Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[SnapdragonQ]

FYI, anyone who wants to dry papaya in their dehydrator-- Very Messy!!

I now have 8 trays of dried papaya to go un-stick.

 

[FortCluck]

FYI, anyone who wants to dry papaya in their dehydrator-- Very Messy!!

I now have 8 trays of dried papaya to go un-stick.

You didn’t use silicone sheets or anything

 

[cheepteach]

when you scrape them off you may expose moist inside pieces, and should dry them some more before storing. peaches are messy too. My dehydrator has silicone tray inserts for fruit, fruit rollups

 

[SnapdragonQ]

You didn’t use silicone sheets or anything

Not for this load. Mine were slices and as long as things don't fall through the mesh once dried, like herbs, you get a better dried product without the sheets.
Obviously wet stuff, purees, and tiny things need the sheets, but the mesh on my trays is not attached and they can be picked up and bent to peel things off just like the sheets. The more sugar an item has, be it natural or added, the more things stick and the longer things take to dry too. I'd rather have the extra peeling hassle than taking a chance the insides of the slices aren't quite dry because of the moisture puddling that happens on the sheets.

I've not done papaya before so this was a learning process. Zucchini shreds go on the sheets, but without any natural sugar they dry better and peel right off no problem.

Oh, and FYI...when you are ready for the Exc. you can order the knockoff inexpensive oven liner/pressing/baking mats instead of their expensive ones. Parchment paper and wax paper also work well depending on what you are drying.

 

[cheepteach]

do you have to poke holes in parchment when you use it? My trays are not flexible like that, so parchment might be a good solution for me. I hate scraping fruit off!

 

[SnapdragonQ]

do you have to poke holes in parchment when you use it? My trays are not flexible like that, so parchment might be a good solution for me. I hate scraping fruit off!

I never have. I treat the parchment like the drying sheets, but use them when making things that stain, like tomato leather. Also, depending on what you're doing...say something fairly gloppy, you can tape up the sides into a mini flat "cookie sheet". Wax paper too.

That is if your dryer has the space to do so and the fan oomph to handle the extra work it creates. I use this method a lot when I want to dry thin tomato sauce (no thickener added) into tomato brittle that I then toss in the food processor for tomato powder/bits. Excellent for flavoring soft cheeses, sprinkling on top of casseroles, or making soups/broth like you would with bullion.

 

[cheepteach]

thanks Snapdragon! our tomatoes are just ripening now

 

[SnapdragonQ]

I never get rid of extra tomatoes. I sauce them down and dry them. Or toss into the freezer to be canned or dried in the wintertime.

 

[Molpet]

Oh, and FYI...when you are ready for the Exc. you can order the knockoff inexpensive oven liner/pressing/baking mats instead of their expensive ones.

My exc came with the expensive sheets as a bonus. They don't seem to stain like the knockoffs. I also have the knockoffs and at the price difference I would go with the knockoffs

 

[MROO]

I never get rid of extra tomatoes. I sauce them down and dry them. Or toss into the freezer to be canned or dried in the wintertime.

What's an extra tomato? I've never seen one of those ...