Sunday, January 11, 2009

Drying Kiwi


I haven't been able to find any instructions online or in the cook books I own regarding drying Kiwi. I'm making it up as I go. I currently have 5 racks of kiwi (appx 50 small) peeled and sliced about 1/4 inch thick with my dehydrator set at about 135 F. I did not sweeten them or dip them in citric acid as some websites say is done commercially. I started them about 6:50 PM. I'll dry them overnight and see how they go... It's a work in progress. Has anyone ever dried kiwi before?
Update: I was able to take off the majority of the kiwi (all but about 1.5 trays worth) at 8:30 AM. That's a total of about 13.5 hours of dry time. The remaining kiwi slices were a little thicker and stayed in the dryer until about 12:30 PM, so an additional 3 hours or so. They are tasty, a little tart, but still have a great kiwi taste. I'm sure you could do this in the oven, but you will not be able to do as many.
The 50 small kiwi I used made about 9.5 ounces of dried Kiwi. If you try this, let me know how it goes!

3 comments:

Justina Selim said...

I'm glad you started this blog! I can't wait to see what you make!

Unknown said...

We are about to try our second batch of dried kiwi. I'll try to post again with some stats on the yield. Kiwi is probably the most addictive dried fruit I've tried yet. Also, everyone who tries them also becomes smitten with them.

Unknown said...

can you let me know how your second batch went and if you have any other tips, ie do you think that the slices need to be dipped in sugar syrup? I have a box of kiwi that I am about to dry too. Kind Regards Michelle