Drying food,is it worth the effort?

Have you tried drying fruits or veggies yet?Many moons ago my son Michael gave me a dehydrator and I was trilled thinking I'd have little bags of dried fruits and veggies in my pantry that would keep me cooking all through the winter months.That wasn't going to happen. When something doesn't work for me I usually abandon the project for a few years then come back with a determination to make it work,by golly .

So here we go again.First,I tried bananas. Half I dipped in a lemon and water solution and the other half in a honey and water solution.

Here they are all good to go! From this batch I was made aware that you might want to spray a little pam or even a quick swipe with vegetable or olive oil might stop the fruit from sticking to the tray.

Here are the itty-bitty bags with the bounty of my efforts.I thought the lemon dipped would maintain their color but all is a fall brown hue. I tried blueberries and strawberries. This is where the write the time down lesson was acquired. While the bananas stayed soft and pliable the berries bring the expression croque-monsieur to mind. Just a little crunchy if you know what I mean. I put them in the granola mix but,I'm not calling the berries a success story at this time.

Next attempt was my cherry tomatoes. Cut in half ,dried for 10 hrs and rotated every 3 .See I'm learning as we speak. I'm quite pleased with them. I used a handful in my breadcrumbs when I made meatballs this morning. That and a handful of parmesan should make for a tasty surprise.

After stressing out withe the dehydrator I had to relax with a batch of my homemade burger buns. Now this is heaven............................said the hobbit