Owner Manual

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immediately. When they are ready to remove, the vegetables should be barely tender.
Drop in a bowl of cold water to stop cooking and for food to retain its color. Pat dry
and spread on trays to dehydrate.
Blanching
Blanching is recommended for green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, potatoes
and peas. Since these vegetables are often used in soups or stews, blanching will
ensure that they retain a desirable color. To blanch, place prepared vegetables in a pot
of boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes only. Strain and pat dry; then place the vegetables
in the dehydrator.
Blanching is faster than steaming, but many nutrients are lost in the water. It is not
recommended for chopped or shredded vegetables, which would easily overcook
during blanching. To blanch sliced vegetables, drop the prepared vegetables into a
large pot of boiling water. Do not add more than 1 cup food per quart of boiling water.
Begin timing immediately. For timing, follow standard freezing directions. Timing is
approximately one-third to one-half that of steaming or until vegetables are barely
tender.
Fruit Dehydration Tips
Dried fruit is a superb food treat. Try it plain as fruit leather, or in ice cream cobblers
and pies. It’s hard to imagine a better tasting or more nutritious snack than dried fruit.
Dried fruit is naturally sweet, has no preservatives, and is inexpensive.
Your food dehydrator makes drying fruit easy. With all fruits, it is best to wash them
before starting. After that, most fruits just need halving, coring or pitting and slicing
before placing them in the dehydrator.
You do not have to pre-treat fruits to get good results, but some fruits, such as apples,
pears, peaches, apricots and bananas tend to darken somewhat with drying or storage
beyond six to seven months. Although they are still edible when dark, they tend to not
look appealing. If you don’t mind the change in color of your dried fruit, there is no
need to pre-treat. Fruits like bananas turn brown without pre-treatment, but at the