Dehydrating food by air-drying is a simple and cost-effective way of preserving fresh fruit for your survival stockpile.
This option is great for preppers who don’t want to buy equipment for food prep or those looking for an alternative food preservation method that will still work even after SHTF and the grid goes down. (h/t to ModernSurvivalOnline.com)
Some may consider food dehydration a modern practice made possible by modern gadgets and factory production, but you can do the same thing at home with common tools. With this method, you don’t need fancy and expensive gadgets. You can air-dry food at home using the power of the sun, warm temperatures and dry conditions.
Benefits of air-drying food
Air-drying is a food preservation process that removes most of the water from the fruit to help prevent spoilage. This process also concentrates the flavor and nutrition of the fruit, making it a valuable addition to your food storage plan.
Air-drying can be used to preserve different kinds of food like fruits, vegetables or meat and it’s a great skill to learn for preppers because it is sustainable and requires little to no equipment. However, you do need to get the timing right when it comes to the weather.
Air-drying fruit can also help you save some money, especially if your family likes snacking on dried fruits, which are often overpriced at the grocery stores and supermarkets. (Related: Prepping skills: 15 Food storage and preservation methods to learn before SHTF.)
Best fruits for air-drying
Almost all kinds of fruit can be dried out if you follow the correct process. Just keep in mind that not all fruits are as palatable as others when dried. Here are some of the best fruits to air-dry at home:
- Apples
- Apricots
- Bananas
- Berries
- Black currants
- Cherries
- Citrus peel
- Figs
- Grapes (Will turn into raisins.)
- Mangoes
- Melons
- Nectarines and peaches
- Pears
- Pineapples
- Plums and prunes
Each fruit will exhibit its own unique characteristics because of the drying process and as a finished product.
For example, apricots dry out more quickly and have a longer shelf life, but they are not as sweet as some other fruits. On the other hand, raisins are sweeter and chewier than grapes, but they might spoil rapidly if you don’t monitor them during the drying process and handle them correctly.
If it’s your first time processing a certain fruit, take note of your progress and mistakes and tweak your process depending on the results.
How to air-dry fruits
Air-drying is an easy and effective technique so use it to reliably air-dry different fruits. Before you get started, choose a day with warm weather.
The basic steps for air-drying are:
- Wash
- Peel and slice
- Treat
- Pat dry
- Cover and place
- Flip
- Continue
- Freeze
You’ll need temperatures of at least 90 F for five days continuously in your area, with a humidity level of 30 percent or less for best results.
Note that you won’t be able to dry fruit when temperatures are low or humidity is high. If the overall climate in your region won’t allow you to dry fruit for the required time or is uncooperative, it might be best to find another way to dehydrate food.
Wash
First, thoroughly wash the fruit you want to air-dry. During this step, you need to remove all wax, dirt, grease and any other contaminants that could reduce the quality of the finished product or potentially make you sick.
Carefully wash the fruit in cool water and make sure you don’t bruise or break the flesh. If you’re using soft fruits that are very dirty, soak them in water for several minutes before gently brushing the dirt off.
Never use harsh chemical cleansers during this process because they might be drawn into the flesh of the fruit as moisture evaporates.
Peel and slice
Once the fruit is clean, peel and slice it. The fruit is peeled to improve the taste and texture of the finished product, but sometimes the skins add an interesting element and vital nutrition when certain fruits are dried.
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How you peel the fruit will depend on the type of fruit you’re drying. But if you decide to peel the fruit, make sure you preserve as much of the flesh as possible.
Peeling is optional but recommended for some fruits like oranges because it makes them look and taste better when dried. After peeling the fruits, slice them to size so they will dry efficiently.
Slicing thickness is also a matter of personal preference but overall, thinner slices dry faster than thick ones. But make sure you don’t slice them too thinly because the fruit will desiccate into nothing.
Try to slice the fruit in identical sizes so they will dry out at the same time.
Treat
Treating the fruits is optional but highly recommended, especially if you want to store the dried fruit for an extended period of time.
Slicing fruit exposes more surface area to the air, meaning it will also spoil faster. To prevent this, treat the sliced fruit with a weak solution of lemon juice or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) powder and a bit of water. The solution will help preserve the color and flavor of the dried fruit.
