Apples (8mm) 6-7 hours flexible.
You can dry the apples with or without peel. Cut the apples in 8mm slices remove the core. Dip in some lemon or salt water to prevent browning. Place in a single layer on the drying rack. Dry them with medium heat till they are no longer moist usually they are still flexible.
Apple Peel 2-3 hours flexible.
Apple peel from untreated apples can be dried and used as a tea.
Apple peel tea (This is a very old recipe): 1.5 litre cold water, 15g dried apple peel, lemon juice, honey
This is a very old recipe. Leave the skins soaking in the water for a few hours bring to the boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain and add lemon juice and honey to taste. Optional: add some black tea.
Apricots (halves) 11-13 hours flexible’
I haven't tried to dry apricots yet.
Bananas (8mm or quarters) 9-13 hours flexible.
If I have some over ripe bananas or I can buy them cheap I will dry them if I don't want to bake a banana cake. Remove the skins and cut the banana lengthwise and then half or slice them into 8mm thick slices. Place them in a single layer on the drying rack und dry them with medium heat. They should be moist less and still flexible. We eat them as they are or I cut them with the scissors into Muesli.
Beans(whole beans) 6-7 hours breakable.
In New Zealand they don't really eat dried whole beans as we do in Switzerland. Here’s how you dry whole beans. Wash fresh, young, tender beans (if wanted remove both ends of the beans). Blanch the beans for 3 minutes in boiling salt water and splat cool them. Place them on drying racks and dry them with medium heat till they are totally dry and breakable.
Cooking instructions: Soak them in cold water. Sauté some onions in some butter and add 1 – 2 litres of water and salt. Boil the beans for about one hour. About 20 – 30 minutes before the beans are ready I add some potatoes to the water and boil them with the beans. You can also add sausages or a piece of ham with the beans and potatoes.
CapeGooseberries 7-11hours leathery.
They grow at our place like wild. As soon as they are ripe and fall from the plants I go and pick them up and remove the papery skins. If necessary I wash them. Sometimes I dry them whole (they take longer to dry that way) or I cut them into halves and dry them. Be careful with the heat. If it is too hot they get brown. We eat them as they are or I cut them into slices with the scissors and add them to muesli.
Carrots 5mm 7 hours hard.
|Peel the carrots if necessary and cut them into small cubes (5mm). Dry them till they are hard and use in soups and sauces.
Celeriac 5mm 7 hours hard.
I cut celeriac in small cubes and place on drying rack. The dried celeriac can be used in soups and sauces or can be pulverised and used in a herb salt mixture.
Celery 1.5-2.5 hours brittle.
Celery or celeriac leaves can be dried like herbs and used in soups and sauces or pulverised in a herb salt mixture.
Cherries (whole) 11-13 hours leathery.
I haven't tried to dry them yet.
Chilli 8-10 hours.
Last year we grew some chilli. I dried the ripe chilli. I cut them into small pieces and dried them with medium heat. After they were totally dry I pulverised them (finely ground them) and stored them in an airtight container. Attention: they are super hot and can be added to sauces or to a herb salt mixture.
Courgette 8mm 8 hours flexible to hard.
If necessary I wash the courgettes and dry them with a towel. I cut them into small cubes or into slices and dry them with medium heat till they are flexible to hard. I store them in airtight containers and use them in tomato sauces, ratatouilles (It's an Italian dish with corgette, tomatoes, eggplants) and vegetable soups or I soak them and add them to a quiche.
Elder BerriesI wash the berries with the umble (stems) and place them onto the drying racks. After drying I remove the stems. The berries should be totally dry they will look like small currants. They can be eaten as they are or added to muesli.
Elder flowers (see flowers)
Feijoas 8-10 hours leathery to hard
I wash and peel ripe feijoas. The skins I use to make jam. I don't dry the skins but if I don't use them straightaway I freeze the skins. I cut the peeled feijoas into 8mm thick slices and place them in one layer onto drying racks. I dry them with medium heat till they are leathery to hard. We eat them as they are or I cut them with the scissors into muesli.
Flowers 1.5-3 hours.
Pick them on a sunny morning and dry them on a light heat. Leave the flowers of elder on the umbles (stems) and remove the stems after drying. Store in airtight containers.
Grapes (halves, cut side up) 13 hours flexible.
I haven't tried to dry them yet as halves. I did try them as whole and it didn't work. They are very watery and it made a big mess on the drying racks. But I could imagine it will work when they are dried as halves.
Herbs 1.5-2.5 hours brittle.
Pick the herbs before they get into flowers on a sunny day in the morning. If necessary wash them and shackle them dry (maybe in a salad spinner). Tie the stems together and hang them in a dry, warm place out of the sun till they are brittle. Or place them on the drying rack and dry them on low heat till they are brittle. Remove the leaves from the stems and store them in an airtight container. The aroma of the herbs stays longer if they stored as whole and not pulverised. When I use these herbs for cooking I rub them between the fingers to get the aroma out or I crush them in a mortar. Small amounts can be pulverised and used in herb salts.
