Three Easy Steps to Make Dried Fruit in Your Dehydrator

Fruity dehydration is easily the oldest method of preserving fruits. Prior to the advancement of modern technology, people used salt to preserve foods or they simply dried them in the sun. Today we have the aid of a food dehydrator to assist us in the drying of foods.

Fruit dehydration is rather a safe method, as it basically removed the moisture content from the fruit, so that mold and bacteria are not able to thrive on it.

Dried Fruit

Noted below are a few easy steps to making dried fruit in your dehydrator.

Step One:
All fruit should be washed, pitted and sliced prior to drying. Fruits should be sliced uniformly to ensure uniformity in the drying process. Once this is done, then fruit needs to be pre-treated to prevent darkening while being prepared for dehydration. Pre-treatments can be done either by blanching the fruits, or by dipping them in a solution of two tablespoon of ascorbic acid and one quart of water for five minutes. Pre-heat the dehydrator to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step Two:
After preparing and pre-treating your fruit, then it is time to put them in the dehydrator. Place fruit on trays in a single layer. A variety of fruits may be dried simultaneously, though it is highly recommended that strong-smelling fruits be dried separately. Ensure that the pieces of fruit do not overlap or even top at all, as this may cause some parts of the fruit to not dry completely.

Once the fruits have been placed within the dehydrator, the temperature may fall somewhat. Bring the temperature back up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. At the beginning of the process there is little danger of scorching the fruit, however, when the fruit is nearly dry this risk increases.

Step Three:
Inspect the fruit at half hour intervals. Rotation of the trays may be necessary to achieve uniform drying; the fruit may even need to be turned. Your manual should provide you with expected drying time, but expect the entire process to take anywhere between 8-12 hours. As you reach the end of the process, check fruits for dryness. This can be done by simply removing a slice, allowing it to cool and then feeling it with your fingers. Additionally, fruit could be cut in half and the outer edges checked for beads of moisture. If moisture is present, the fruit is not adequately dried.

Fruits which have been dried in a dehydrator need to be put through an additional process, prior to them being stored. They should be loosely packed in jars, and shaken daily for approximately seven days to ensure that the remaining moisture is evenly distributed between the dried pieces.

Adding a dehydrator to your arsenal of appliances in your kitchen can help you incorporate more 'good' nutrients within your diet.

Three Easy Steps to Make Dried Fruit in Your Dehydrator

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Freeze Dried Food Storage Vs Dehydrated Food

If you have never tried freeze dried food storage, then you may be wondering how it differs from regular dehydrated food. Both are preserved items that have long shelf lives, and both are often used for things like emergency preparedness and quick-prep meal solutions. Hikers and backpackers also use them because they are lightweight, easy to carry on long journeys, and super easy to prepare.

Freeze dried food and dehydrated food use vastly different techniques to "dry" out food. Both are created using preservation processes that zap the moisture content out of food, preventing it from spoiling for an incredibly long time. But they are distinctly different in many ways. Below is a comparison of freeze dried food storage and dehydrated food.

Dried Fruit

Dehydrated Food

Dehydrated food is created by subjecting food to heat. Typically this means sun drying or air drying in a hot temperature. It is sometimes used in home storage supplies because of its long shelf life, but is most often used for daily cooking and snacking. For example, people love to much on dried fruit and they love to cook with things like sun dried tomatoes. Dehydrated meals are however often used by backpackers because they are super lightweight, compact, and inexpensive.

Taste

The drying process used to created dehydrated food changes the taste and texture. The foods lack much of their original flavor. They are also have a chewier texture. When it comes to taste, you can get really robust flavors out of dehydrated foods, like sun dried tomatoes, if you cook them for a long time.

Nutritional Value

The air and sun drying process also diminish much of the nutritional value out of food. Yet while it is diminished, snack foods like dehydrated fruit are popular because they are higher in fiber than many other foods.

Cost

The air and sun drying process don't require expensive equipment and are fairly simple, so that makes the foods less expensive. You can even make dehydrated food at home if you have the right equipment.

