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Preparation
• Wash vegetables thoroughly and remove
blemishes.
• Pre-treat where recommended.
Pre-Treatment
• Steam Blanching: Needed to speed up
drying process for certain vegetables.
• Blanching: Preserves the colour, stops the
ripening process and generally makes the
produce dry faster.
To Blanch
1. Soak vegetables in boiling water for 1-2
minutes.
2. Plunge into ice cold water.
3. Slice and commence drying.
Dryness Test
• Cool vegetables before attempting the final
test for dryness.
• Vegetables should feel hard and firm with
no soft spots.
Expect a variance in the time needed to dry
different foods. Drying times are affected
by the size of the load, thickness of slices,
humidity and temperature in your home.
For drying soft vegetables such as tomatoes,
celery, eggplants set to 45˚C. For drying hard
vegetables such as carrots and pumpkin, set
to 50˚C.
Drying Vegetables, 45 - 50°C
Food type Pre treatment Setting Drying time Suggested Use
Carrot, peeled, 1cm dice None 50ºC 6-8 hours
Add to cake, bread
and scone mixtures
Celery, 1cm dice None 45ºC 4-5 hours
Add to soup mixes
and casseroles
Eggplant, 5mm slices
Blanch in
hot water
45ºC 6-8 hours Add to tomato sauces
Ginger, peeled, 5mm
slices
Scrub under
warm water
50ºC 8-10 hours
Add to curries, fruit
cake and muffin
mixtures
Mushrooms, button, cut
into 1cm thick slices
None 45ºC 6-8 hours
Add to risottos and
pasta sauces