Round 2 for the apricots. After canning a bunch of apricots, there were still quite a few left to dry. I had tried this last year, with disgusting results. I think I may have left them in the dehydrator for a little too long. Or maybe a lot too long. They were crunchy and gross. While I was up in Utah with my mom, I got some tips for drying them, since she used to do it all the time. The first tip I learned was to turn the halves inside out, like you see in the picture above. This lets them dry a little more evenly since the moist parts are exposed.
Then we laid them on the dehydrator with the skin side down and turned it on for about 8 hours.
The apricots did brown quite a bit, which is normal, since we did not treat them with anything before drying them. They don't look too appetizing, but they taste pretty good. I've heard that if you soak them in a citric acid solution or lemon juice, they will keep their color, but I have yet to try that. I remember soaking them in lemon juice last year and all I remember is that the lemon totally masked the apricot flavor.
I think drying is really a lot of trial and error, but if you can get it right, it's a great way to preserve the harvest.
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