Freeze Dried Food

Freeze dried food is created using a cutting edge flash freezing process. This particular preservation process keeps food in a state of suspended animation. When reconstituted, the meal is exactly as it was before it was flash frozen. Freeze dried meals are in high demand when it comes to home food storage. Some can last up to 30 years without going bad. Some families even have 1 to 3 years worth of freeze dried meals for food storage supply purposes only, while some choose to eat them on a daily basis because they provide a balanced diet.

Taste

The flash freeze process preserves all of the foods original qualities including taste. When reconstituted the food regains its aromas, flavors, and textures. And today, many food storage companies are creating really gourmet freeze dried meals.

Nutritional Value

The flash freeze preservation process also preserves all of the foods original nutritional content. This means that freeze dried food has much more nutritional value than dehydrated food.

Cost

Superb taste and high nutritional value make flash frozen meals more expensive than dehydrated food. Along with this, the equipment used to freeze dry food is highly expensive and that also adds to the cost.

Freeze Dried Food Storage Vs Dehydrated Food

If you have never tried freeze dried food storage meals, you will be surprised at their great taste and high level of quality. Some home food storage companies even do in home, no obligation consultations where they "cook" you a freeze dried meal just to show you how quick the meals are to prepare and how delicious they taste.

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Dried Fruit - Nutritional Value

As the name implies, dehydrating, or food drying, via a food dehydrator, removes a significant amount of water from food. The water content for most fruits is very high, typically 80% to 95%. Removing the water from food, including fruits, inhibits various bacteria, yeasts and molds from growing and spoiling the food and thus helps in its preservation and storage. Removing water from fruit also decreases the fruit's volume, thus, once dried, the fruit's nutrient, calorie, and sugar content becomes more concentrated per serving. A half cup of dried fruit will contain more calories, nutrients, carbohydrates (primarily the fruit's natural sugar), and fiber, among other nutrients and minerals, than a half cup of fresh fruit. For example, a half cup of raw apples will contain about 2.5 grams of fiber, 65 calories and 17 grams of carbohydrates. A half cup of dried apples will contain approximately 6 grams of fiber, 180 calories and 50 grams of carbohydrates. While the dehydrating process does cause some nutrient loss, dried fruit is still an excellent source of:

* Vitamins A and various vitamin B's
* Minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, copper and manganese
* Protein
* Natural sugars
* Antioxidants

Dried Fruit

Dried fruit generally does not contain vitamin D and only contains small amounts of Vitamin C. However, applying a coat of lemon, lime, pineapple or other citrus fruit juice before the fruit dehydrating process can add vitamin C to the dried fruit, help prevent food discoloration and offset flavor and nutrition loss. Before drying, simply dip the fruit in the juice. Do not soak the fruit as this will prolong the drying time required in the food dehydrator.

Dried Fruit - Nutritional Value

Visit Food Dehydrator to learn how to dehydrate food and make beef jerky and fruit leather. Use our content, calculators and food dehydrator recipes to discover the benefits of food dehydrators and dried food.

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Fruit Baskets - Popular Assortments for the Holiday Season

Fruit baskets are a great holiday gift, and the options are numerous. Here are 8 of the most popular choices for this Christmas season.

1. Assorted Fruit. As the most traditional type, these collections contain a variety of common fruits including apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes.

Dried Fruit

2. Holiday. These styles are beautifully decorated in Christmas colors and contain beautiful arrangements. They look nice as table centerpieces for the winter season.

3. Dried Fruit Assortments. Apricots, cranberries, and raisins are commonly included. These arrangements are often packaged in "on the go" containers as trail mixes rather than individually in baskets.

4. Fruit and Nut Baskets. Whether it is fresh or dried fruit, an assortment paired with different types of nuts makes a great combination.

5. Chocolate Covered Fruit Collections. For a gourmet treat, this is a very popular option. Cherries and apricots are two of the most common types.

6. Organic Fruit Baskets. For the health conscious person on your Christmas list, this makes a great gift.

7. Exotic Fruit Arrangements. For that person on your list who enjoys new or different things, this may be a good gift idea. It contains lesser known fresh fruits such as papayas, star fruit, kiwis, mangoes, and pineapples.

