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    The Purposeful Pantry » Dehydrating

    Author: Darcy Baldwin • Published: Sep 8, 2020 · Modified: May 11, 2022

    How to Dehydrate Watermelon

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Dehydrate watermelon and you will have the best tasting watermelon candy or taffy! It's a fun snack for kids of all ages!

    Summertime is prime time for watermelon. But do you ever feel like you have watermelon fatigue? When you've had enough, yet you still have a half watermelon sitting in your fridge, begging to be eaten?

    Watermelon slice on a blue plate with napkin and slices of dehydrated watermelon jerky

    There's a way to extend the life of the watermelon without having to finish it off tomorrow!

    How to Pick a Watermelon

    Dehydrated watermelon starts with a good tasting watermelon. If it's mealy, if it's tasteless, you'll end up with a sugary-sweet dense leather that doesn't taste good.

    Pick a watermelon that feels really heavy for it's size and is a good rich color. Expect to find a patchy area where it is yellow/brownish. This is fine - it's where it was allowed to ripen on the ground instead of being picked early.

    How to Dehydrate Watermelon

    Before we get started - remember that time is relative in dehydrating. The timeframe I give is a window of drying time, but yours may take much longer depending on your machine, your home's humidity, your watermelon, and other factors.

    Equipment you need

    • Dehydrator
    • Break Knife or another serrated edge knife.
    • Cutting board - this gets messy!
    • Parchment paper (or fruit leather trays)
    • Airtight container

    LEARN MORE: Tips for Buying a Dehydrator

    Cutting fresh watermelon into slabs in 3 steps for dehydrating

    Instructions:

    1. Slice the watermelon into ½" slices
    2. Use your knife to cut around the flesh and remove the rind.
    3. Cut the flesh into shapes you prefer
    4. Place pieces onto tea towels to drain a bit (I put mine on my dehydrator trays over the sink and just let them dry out for about fifteen minutes)
    5. Place watermelon pieces on trays, using parchment paper if desired.
    6. Dry at 135°F / 57°C for between 8-18 hrs until dry and leathery, with no signs of stickiness.
    7. After 4-5 hours, flip pieces to help reduce sticking.
    8. Condition if using for storage. If eating in the next week, no conditioning is necessary, but storage in the fridge is recommended.
    9. Store in an airtight container for 3-6 months. You may find that you like to wrap your pieces in wax paper or parchment paper to make storage easier.

    Serving suggestions:

    • Try adding a little bit of salt.
    • Squirt some lime juice on them before drying.
    • Sprinkle a little mint on top.
    Slabs of fresh watermelon then dehydrated watermelon on Cosori dehydrator trays

    These are not sticky or wet, it's just the bounce of light on the sugars. These are fully dried.

    Oven Instructions:

    1. Follow steps 1-4 above
    2. Place on a parchment paper lined cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This allows airflow and help keep the fruit from overdrying on the bottom.
    3. Dry at 140-170° for 4-6 hrs, keeping a close eye on burning
    4. Turn pieces halfway through the process to help prevent sticking.
    5. Condition. If eating as a snack immediately, no conditioning is needed.
    6. 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.

    How to Store Dehydrated Watermelon

    As mentioned above, I find that storing watermelon taffy in parchment paper is great for anything longer than a few days.

    pieces of dried watermelon on parchment paper

    No matter how dry you keep it, it is prone to high humidity and the sugars will absorb it and become sticky.

    You can then store the parchment in an airtight container, or even zip top bag if you don't plan long-term.

    LEARN MORE: Learn More: 25+ Ways to Use and Preserve Watermelon

    Now...what to do with all that leftover rind....

    Rings of watermleon rind on a cutting board
    • Watermelon Rind Pickles
    • Watermelon Rind Candy
    • Watermelon Rind Jam
    • Watermelon Tutti Frutti

    More Fruit Leathers to Try:

    Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather

    Dehydrating Basics & Journal for Beginners and Beyond book ad
    Watermelon slice on a blue plate with napkin and slices of dehydrated watermelon jerky

    How to Dehydrate Watermelon

    Dehydrate watermelon and you will have the best tasting watermelon candy or taffy! Great for snacking for kids of all ages!
    Print PIN THIS! Rate
    Course: Preserved Food, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    12 hours
    Total Time: 12 hours 10 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 338kcal
    Author: Darcy Baldwin

    Equipment

    • Dehydrator
    • Break Knife or another serrated edge knife.
    • Cutting board - this gets messy!
    • Parchment paper (or fruit leather trays)
    • Airtight container

    Ingredients

    • 1 Watermelon

    Instructions

    • Slice the watermelon into ½" slices
    • Use your knife to cut around the flesh and remove the rind.
    • Cut the flesh into shapes you prefer
    • Place pieces onto tea towels to drain a bit (I put mine on my dehydrator trays over the sink and just let them dry out for about fifteen minutes)
    • Place watermelon pieces on trays, using parchment paper if desired.
    • Dry at 135°F / 57°C for between 8-18 hrs until dry and leathery, with no signs of stickiness.
    • After 4-5 hours, flip pieces to help reduce sticking.
    • Condition
    • Store in an airtight container for 3-6 months.
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    Video

    Darcy's Tips

    Choosing:
    Pick a watermelon that feels really heavy for it's size and is a good rich color. Expect to find a patchy area where it is yellow/brownish. This is fine - it's where it was allowed to ripen on the ground instead of being picked early.
    Preparation suggestions:
    • Try adding a little bit of salt. Be gentle, it can intensify with drying.
    • Squirt some lime juice on them before drying.
    • Sprinkle a little mint on top.

    OVEN INSTRUCTIONS:

    1. Follow steps 1-4 above
    2. Place on a parchment paper lined cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This allows airflow and help keep the fruit from overdrying on the bottom.
    3. Dry at 140-170° for 4-6 hrs, keeping a close eye on burning
    4. Turn pieces halfway through the process to help prevent sticking.
    5. Condition. If eating as a snack immediately, no conditioning is needed.
    6. 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.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 1260mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 70g | Vitamin A: 6401IU | Vitamin C: 91mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 3mg

    Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use ¼ of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as ¼ dried.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @thepurposefulpantry or tag #thepurposefulpantry!

    ©ThePurposefulPantry. Photographs and content are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe's link is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

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    Watermelon slice on a blue plate with napkin and slices of dehydrated watermelon jerky

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tammy Bryan says

      October 04, 2021 at 7:46 pm

      I'm wondering if you can make watermelon powder? Would you just dehydrate till they were crisp?

      Reply
      • Darcy Baldwin says

        October 04, 2021 at 7:54 pm

        It's mostly sugar, so while you can, don't expect to be able to store it. It needs to be as dry as you can, ground patiently - and still may clump on you alot.

        Reply

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    Darcy Baldwin of The Purposeful Pantry.

    Howdy! I'm Darcy! I've spent twenty years learning how to stretch our budget and stock our family's pantry by dehydrating food. You can do it, too!

    Learn how I can help you →

    You can get my new book, Dehydrating Basics & Journal to help you get started on your dehydrating journey!

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