AmeriHome HS07566 Food Dehydrator - Manual (Page 4)

HS07566 Food Dehydrator Assembly & Operation Instructions 4
How To Dehydrate Fruits & Vegetables
Before beginning, wash and dry the dehydrator trays. Clean, dry
trays will produce the best results.
Do not submerse or expose the electrical components of this
product to water or other liquids.
For the best flavor and color, choose fruits & vegetables that are
fresh and completely ripe. Wash selected foods to remove and
residual dirt or chemicals. Cut off or discard bruises, mold and
decayed spots. Slice the food thinly and uniformly, between
1/8”- 1/4”, and pit or peel those fruits and vegetables with a thin
rind not suitable for consumption.
For best results, remove any excess moisture with a clean paper
towel or cloth.
Lining the trays with a thin, clean cheesecloth will prevent food
from falling through the trays, and will keep food from sticking to
the drying trays, without hindering the drying process.
Line the trays with a thin layer of food, covering no more than 3/4
of any one tray’s surface area. Overloading the dehydrator will
slow the drying process, and could prevent the final quality of the
dried foods. DO NOT overlap food on the trays. Stack the trays,
up to 5 trays at one time. Place the domed lid on the top.
Plugging in the food dehydrator will turn on the heating
element and your food will begin drying. Dry the foods for
the recommended times featured on the following page.
Rotating and turning the drying trays at periodic intervals during the drying process will dry the food more quickly and more evenly.
Opening the drying vents all the way will allow more heat to vent through the top, allowing more air to circulate, and moisture to be
pulled away from the drying food, which will aid in the drying process. Some trial and error may be necessary to find the best drying
practices, based on the humidity and elevation of your home, the type, quality and moisture content of the food being dried.
Vegetables should be dried until they are hard, brittle and dry enough to prevent spoilage. Fruit should be dried until leather-like but
still pliable.
How To Dehydrate Meat & Fish
Dehydrating meat and fish is similar to drying fruit and vegetables. A few additioanl safety measure must be taken when drying raw
meat to ensure that bacterias like salmonella and e.coli are eleminated.
Slice all the meat to the desired thinckness before dehydrating. Chicken and turkey should be sliced to no more than ¼” thick, and
meat should be sliced to 1/8”-1/4” thick. In most cases, the butcher where you buy the meat will sliced it for you free of charge.
All meat should be marinated before it is dehydrated. Marinating will help the meat to dehysdrate and will improve the taste of the
dehydrated meat. Marinate the meat long enough so that the marinade has time to permeate the entire slice of meat. (at least 10
minutes.)
Blanch or boil raw meat at 160° before dehydrating.
Cooked meats may also be dehydrated.
● The heating element of this appliance will become hot, and could burn bare hands.
● Use caution when rotation trays, checking the drying progress, and when removing dried foods.
● Steam and hot air will escape from the top of the lid while the unit Is plugged in.
A Note on Pre-Treating Foods
Pre-treating the food can help to preserve the color and
appearance of dried fruits and vegetables, but is not
necessary to successfully dehydrate your favorite foods.
Foods may be pre-treated in one of the following ways:
Blanching (briefly submerging food in boiling water)
vegetables before dehydrating can help to preserve color,
flavor and texture. Fruits with a tough skin (like grapes,
prunes, cherries, figs & cranberries) will also benefit from
this process.
Lemon or other citrus juice: submerging fruit into citrus
juice for several minutes will minimize browning or other
undesirable color changes.
Table Salt can be used on vegetables or fruits that are
traditionally salted when eaten.
Dipping fruits and vegetables in flavored gelatin
powders, spices, honey, granulated sugar, syrup,
cinnamon or coconut will add flavor, sweetness and
interest to your dehydrated foods.
Experimentation with these techniques will be
necessary to perfect the drying/dehydrating
techniques.