- 1). Wash and trim your vegetables and fruits. Remove any stems, spots and coarse skins. You will want to remove anything that might be hard later when dried. For instance, apples and pears should be cored since the membrane in the core will be very tough later, while cherries, plums and peaches need to be pitted.
- 2). Slice your vegetables into 1/4-inch slices. Onions, green beans, carrots, zucchini and peppers will all dry easily for use later as soup vegetables. Vegetables like corn or peas can be dried simply by laying them flat on the drying tray. Juicy vegetables like tomatoes can be cut in half and given more time to dry.
- 3). Peel fruits and slice into 1/4 inch slices. If you dip them in an ascorbic acid solution, they won't brown. This solution can be made by mixing six 500 mg of Vitamin C (non-chewables) in 8 oz. of water until dissolved. Apples, bananas and pears do well after dipped in the solution. Some fruits like melon and watermelon do not dry well since they are mostly water, while grapes dry into raisins.
- 4). Meats can be prepared by trimming off any fat and gristle. Slice the raw meat against the grain if possible and soak overnight in a marinade. Fish can be dipped in a salt water solution made with 1/2 cup of salt and 1 quart of water. Soak for one hour and rinse. Apply a dry cure recipe of your choice and sprinkle over your fish to sit overnight.
- 5). Layer the foods in the dehydrator so that they are not overlapping. Fill each tray, starting with the bottom and working your way up until all the trays are filled. Plug in the dehydrator and let it run for 24 hours or until the food is no longer damp when torn.
- 6). Unplug the dehydrator and cool the dehydrated foods down to room temperature. Package the dry foods in air-proof sealed containers. Keep in a cool, dark place until ready to use.
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