Don't Let It Die, Make It Dry
Rescuing fruits and veggies from a sad, fuzzy death.
In our home, as in many, there sits a beautiful fruit bowl on the dining room table. Much like others I have seen, it is a monument to our best healthy intentions. Some weeks, we are virtuous, wellness-gods, consuming fruit as if scurvy is a clear and present danger. Other weeks...well…not so much.
This ebbing and flowing, combined with my compulsion for a bulk-buy deal on in-season roadside berries or the sheer oppressive heat of a PNW summer turning our bananas into a spotted puddle, means we’ve wasted a lot of fruit in our time. It’s horrifyingly easy to do when you’re juggling jobs, raising children, and, you know, attempting to have a personality outside your kitchen. In today’s economy, wasting even a little has its costs. But there is a way to save the life of some fruits, vegetables, and even meats through dehydration.
This form of preservation is one I stumbled upon about a decade ago. It was part of a grand plan for a solo backpacking trip where I wanted to ensure I wasn't consuming my weight in salt and that my meals felt slightly more sophisticated than "just add water." Lo and behold, I discovered the art of drying food, and my life (and my fruit bowl) were forever changed.
Now, I'm not going to write a 10,000-word dissertation on the Maillard reaction in a pear slice (but if you like rabbit holes, you’re welcome). There are true masters of this craft who have dedicated their lives to it, and you should absolutely learn from them. To get you started—I will share my only two resources (they are that good).
Chef Glenn McAllister of Backpacking Chef: Chef Glenn is the Gandalf of dried goods. I own a few of his books and I regularly consult his Guide to Dehydrating Food from A-Z. He covers everything from the "how" to full-blown meal recipes.
Megan & Michael of Fresh Off the Grid: My spirit guides for all things outdoorsy and edible. Their Guide to Dehydrating Food is a fantastic resource. I've made many of their recipes for my travels, from camping Shrimp Boil Foil Packets to their incredible Quinoa Chili. They just get me.
With gurus like that, there’s really no need for me to rehash the basics. What I can do is share the list of things we’re constantly dehydrating to slash our food waste, and all the weird and wonderful ways we use them in our non-backpacking, regular-human(ish) life.
Apples: We chop these up and add them to our morning oatmeal, granola, or trail mix. I’ve also blended them into homemade fruit leather. For funsies, we’ve rehydrated them with a splash of bourbon and spooned them over ice cream. We also tuck dried slices under the skin of a turkey or into a pork loin before cooking for a subtle, juicy sweetness.
Bananas: We cannot get enough extra-crunchy banana chips. They are also great in just about any breakfast food (granola, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt). If you don’t eat nuts, they also make a crunchy topping for banana bread or other recipes calling for nutty toppings. I have blended them into smoothies for flavor without the extra liquid and turned them into powder to substitute for sugar.
Berries: This is the quintessential breakfast booster for granola, oatmeal, and yogurt. They are so yummy blended into smoothies and homemade ice cream bases. We also toss them into spinach salads for a sweet crunch. And our favorite—pulverizing them into a vibrant "fairy dust" to sprinkle over fruit bars, cakes, cupcakes, and as a ridiculously fancy pancake or waffle topping.
Lemons: These are excellent thrown into hot tea or a pitcher of water. I also grind them into a powder for marinades, dressings, or instant lemonade. One of my favorite things is to use whole dried slices and tuck them into a chicken before roasting (or cooking sous vide). They can also be ground and mixed with black pepper. Finally, they are a perfect garnish on lemon-flavored desserts.
Limes: An absolute must for pressure-cooked or sous vide pork carnitas (mix with a little cilantro and some heat). I have also ground them into powder for seasoning on tacos, fish, or chicken. And obviously, for elevating cocktails and mocktails when you're fresh out of fresh limes.
Pineapple: I love having these for snacking year-round. They are also the star of our tropical trail mix, granola, and oatmeal. I’ve dipped them in dark chocolate for a summer charcuterie board and added them to teriyaki marinade with chicken or rice (especially with coconut). Finally, they are a brilliant addition to salsa, salads, smoothies, and even tea.
Mangos: I love adding dehydrated pieces to black or green iced tea. They also make a killer mango chutney. These little pieces are a perfect sweet counterpoint in a spicy curry or a savory grain bowl. And of course, they are a wonderful smoothie ingredient.
Grapes: It is not the most cost-effective method, but dehydrating grapes makes the best raisins I’ve ever had. They're juicier and more flavorful than the sad, shriveled ones that have been sitting in a cardboard box since the last solar eclipse. I use them anywhere their store-bought brethren are called for, like in oatmeal, granola, and baked goods.
Onions: Buying onions in bulk for three people would make no sense without being able to chop and dry them. These are easily rehydrated for soups, stews, or casseroles. Ground, it makes a potent, flavorful onion powder. And seriously, it's easy to use on anything you would add onions to.
Herbs: I keep an herb garden in the house and have dehydrated parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, mint, and rosemary. It is also perfect for that bunch of herbs you snagged at the store—yet only needed a quarter teaspoon. The flavor is always better and more potent than that of the dusty jars of gray powder from the supermarket.
So, there you have it. My not-so-secret weapon against the inevitable decay of good intentions. Oh, and if you’re looking for a good little dehydrator, we have been using the Nesco Snackmaster for a decade and love it! Maybe eventually we will upgrade, but for now, this bad boy has been going strong for years.
Happy dehydrating, and may your fruit bowl never become a science experiment again.