Sunday, October 11, 2015

Dehydrating Oranges

                                                           
 
My new found kitchen appliance love is my Nesco American Harvest Gardenmaster dehydrator! Talk about a space saver for food storage! I had been researching and trying to decide which dehydrator to purchase and my decision was narrowed down to an Excalibur and a Nesco American Harvest dehydrator.  When I found a brand new unused Nesco on craigslist for $40, that became my decision breaker and so I purchased it and brought it home.

One of the first fruits that I dehydrated was some organic, seedless navel oranges.  Preparation was easy. I simply soaked the oranges in a water / vinegar / salt solution for about 15 minutes, rinsed them well and sliced them with my mandoline slicer approximately 1/4 inch thick.

 
I arranged the orange slices on the shelves of the dehydrator in a single layer and dried them for about 12 hours. Drying time can vary according to the size of the load, the thickness of the fruit and the moisture content of the fruit as well as the moisture in the air.  It's helpful to keep a written journal or record of your dehydrating times for future use.

Lemons and Limes can be dehydrated using this same method.
 

Do you dehydrate any foods?  What is your favorite?

11 comments:

  1. We have been talking about purchasing a dehydrator, so since you like the brand you bought, I have somewhere to begin looking, I wasn't sure what brand or what all them do. I just want a simple dehydrator. My son likes Jerky. Thank you for your post.

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  2. Hi Faith! What I liked about the Nesco American Harvest Gardenmaster is that you can purchase additional trays and stack up to 30 of them. Also, the fan is 1000 watt, which is stronger than most that I compared and helps to decrease drying time. Have fun if you give it a go!

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  3. We have been enjoyed dehydrated slices of citrus too! We really like the lemon for placing in tea blends! :)

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  4. I have never dehydrated citrus-great idea!!

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  6. What were the ratios you used to make your water/vinegar/salt solution? And you left the oranges whole while you soaked them?

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    1. Hi Liz. I just filled a large pot (deep enough to hold 3 lbs. of oranges) with cold water and added 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of salt. I took a veggie brush and and brushed the orange skins with the solution and allowed the whole unpeeled oranges to soak. There are many recipes out there on the internet, but this is what I used.

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