8. Citrus Baskets. Oranges, tangerines, clementines, and grapefruit make a delicious, juicy, and refreshing collection.

The internet makes it very easy to find whatever type of fruit basket gift you are looking for. There are many online stores that offer free shipping and will deliver directly to the recipient of the gift at your request.

Fruit Baskets - Popular Assortments for the Holiday Season

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Snack Foods: Chewy!

The popularity of soft and chewy cookies over the last 20 years is probably an indication that most people like that. When you have your own teeth, chewy is fun but if not, can be rather embarrassing. For those who can handle it though, there are plenty of things to satisfy that craving. Most of the commercially available stuff is loaded with calories, sugar, salt and fat, plus preservatives, so why not make your own healthy snacks?

With a food dehydrator you can make your own chewy dried fruits or fruit leather and it will definitely be healthier. Food dehydrators come with a plastic sheet to be used for making fruit leather, or you can make your own for the oven but you have to be really careful you don't turn the temperature up too high if you do that. Plastic should never be part of a healthy diet! It's a whole lot easier-and safer-to just go buy a food dehydrator.

Dried Fruit

To dry your own fruit all you have to do is wash the fruit well and then slice it very thinly and place it on the dehydrator trays with some space around it. It helps the drying time if you press out the juices first and makes it all tastier if you add some honey or sugar; dissolve the sugar in water and then brush the fruit with it. Stay away from HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup); it has too many health problems associated with it. Of course it's better if you don't have to add sugar to the fruit but some fruits are very acidic and don't taste so good dried if you don't add some sweetness.

To ensure chewyness in your dried fruit, all you have to do is take it out when it gets to the consistency you like. You want to make sure it's thoroughly dry however, or you might open up the bag to find a science experiment. There are some preservatives you can use that are natural but the easiest one (that leaves no taste) is colloidal silver. You can spray some colloidal silver on the fruit before drying; it won't affect the taste nor will the drying process destroy the silver, which is a good antimicrobial. Honey is also antimicrobial but shouldn't be used if the food is going to be given to babies as it can harbor Clostridium botulinum in amounts that babies can't handle. Adult immune systems don't have problems with this but it can be fatal to babies.

I mention only chewy dried fruit here because cookies are really not a good idea for snacks. Over 50% of our population is obese now and children are included in that figure. Childhood obesity is becoming an alarming trend; cookies are the last thing we need to have more of. Switch to healthier treats for yourself and your children. If one has diabetes, dried fruit is a problem but otherwise it's a good snack. At least dried fruit gives you that sweet and chewy alternative and packs a lot of fiber too.

©2010 Dr.Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved

Snack Foods: Chewy!

Dr. Valerie Olmsted is an author, naturopathic physician, metaphysician, internet entrepreneur, artist, speaker, and lover of life. Traveling with the Quantum Vortex Experience, she has helped thousands of people reach the inner connection they are seeking and has contributed to the discoveries of manifestation practices via quantum physics applications.

http://www.BeWhoYouReallyAreCoach.com
Contact: Dr.Valerie Olmsted
2370 W. SR 89A
Ste.11-#121
Sedona, AZ 86336
928-257-3290

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How To Make Dried Orange Ornaments

Dried Orange Ornaments:

There's nothing like the smell of fresh cinnamon flowing through the air on a brisk Christmas morning. Dried fruit ornaments not only add a sweet scent to your home but also look lovely hanging on your Christmas tree glimmering in the Christmas lights. The process of drying the fruit is quite simple and with just one orange you can make several ornaments. These can also be great to use as air fresheners to hang in the bathroom or living room. After my first year of making these dried orange ornaments I liked them so much that now it's become sort of a yearly tradition with my family.

