Dehydrated Peaches

Preparing and Dehydrating

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Mix water and vinegar (or lemon juice) in a non-reactive bowl (glass or ceramic is preferred). Set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.

4. Cut a small "x" on the bottom of each peach using the tip of a paring knife.

5. Prepare a big bowl with water and ice. This will be used after blanching the fruit.

6. Put peaches into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove them from boiling water with a slotted spoon and transfer to iced water. Let soak in cold water for a few minutes, just until they are cool enough to handle.

7. Peel peaches. The blanching should make it easy to peel the skins off of the peaches by hand, but use a knife if there are any stubborn spots.

8. Place peeled peaches in acidulated water. This step prevents discoloration.

9. One by one, pit and slice peaches. If working with freestone peaches, run a knife around circumference of each peach. Its halves should easily twist apart and away from pit. Slice into 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick slices. If working with clingstone peaches, it's easier to remove peach flesh from pit using a paring knife. Cut wedges 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick off of the pits. Place all slices back in acidulated water.

10. Once all of the peaches are peeled, pitted, and sliced and have been in acidulated water, drain in a colander.

11. Arrange peaches on dehydrator trays so that there is at least a half-inch of space between slices.

12. Set dehydrator's temperature to 135 F. It might take 8 to 36 hours to fully dry the peaches depending on how thickly they are sliced. The pieces should feel totally dry to the touch, but leathery and somewhat pliable.

13. It is hard to be completely sure if the peach pieces are fully dehydrated until they have cooled. Turn off dehydrator and open it once peaches seem to have desired texture. Let peaches cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

Conditioning the Fruit

Even after the peaches are correctly dehydrated, there may still be some residual moisture in the fruit that you can't feel. This shouldn't prevent the fruit from being safely preserved and mold-free, but you'll have a tastier and better product if you've conditioned the dried fruit.

1. Put dried, cooled fruit pieces into glass jars, only filling the jars about 2/3 full. Put covers on jars.

2. Shake jars a couple of times a day for 1 week. This process helps redistribute the fruit pieces as well as any moisture they may still contain.

3. If any condensation shows up on the sides of jars, the fruit isn't dried well enough yet, and it needs to go back into the dehydrator for a few hours. Use the same temperature as in the initial dehydration process.

4. Store in airtight containers away from direct light or heat once dried peaches are conditioned. It's okay to fully fill jars at this point. Properly stored at room temperature, peaches should last between 6 and 12 months.