I suck at dehydrating!

spray the shelves with Pam first. Then slice the bananas in a medium thickness. Dip each slice in lemon juice. The lemon juice keeps them from turning brown (and I do this with apples too). Then check them periodically. Try doing it with two shelves and see if that makes a difference. I find that rotating the shelves during the drying period helps too sometimes. Good luck....you don't suck! Bananas are just a bit more tricky.

 

I only did a few strawberries, but I just sliced them and dried them. I find with juicy stuff, the PAM helps otherwise they kind of mush into the tray grooves. It seems to have a lot to do with the thickness to make the drying go smoothly. I got a cheap mandolin slicer to help, but that wasn't smart. Next year, I'll get a better one. My tomatoes came out ok, use the paste/italian ones or they are too juicy. One thing I did was pick up some extra "jerky" trays, they are good for fruit roll ups and stuff. I juiced some of my tomatoes, then seasoned lightly and poured them into a tray in the dehydrator. Then I just snipped them up with scissors and have neat little chunks of dried tomato for sauces and even for dips, and I've even put them on crackers with cheese and melted them in microwave; they were yummy!

 

How do you make fruit roll ups? I don't have a dehydrator yet but I've been looking into it. My kids would love something like fruit roll ups!

 

Fruit roll ups made yourself are unbelievable! When you get your dehydrator, there is an insert that comes with it. It's a solid teflon type tray and you set in in the regular shelf tray. Take your fruit and run it through a juice if you have one, a blender if you don't. You can strain out the seeds if you want. Then just pour it into the tray and dehydrate. WARNING: these take a LONG time to get to the right texture and they are totally addicting. Lucky they are pretty good for you!

 

Commercial banana chips that so many of us love are actually fried, not dried. This may explain why you are having problems duplicating that experience.

 

The problem with drying your food is the dehydrator itself. Unless you have one with a good fan, a heat source, and an adjustable thermostat the food will just sit there and can even mold or spoil before it dries.
I teach food preservation and food safety. This is something we hear alot about. We suggest tossing these kinds of dryers, like the Ronco kind, and getting a good one. You can get a good one for about $50 with the features needed. That, or check Craigslist, or Freecycle, or even Ebay for a good deal on one. Getting one that is opaque in color is best,too. You want to protect foods from light.
The homedried things will not be like store ones, though. As said, the banana chips are dipped in sugar solution, then deep fried in coconut oil. Apples and other fruits are normally put into sulfur.
You can get sulfur and do it at home, but one of the reasons I do my own is to get rid of those things.
Fruit roll ups are good at home, better than the store. I use half cheap applesauce or my own homemade. Use half pureed berries or fruit along with the applesauce, and sweeten to taste. You can use Splenda, too, if you are diabetic. That, or use a little honey. Corn syrup can be added, but I know lots of folks are avoiding that substance, too.
I can send you this link for a free booklet to use or print out. It is a nice one. You can order and buy it, too.
http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Resources/PDFs/PNW0397.pdf
It will tell about buying a dehydrator, how to dry foods, storage, and some recipes for use.
I hope this helps you out.

 

If yours is like mine 5 racks and round fits on top of the counter look at the bottom and top their should be vents you can slide open or closed. I would open them some more to reduce heat and yes dip them in lemon juice diluted cup of water to 2 tablespoons juices works great. if you dont have vents try propping tooth picks under the lid to make a air gap vent

 

Yard sales...got 3 units...$1.50, $2 & $10.

 

Dehydrating Problems????

Prepare the ascorbic acid. For several pounds of fruit, use a large pot and combine 1 tsp. ascorbic acid (powder or crushed tablets) with 1 gallon distilled water. You may need to use several tablespoons of the store-bought mixture depending on the amount of fruit you are preparing and the manufacturer's instructions. Mix 1/2 tsp. ascorbic acid with 3 tbsp. water for a small bowl of fruit .Soak the fruit for a few minutes before drying or canning.
Never add sugar to dehydrating fruit ,draws out juices and makes them sticky.
Dry in a lower temp first to give the fruit more time to dry from the inside out.
http://www.freshpreservingstore.com/ball-citric-acid-7-5-oz/shop/382702/#itemDescription

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ball-Citric-Acid-Additive/20469602
Don`t give up, everybody has problems drying food, I started dehydrating strawberries by sprinkling sugar on them,tasted great but they all got stuck to the trays spend a week sucking on one like a big lollipop.

 

I use parchment paper for everything. It works great and I don't have to scrape corn or bananas off the trays.

 

I dry everything on the clean a screen sheets, they are worth their weight in gold. I dip my bananas, apples, etc. in orange juice. Cut everything as thin as you can or it either won't dry or if it does it will be hard & tough.

 

I also found using the trays with one filled and one as a buffer for the air circulation helps a lot.
I have 8 trays (and my dehydrator is a cheap $45 Presto) and I might have 4 trays filled and the other 4 empty--no mesh liners or fruit roll trays also helps the air circulate better.
One filled with one empty on top of that one, one filled and one empty--not sure how to describe this.

 

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http://www.goodmans.net/i/2553/nesco-lss-2-6-fruit-roll-sheets.htm

I you need fruit roll sheets, I got 4 here for $10 and I have no problem with them.