Kiwi (8mm)
Peel the kiwis and cut them into 8mm slices. Place them on the drying rack. Because they are lying on a cut side they tend to stick to the rack. After 4 hours I turn them onto the other side that helps preventing to stick. If you wait till they are dry it is difficult to remove them.
Leek/Spring Onion 8 hours brittle.
Remove roots and any undesired parts and wash them. Cut them into 10mm long pieces and place them onto the drying racks. Dry with low to medium heat till they are brittle. Cool and pulverise or store as whole in airtight container. Use in soups, sauces, lettuce or other cooking. The powder can be used with salt as a herb salt or added to a herb mixture.
Mushrooms (slices or halves) 3-4 hours hard.
I dry the clean mushrooms till they are hard. If the mushrooms are dirty I wash them, even many would say that's not good. I haven't had any bad experience. But I don't leave the moist mushrooms lying around. I cut them into the sizes I want and dry them straightaway with medium heat. They can be added to soups and sauces or pulverised and added to herb salts. Be careful with storing them that they don''t get mouldy.
Nasturtium seeds 3-5 hours hard.
Last year I dried nasturtium seeds. I used the green ones and dried them on a low – medium heat till they were hard. I pulverised them. They could be added to herb salt mixtures.
Onions(chopped) 3-5 hours hard
Remove the skins and keep them for dying eggs (or wool). Chop the onions and spread on a drying rack. Dry till they are hard, cool and store in airtight container. These onions can be used for cooking or can be pulverised and used for cooking or mixed with salt or added to herb salt mixtures.
PeachesI haven't tried to dry them yet. In a book it says only use overripe fruits. Cut in halves or quarters and place them on the drying rack with the cut side up. Pre-dry them to the stage when they start to produce juices let them cool down and finish drying them.
Pears 7 hours flexible.
Not all pears give the same result. I find sweet and mushy pears give the best result. I cut the pears in eighth and remove the core. Smaller pears can be cut in halves. Place them as one layer on the drying racks and dry them with medium heat.
Pear crème: Put dried pears in a pot and fill with apple juice till they are covered. Cook them (with a lid over the pot) till they are soft. If necessary add some more apple juice. Puree them when they are soft and leave the crème to cool. The crème can be served with custard or some cream or cinnamon. The cooking time reduces if you leave the pears soaking in the apple juice over night (Don't leave them soaking in a metal pot).
Peas 10 hours hard.
Remove from skins and blanch for 3 minutes in boiling salt water, splat cool them and dry them with medium heat till dry and hard.
Peppermint 2-3 hours brittle.
If necessary wash and shake dry. Dry same as herbs. I dry them with the stems and remove the leaves afterwards. Store in airtight containers.
Peppers(slices) 9 hours.
Cut the peppers into slices and dry. Use in soups and sauces or in a herb salt mixture.
Prunes(halves) 11-13 hours leathery.
I haven't tried to dry them yet.
Quince 8-10 hours leathery to hard.
Wash the quince and peel. Cut into 8mm thick slices and boil briefly in sugar water. Don't over cook them. They should be still in one piece and not getting mushy. Place in one layer onto the drying rack and dry with medium heat till they are leathery to hard. We eat them as they are or I cut them into stripes and add them to muesli.
Tomatoes 8-13 hours flexible.
The tomatoes easiest to dry are the cherry tomatoes or the pear shaped ones. I use ripe tomatoes and cut them into halves and place them with the cut side up on the drying racks. Because I dry them on the wood stove I can't tell exact times. Thinner pieces don't need as long as thicker ones. Sometimes you have to leave a few longer than all the others. Just check them by pressing them slightly together. You will feel if they are totally dry or still moist. As soon as they are dry I remove them from the drying rack and let them cool down. Only then I put them into airtight containers. Careful with the heat while drying. If they are dried too hot the skin will get dark and bitter. If you want to dry larger tomatoes cut them into halves or quarters. I never remove the seeds, some recommend doing that. It's up to you what you want to do. Place the containers in a dark place otherwise the tomatoes might loose their bright red colouring.
Dried tomatoes can be eaten like dried fruits or they can be added to sauces or soups. If the cooking time is not long it is recommended to soak them in water before cooking.
Tomato puree: Soak dried tomatoes half an hour in water and then put them through a mincer or a passvite or food processor. This makes a tasty tomato puree.
Dried tomatoes in oil. (I use the U. C. DAVIS METHOD to do that:)
After the tomatoes are dried, it is recommended that you place them in a bowl and sprinkle with diluted (one part vinegar, one part water) distilled white vinegar. This acidifies the tomatoes and also adds back some moisture, for a chewy texture. Empty bowl onto paper towels and pat tomatoes dry. Pack tomatoes lightly into clean pint or half-pint jars. At this stage you may add herbs or spices, dried ones only. Cover with oil to ½ inch of the rim of the jar. At room temperature, oil may become rancid. This is not unsafe, but undesirable. If garlic is desired, U.C. Davis recommends acidification of the garlic by marinating with fresh herbs and vinegar 24 hours, checking to see if vinegar has completely penetrated before putting in oil.