How To Dehydrate Your Fruits Like a Pro

Have you ever wondered how to dehydrate your fruits like a pro to garnish your cocktails? Well I am about to share with you how to do just that and which fruits I love to use. This is such a fun and easy project. The end result is actually so pretty and so satisfying. Another great thing to note is that you do not need any special equipment. I know I definitely do not need another gadget or appliance! Dehydration is a method by which water is taken out of the fruit or vegetable by sun drying or using a special machine. See how just I nerded out right there! The method I am about to show requires only time and your oven. Of course you can always buy dehydrated fruits. However, it’s so much more cost effective to make it yourself. Also, the smell of the fruit dehydrating is pretty amazing and will fill your kitchen with a beautiful scent all day.

First thing you need to learn about how to dehydrate your fruits like a pro is to select the proper ingredients. A few fruits I’ve tried in past are all the citruses, pineapple, apples, and pears. Since it’s close to holiday season this batch I am currently making will serves so many purposes. They will make their way into beautiful cocktail garnishes, add bright colors to a harvest salad, add texture to tablescapes, intertwined with greenery for fireplace mantles and on and on. I like to make a lot to share in hostess gifts, to decorate a gift, snack on, or use as a place card. See the possibilities are endless.

Here are the easy steps on how dehydrate your fruit Like a Pro

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees
2. Select your fruits
3. Using a sharp knife slice each one at 1/8 of an inch thick
4. Arrange the sliced fruit in rows on baking sheets that have been lined with a Silpat
5. Put the baking sheets in the oven for 4 hours for citruses and as long as 8 hours for pineapples
6. Separate out by fruit by type and store in air tight containers

Helpful Tips and Ideas

1. Use a Silpat rather than parchment paper – You can use parchment paper in a pinch but I have found that Silpat preserves the integrity of the fruit better. I used parchment once and my fruit shrunk down to size.
2. Some of your fruit will dry faster than others. The juicer the fruit the longer it will take to dehydrate. So for example, a slice of pineapple will take way more time than a slice of pear.
3. Pro Tip – you can add sweetness, seasoning, or spices to your fruit to add an extra layer of flavor