Drying fruit

I see a lot about drying fruit on blogs and thought I’d look into it more.

On Apartment Therapy, they discuss a very simple method of just putting the fruit in the oven and waiting until it has dried.

I figure that this would be a great way to make dried cranberries when they go on sale after thanksgiving.

Here are some other tips I found

• Blanch apricots and apples before drying to preserve the colour. Simply drop into boiling water for 3-5 minutes and then quickly put in ice water to shock the fruit. Dry with a kitchen cloth.
• Bananas, peaches, and and pineapples can be preserved with a honey dip. Mix 3 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar, heat until dissolved. Add 1 cup of honey. Dip the fruit to cover.
• Peaches, apples, and bananas can be preserved with a juice dip. 1 quart pineapple juice, 1 quart water, 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice.
• You can also just soak fruit in pineapple or lemon juice.

I also found a suggestion that you dry the fruit right on the oven racks by first covering them with a 100% cotton sheet or cheesecloth. Turn the oven as low as possible (200 degrees is common) and leave the door slightly propped open to let moisture escape. Some even recommend placing a fan to blow into the oven.

Here are some to try:

• Peas. These take 5-14 hours.
• Tomatoes take 6-10 hours. You can dip tomatoes in boiling water first to loosen the skin and peel it off.
• Apples
• Apricots
• bananas
• blueberries
• Cherries
• peaches
• pears
• pineapple
• strawberries

Has anyone had luck with oven drying fruit?