Pretreating the fruit is simple once it is peeled, sliced and prepped. Treat the fruit by mixing up the solution according to the package directions.
Submerge the sliced fruit in the solution completely for at least five minutes. You can reuse the same batch of ascorbic acid or lemon juice solution multiple times, but you’ll only get about three uses before the solution loses its potency.
Make several batches of the treatment solution if you are processing a lot of dried fruit.
Pat dry
After the fruit has been treated, pat it dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. This step is important because wet fruit will not dry out properly.
Once done, place the fruit on a wire rack to drip dry. You can also place firm fruits inside a salad spinner to centrifuge most of the moisture off of them.
Gently blot off any remaining moisture or vitamin C solution. Don’t crush or damage your fruit because it has already been through a lot during the treating stage and the quality of the finished product will reflect the prep and prior handling.
While you can skip this step to save time, it will affect the quality of the dried fruit and the pieces that are wetter than others may not dry evenly or might take considerably longer to dry.
Cover and place
The next step is to place the fruit pieces on a tray or pan and cover them so that you can place them outside to dry. Use a metal baking sheet or any other kind of flat cookware like a cookie sheet, cast iron griddle or large pan that is food safe.
Place the fruit directly on the pan and spread them out so none of the pieces are touching. While the fruit will shrink as they dry, you shouldn’t overload the pan because this will only slow the drying process.
Next, cover the drying surface with a layer of cheesecloth, muslin, or other breathable fabric. Using fabric that is thin and airy enough will allow plenty of air and light to get through to the fruit but prevent birds, insects, dirt and dust from contaminating the fruit pieces.
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Place the covered trays full of fruit pieces anywhere in a sunny spot outside. It’s best to keep it away from the surface using a tray stand, a trivet, stones, bricks, or anything that will allow air and heat to circulate all around the pan. Placing the pan over a solid and non-porous surface made of metal, stone, or concrete is best because this will cut down the amount of moisture in the air around the fruit pieces.
Regularly check the fruit while it is drying on a tray outside to make sure stray animals or insects don’t eat them.
Flip
Once the fruit has been drying for three to four hours, remove the cloth covering the tray and flip the fruit slices over to allow the other side to dry evenly. While intense direct sunlight, high temperatures and the drawing process will kill bacteria and other germs, some contaminants may persist or re-contaminate the fruit due to careless handling practices.
Wear gloves and use tongs to flip the fruit. This will reduce the number of bacteria and other contaminants that will come in contact with the fruit.
After you flip the fruit, recover it tightly and leave them in place. Adjust the position to keep them in the sun.
Continue to flip the fruit in the tray/s every three to four hours while the sun is up until the fruit is completely dry. The process may take a minimum of two days in ideal conditions with certain fruits.
Air-drying fruit can also take anywhere between several days to a week depending on the type and thickness of the fruit.
Always bring the fruits inside after the sun goes down and the day starts to cool off. This is crucial because plummeting temperatures and an increase in condensation during the night will negatively affect your fruit. The change in temperature and humidity may also spoil or hamper the drying process.
When the sun rises and the temperature starts climbing the next day, place the covered fruit trays back outside and repeat the process every three to four hours.
Once the fruit is properly dried, take a piece and cut or tear it open to examine the interior. Once the test piece is adequately dry, you are almost done.
Freeze
After drying and flipping the fruit, freeze it for several hours for long-term storage. This will help kill any remaining bacteria on the surface.
Freezing also helps reduce the risk of food poisoning and also extends the shelf life of the fruit.
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Storage and cleanup
Once the air-drying process is done, store the fruit in an airtight container or in the freezer. You can store the fruit at room temperature for up to a year.
To extend the shelf life of air-dried fruit even further, freeze it in an airtight container. Air-dried and frozen food will last for up to two years or even longer.
Preserve fruits at home by air-drying to save money and build your stockpile before SHTF.
Watch this video to learn about the four best options for long-term food storage.
This video is from the high impact Flix and more!!! channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
- Freeze-drying vs dehydration: Which is the best food preservation method?
- Prepping tips: How to build a stockpile if you are lactose intolerant.
- Apartment prepping 101: Pickling vegetables for long-term storage.
Sources include:
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
