A big aspect of insuring that dehydrated fruit is made to last is the percentage of water that is removed from it. Recommendations typically suggest that 70%+ of the water should be removed. However, we at Dehydrated Co. believe that 90% should be the absolute minimum, as excessive moisture remaining in the fruit can lead to bacteria growth and the subsequent decay in the quality of your dehydrated goods.
We often hear customer stories about dehydrated fruit gone wrong, either straight out of their home oven or from their store bought dehydrated fruit that didn't last as long as promised.
At Dehydrated Co. we take the time to ensure that what we give you is the best that it can be. No mass production of low quality product. Only environmentally considerate practices that ensure what you pay for is worth what you paid and more.
If you'd like to make dehydrated fruit at home on your own in your oven we're not going to stop you. But, please follow our three simple steps to ensure that your dehydrated fruit remains safe for consumption.
1. Thin slices. Effectively slicing your fruit is the beginning and end of dehydrating. Too thick and it will take a week before it is "done". Too thin and it will be exposed to a burnt flavour profile.
2. Low and slow. Think about dehydrated fruit as cooking food straight out of the fridge. It's cold in the middle. If your try to dry the food too quickly it will develop a burnt flavour profile on the outside, and remain "uncooked" in the middle. Too slow and it will never be "done".
3. Be patient. The fastest dehydration period that we have is 16 hours. Timing when you put your dehydrated fruit on with your sleep cycle is a surprisingly hard task. But, don't rush the process. Over dehydrating is a far safer option than under doing it. However, not every batch will be perfect. Failure is the best teacher, as long as we learn from it.
p.s. a rookie mistake for dehydrated fruit is not putting it in an airtight container or leaving the container open. Think of this as the equivalent of it slowly burning it's life away. Air = moisture. Moisture = decay and bacteria growth.
If you would like to talk to us further about our methods or changing to a dehydrated fruit company that cares from start to finish and beyond contact us via email at hello@dehydratedco.com