Pickles And Plums...

Here is an update on the plums so you see how they turned out. Four trays of plum halves loaded up in my dehydrator (which is a Harvest Maid with a thermostat of 35-60) looks like this at the end, take away a few for tasting as they dried and I ended up with one small and one large Maccona jars full. They did not last long!

I also opened up the first jar of pickled vegetables. While I enjoyed them and the taste is quite scrummy, I did find they were a little too sweet for my liking so next time I make the spiced vinegar I will just reduce the sugar so I will end up with more of a bite. We had them with some deli meats for our lunch. Haven’t yet opened the pickled onions but they are in the fridge chilling.

Today I put another load of apples in, once they were half dry I condensed them onto two trays giving me two spare trays. One I have filled with tangerine slices and the other lemon slices with a ginger sugar syrup basted on them. Because some things can stick to the trays, I have only basted one side at a time.

The dehydrator I am using is fantastic compared to the cheapie I had years ago. The adjustable temperature is fantastic and though I dream of having my own Excalibur one day, I am very pleased with the results I am getting from this one. I will probably try to get a few more trays for it soon so I can do more at a time. This type heat from the bottom and not from the back which blows the warm air across the food and that is why most people who love dehydrating look for the more expensive ones. I find that leaving my dryer going so to not lose much heat and shuffling the trays around quickly works fine for achieving even drying times. I also turn the food over once or twice during the drying process so the tray shuffle can easily be done then.