Making Melons Shelf-Stable by Dehydrating!
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Dehydrating melons is a great way to extend the life of your melons, even if you can’t finish it all. It becomes shelf-stable and perfect for on-the-go snacks and hiking/camping trips!
Do you often have leftover melons in the fridge? And then hate when you have to throw it all out because it’s gone bad?
This will save that food waste for you! Drying melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, etc.) can be dehydrated into tasty fruit snacks that can be stored in your pantry and eaten throughout the year!
We’ve always dried watermelon in our house, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that we jumped on dehydrating cantaloupe through the summer, as well! And then started drying honeydew in the last year.
Dried melons can be used for:
- After school snacks
- Lunchbox snacks
- Hiking trips
- Roadtrips
You can use whole melons, or already cut melons. The key is using a good, ripe melon, and cutting into 1/2″ to 1/4″ pieces.
How to Dehydrate Melons
Quick Instructions:
Slice 1/4″ thick and dehydrate at 135°F/57°C for 10-14 hours until dry and leathery.
Equipment:
Equipment you will need:
- Dehydrator
- Break Knife or another serrated edge knife.
- Cutting board and a few towels – this can get messy!
- Dehydrating Mesh, parchment paper, or fruit leather trays. Mesh works best as it allows the most airflow.
- Airtight container for storage. That is if you actually have leftovers because you’ll probably eat it all!
LEARN MORE: 200+ Foods You Can Dehydrate Today!
Instructions:
- For watermelon, slice into 1/2 or 1/4 inch slices. Remove large seeds if you desire, but small white seeds can be left.
- For cantaloupe and honeydew and other types of melons, slice in half and remove the seeds.
- Use your knife to cut around the flesh and remove the rind.
- Cut melon slices into 1/2 to 1/4 inch pieces
- Place melon pieces onto dehydrator trays, using parchment paper or dehydrating mesh. These can stick to trays if you don’t use a liner.
- Dry at 135°F / 57°C for between 8-18 hours until dry and leathery, with no signs of stickiness.
- After 4-5 hours, flip pieces to help reduce sticking.
- Condition if putting your dried melon up for storage. If you’ll be finishing these off within a week or two, no conditioning is required.
Storage and Shelf Life
Store in an airtight container for up to a year. It can help to include a moisture absorber if you are in and out of the jar a lot and your relative humidity is high. You can also wrap these in parchment paper for your storage if you’d like. An example on how I wrapped dehydrated watermelon is below.
You can then store the parchment in an airtight container, or even zip-top bag if you don’t plan long-term.
No matter how dry you keep it, it is prone to humidity and the sugars will absorb it and become sticky. So keep it airtight!
How to Condition Dried Fruit
Remember, this is only necessary if you intend on putting them up for storage. If you’re eating them within the next week or two, you won’t need to condition.
- Place dried food into a jar to allow movement. Do not add moisture absorbers or any other desiccant.
- Shake once a day for 5-7 days.
- Look for signs of sticking, clumping, or moisture buildup.
- If you have clumping or sticking to the side of a jar, if it is removed with a gentle shake, it is fine.
- If it takes significant shaking to remove it or break it up, place back into the dehydrator to dry more.
- If you see mold of any kind, throw food away and sanitize the jar.
- Look for signs of sticking, clumping, or moisture buildup.
- Once complete, store in an airtight container in a dark, cool, dry place if possible.
Seasoning suggestions:
Dried cantaloupe tastes great, but you can mix it up a little and add some seasoning to it to perk things up!
- Add some Taijin or other spicy seasoning mix.
- Try adding a little bit of salt or pepper.
- A little ginger powder.
- Squirt some lime juice on slices.
Oven Instructions:
- Follow steps 1-4 above
- Place on a parchment-paper-lined cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This will allow airflow and help keep the fruit from overdrying on the bottom.
- Dry at 140°-170° (67°C) for 4-6 hrs, keeping a close eye on burning.
- Turn pieces halfway through the process to help prevent sticking.
- Keep your oven door cracked, if possible, to allow moisture and heat to escape to keep the temperature down.
- Condition. If eating as a snack immediately, no conditioning is needed.
- Store in an airtight container.
Note: If your oven does not reach 170°F, go as low as possible and crack the door to allow heat to escape. Be aware of any small children or mobility-impaired individuals.
Uses
- Eat as it is. It’s a great snack to eat on it’s own when you need a little something sweet.
- I use it to dip into some cottage cheese or yogurt for a carb- and protein-based snack.
Other Melons You Can Dry
While most melons will work the same way, here are some specific instructions to common melons you may have available:
How to Dehydrate Melons
Equipment
- Bread Knife Any good knife works, but I found that bread knives work great to cut through.
Ingredients
- Melon Any melon of your choice.
Instructions
- For watermelon, slice into 1/2 or 1/4 inch slices. Remove large seeds if you desire, but small white seeds can be left.
- For cantaloupe and honeydew and other types of melons, slice in half and remove the seeds.
- Use your knife to cut around the flesh and remove the rind.
- Cut melon slices into 1/2 to 1/4 inch pieces
- Place melon pieces onto dehydrator trays, using parchment paper or dehydrating mesh. These can stick to trays if you don’t use a liner.
- Dry at 135°F / 57°C for between 8-18 hours until dry and leathery, with no signs of stickiness.
- After 4-5 hours, flip pieces to help reduce sticking.
- Condition if putting your dried melon up for storage. If you’ll be finishing these off within a week or two, no conditioning is required.
Darcy’s Tips
Storage and Shelf Life
Store in an airtight container for up to a year. It can help to include a moisture absorber if you are in and out of the jar a lot and your relative humidity is high. You can also wrap these in parchment paper for your storage if you’d like. An example on how I wrapped dehydrated watermelon is below.Seasoning suggestions:
Dried melon tastes great, but you can mix it up a little and add some seasoning to it to perk things up!-
- Add some Taijin or other spicy seasoning mix.
-
- Try adding a little bit of salt or pepper.
-
- A little ginger powder.
-
- Squirt some lime juice on slices.
Oven Instructions:
-
- Follow steps 1-4 above
-
- Place on a parchment-paper-lined cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This will allow airflow and help keep the fruit from overdrying on the bottom.
-
- Dry at 140°-170° (67°C) for 4-6 hrs, keeping a close eye on burning.
-
- Turn pieces halfway through the process to help prevent sticking.
-
- Keep your oven door cracked, if possible, to allow moisture and heat to escape to keep the temperature down.
-
- Condition. If eating as a snack immediately, no conditioning is needed. Shake 5-7 days in a jar to look for pieces sticking together or to the sides of the jar, or moisture forming in beads. Place back in the dehydrator if you see those signs to dry more.
-
- Store in an airtight container.
Uses
-
- Eat as it is. It’s a great snack to eat on it’s own when you need a little something sweet.
-
- I use it to dip into some cottage cheese or yogurt for a carb- and protein-based snack.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.
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