Dried Fruit

Start by getting a cutting board and knife and slice the oranges crosswise in about quarter inch slices then through out the ends. I usually only use one orange to which makes six to eight ornaments but you can use more. After you have slice all your oranges place them on a greased cookie sheet or you can lay them directly on the rack. First you need to dry out the orange slices by taking a paper towel and blotting out the juices on each orange slice. To add a delicious scent just gently rub some ground cinnamon into the slices. The cinnamon covered slices tend to not catch as much light so you might want to leave a couple of your orange slices plain. Place in the oven at 275 degrees for the first hour and then 225 degrees for another two hours. Bake until your orange slices are completely dry. Allow some time for the orange slices to cool and once cool you can decorate them with a little glitter to add some extra sparkle. To make a hanger poke a whole in you orange slice and tie some decorative ribbon through it. For an added accent use some of the ribbon to make a bow and glue on the top of your ornament.

I just love the smell and look these ornaments there so beautiful, very simple to make and also inexpensive. Their are many uses for dried fruit ornaments you can use them to make decorative wreaths for your home or tie them to gifts with the name tags it will make your Christmas gifts extra special. You can also make some ornaments out of other fruits too like apples.

Items you need to get started:

Oranges
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Cinnamon
Glitter
Ribbon
Cookie sheet

How To Make Dried Orange Ornaments

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Getting More Minerals From Your Fruits and Vegetables

Before the thirties, people knew the importance of mineral. Their soil was rich in minerals and they ate plenty of vegetable grown in these soils. When vitamins were discovered during this time, people began to forget about the important of minerals and started their fascination with vitamins.

Today because the soil is highly depleted of minerals, our vegetables are lacking in these life-giving nutrients. It is now necessary to consider how you can get more minerals in your body the natural way. Here are some things you can do to get more minerals:

Dried Fruit

* buy organic farm products
* eat fruits and vegetable without peeling them
* eat fruits and vegetable raw
* cook fruits and vegetable with a minimum of water and temperature

Organic Farm Products

There are some major grocery markets that now sell organic vegetables.

However, these vegetables are much higher in price, so that it discourages most people from buying, even though these vegetables are better for them.

By going to farmers markets, you will find many organic fruits and vegetables. The prices here will be almost the same as what you pay for non-organic food at a regular market. When buying produce at a farmers market, ask the vendor if his produce is pesticide sprayed, if he doesn't have an "Organically Grown" certification sign.

When buying dried fruit, like apricots, make sure that you buy those are prepared with no or little sulphur. There is clinical evidence that sulfate-reducing bacteria, which exists in our colon can contribute to colon diseases - IBS, colitis, or Chron's disease. The sulfate that reaches our colon comes from eating an excess of meat and eating and drinking food products that have sulfur and sulfur dioxide - dried fruits, jams, sodas, and many other products. Look for sulfur compounds and sulfur dioxide on the food label, and then avoid eating these products.

Peeling Fruits and Vegetables

Most vitamins and minerals in many fruits and vegetables lie right underneath the outer peel. For this reason it is best not to peel certain fruits or vegetables to gain the most benefit of that produce. But make sure the produce that you don't peel is organic. Don't peel apples, carrots, cucumbers, squash, broccoli stocks, celery, pears, nectarines, or tomatoes.

Eating Raw Produce

Eat most of your produce raw. This is the healthiest way to eat produce. Eating plenty and I mean plenty of raw vegetable is the way to better health and longer life. You get plenty of fiber, minerals, vitamins and enzymes, if the produce has been recently pick.

Cooking Produce

If you need or want to cook fruits and vegetable do it with just a little bit of water at the bottom of the pan. Many fruits and vegetables contain minerals that are volatile such as organic sulfur. Because of this you are probably deficient in organic sulfur. This is one reason why MSM .has become quite popular. Organic sulfur is not the same as the sulfur that is produced in the body when meat is eaten or when foods with sulfur or sulfur dioxide are eaten. Both sulfur and sulfur dioxide are used as food preservatives and are considered dead sulfur. Organic sulfur obtained from fruits and vegetables is considered live sulfur.

When food is cooked at temperature greater than 45-50 degree C, food enzymes are destroyed. This results delayed digestion of these foods in the stomach. Food enzymes help to start the digestive process while your body creates the enzymes necessary to complete the digestion process. Delayed digestion often creates stomach gas and belching.

Getting More Minerals From Your Fruits and Vegetables

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