ECG SO 375 Mode D'emploi page 38

DEHYDRATION
Dehydration is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Food contains more or less water, which
we remove in the process of dehydration. In the same time, you remove the breeding ground for mold and
decay. It is possible to keep the dehydrated foods for several years after proper drying and under good
storage conditions. Removal of moisture from the foods concentrates the aromatic compounds, which
makes the foods tastier. The preservation is done in a natural way without using preservatives. No vitamins
and minerals are destroyed. Even if you use to can or freeze food, drying will expand your options of storing
fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs and teas and it will enrich your culinary knowledge. In our geographical
conditions, drying of food on the sun can happen more by chance. When drying food in an electric or a gas
oven, which is not designed for it, the food "sweats", because of reduced air circulation, juice drips and the
food sticks to the tray. Moreover, it is very diffi cult to clean the oven off the burned juice.
Your new food dehydrator is faster and more eff ective thanks to the system based on physics. The airfl ow
after intake is evenly heated and distributed in order to remove moisture content from food prepared on
each tray. The moist air is drained through the openings in the lid of the dehydrator. This system allows
drying at all levels, however for the uniform drying of the contents in the entire dehydrator, it is necessary to
alternate the order of the trays, because the most intense drying occurs at the bottom level. Just before the
dehydration process is fi nished, it is advisable to check the quality of the dehydration visually and by touch.
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According to your consideration, it is possible to sort out the food and increase the drying time.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Fruit and vegetables for dehydration should be fresh and fully ripe. It is not possible to obtain good quality
dried food from old, bruised, poor quality fruit. Unripe fruit lacks colour and fl avour which cannot be improved
by drying. Overripe fruit is hard and woody or soft and mushy. Dehydrate foods fresh, in time and in the same
time. Clean and wash fruit before dehydration, so that it is clean and free of chemicals. Look the fruit over and
discard any which are spoiled, mouldy or damaged, otherwise they might spoil the whole batch. Remember,
that during drying you will smell the aroma of drying foods, which is not pleasant for everybody.
Before fi rst use:
1. Remove all packaging material from the dehydrator.
2. Place the dehydrator on a stable and heat resistant surface, away from other heat sources. Choose
a surface considering the fact that it is not suitable to move the dehydrator to another place during
drying. The load capacity of the surface has to bear the weight of the dehydrator including the prepared
contents. There has to be at least 15 cm of free space around the appliance to ensure proper operation
of the dehydrator.
3. Assemble the new dehydrator and let it run without foods for approximately 30 minutes. Then wait, until
the dehydrator cools down. Wash the trays and the lid of the dehydrator with warm water and wipe the
base of the dehydrator from outside with wet cloth.
PROCESS
1. Wash and dry all the foods before you prepare them for drying. Select only undamaged foods for
preparation for drying, cut out the damaged places. Remove pits and cores from the fruit. Prepared fruit
should be ripe, but not overripe.
2. The drying process will be even when you slice the food in evenly thick slices (about 0.6 cm). Thin slices
dry faster, but remember that the drying process reduces their size substantially. Place the unpeeled fruit
peel down, with the cut side on top. Place the uneven shapes on the side with the peel, not on the cut
side. Spread the vegetables evenly in a single layer. Dry the herbs very gently. Remove only the stem, do
not slice the herbs any further. You have to turn leafy herbs during the drying process to prevent sticking.
3. Spread the pieces evenly on the dehydrator tray, do not put one on top of another and leave spaces
between individual pieces. Use about 85% of each dehydrator tray area to ensure proper air circulation.
Note:
To prevent browning of some types of fruit, we recommend that you pretreat the fruit before drying by
immersing it into a solution of 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and a cup of water, then dry it with paper towel.
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