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No-Dehydrator-Need Dried Fruit #SundaySupper

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I cannot believe we are just about halfway through August. Where did the time go?! Summer will be waving goodbye before we know it and fall will be creeping up. Of course, in Florida, there really is not much of a transition period between seasons. But we do have to acknowledge the fact that some of the delicious seasonal fruits and veggies we have available to us in the summer will soon be no more. So #SundaySupper is here to Save Summer! We’re canning, pickling, drying, freezing, and whatever else you do to preserve the fresh flavors of summer. Thank you to Tara from Noshing with the Nolands and Stacy from Food Lust People Love for hosting!

I have a weird obsession with dried fruit. I frequent the bulk bins in Whole Foods and stock up on dried papaya and pineapple (the ones with no added sugar!). If I had the money and the room for a dehydrator I would totally get one so I could make all the dried fruit in the world and never be without! After lots of Googling and Pinterest-browsing, I discovered that you actually can make dried fruit WITHOUT a dehydrator. Although it may not be AS dried as it would be with this appliance, it still is feasible and I knew I had to try it out. Peaches and mangos are two of the most delicious summer fruits that will soon leave me hanging. I sliced ’em up nice and thick — remember, these are going to shrink since we’re drying out all of the juices that make them plump — and put them in the oven for the whole freaking day at a very low temperature, 200 degrees. 

You are going to definitely need the entire day for this, so don’t plan to make dried fruit on a day when you have a million things to do out of the house. I’d suggest 10 hours, but it’s up to you. I took mine out after 8 hours and they hadn’t completely released all of their juices so they were still a little soft. They did, however, have that chewy texture you get from dried fruit and the natural sugars were definitely developed. There is an elevated amount of sweetness to dried fruit that you don’t get from the fresh produce. I should have left them in for another couple hours, but unfortunately my planning ahead sucks and I had to go out to dinner.

No-Dehydrator-Need Dried Fruit #SundaySupper

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This isn’t really a recipe, per say, but more pointers for making dried fruit without a dehydrator. So let’s recap, shall we?

  • Plan ahead since the fruit will need to be in the oven the whole day.
  • Slice your fruit thicker than you want the end result pieces to be.
  • Set your oven to a 200 degrees.
  • Arrange the sliced fruit on a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Another option is to set a wire cooling rack on top of the baking sheet and arrange the fruit on the rack. This will allow the juices to fall away from the fruit as it releases. Otherwise, you may get “dried juice” residue sticking to the side of the fruit. It kind of resembles plastic and may freak you out when you see it, but it’s only the juice. 
  • Flip the fruit onto its other side about halfway through the baking period.
  • Once finished, let cool before storing. The pieces will stick together if piled on top of each other, so try to keep them separate if possible. Or just eat them right away. Because they’re yummy, and if you’re as addicted to dried fruit as I am, you won’t be able to resist.

 No-Dehydrator-Need Dried Fruit #SundaySupper

Let’s see all the genius ways my #SundaySupper friends are Saving Summer!

Learn how to …

Sip sunny cocktails and smoothies

Scoop up special salsas and sauces

Jump into jellies, jams and preserves

Pucker up for pickles

Slurp and spoon soup and a side dish

Dive into divine desserts

Sunday Supper Movement

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 p.m. ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.


Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

 

 

 

 

Comments

  21. I’ve been using dried fruit to jazz up oatmeal lately, and it would be so much better to make my own!

    Going to try this with dried apples first!

    Reply

  24. I was going to say if you didn’t have to flip it, I’d just do it over night. Well there goes that idea! However this is certainly more cost effective than buying dried fruit.

    Reply

  26. what a great idea!! I’ve done this in the fall with apples, but never with summer fruit before!! If you get ripe fruits, you shouldn’t need to add extra sugar to it – they are perfect as is!

    Reply

  27. Our oven doesn’t go that low, so we just sprung for a dehydrator. It has been one of the best appliances we’ve bought! I’m dehydrating everything! But, we’ve never tried dried peaches. That needs to happen here soon!

    Reply

  29. I am so excited to have this recipe which I will use very soon! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday this week. Have a great weekend and come back real soon!
    Miz Helen

    Reply

  31. Awesome! I love finding things I thought I couldn’t do without a special appliance DO-ABLE without it! Who needs all that space taken up by so many appliances that only get used every once in awhile? My kitchen is certainly too crowded for that. Thanks for bringing this tip to The Yuck Stops Here – see you tomorrow! HUGS

    Reply

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