fruits or vegetables, wipe them and remove
the imperfections.
Remove the pits from cherries, peaches, apricots, etc.
Cut the fruits or vegetables into slices of about 5 to 12 mm. The
more finely the foods are cut, the quicker the dehydration.
We recommend always cutting foods because the larger the cut
surface, the quicker the dehydration, with the skin slowing down
the process. E.g. cut strawberries in half, beans and asparagus
lengthwise, etc.
Small fruits such as grapes, cherries, etc. may be dehydrated
whole, but it is still better to pierce the skin or blanch the fruits
by soaking them in boiling water for a few seconds. The skin will
crack during the dehydration to better release the moisture of the
fruit. After blanching the fruit, wipe them carefully before putting
them on the plates of the dehydrator.
You can dehydrate fruits and vegetables peeled or not, it
depends on how you plan to use them. In order to maximize
the vitamin content, we recommend keeping the skin on. For
dehydration with the skin, make the drying time a little bit longer.
Don’t forget to wipe the fruits and vegetables in order to remove
moisture before putting them in the dehydrator.
Some
light-colored fruits
tend to turn brown during and after
dehydration (apples, pears, peaches, apricots and bananas).
In order to maintain a good color, you can soak the slices
in lemon, orange or pineapple juice for 2 minutes. You can
also soak them in a solution of ascorbic acid (purchase at a
pharmacy) composed of one tablespoon of ascorbic acid
for four tablespoons of water. Carefully wipe the slices with
absorbent paper after soaking to absorb the moisture, then put
them on the plates. NB: the real taste of the fruit may be altered
by this soaking.
For
mushrooms
, soak them in a mixture composed of one
tablespoon of lemon juice for one cup of water in order to avoid
their browning during the dehydration.
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