I dehydrated a batch of bananas in my solar oven this week. I've wanted a food dehydrator for ages, but had waited because i'd heard you could dehydrate in a solar oven.

It's so easy, and far better than having an oven on all day or powering an electric dehydrator for hours.

I simply peeled the bananas and then sliced them into three lengthwise.

I could have left them whole, but they would have taken longer to dehydrate.

I then dipped them in lime juice to stop them from turning brown. I could have used lemons, but I had limes, so used them instead.

I then spread the bananas out on a cake cooling rack that conveniently fitted into a baking tray, which in turn conveniently fitted into my solar oven. It's important not to crowd the fruit, as good airflow between pieces is important.

The food to be dehydrated needs to sit near the top of the oven, with the oven held open an inch or so, so that you get good airflow over the food. I propped open the oven with a small container and luckily my baking tray fit snugly on the top of the cooker. If it hadn't, I would have propped it up by placing a baking dish under it.

To stop flies entering the oven, I simply placed bits of an old netting curtain over the openings. I held the netting in place with chop sticks this time, but next time I think i'll whip up something more permanent. Perhaps i'll make a netting skirt I can hold on with elastic?

Then five hours later we had some delicious dried bananas....

Perhaps a little too delicious. Only three pieces made it to the end. Once we started testing to see if they were ready we couldn't stop.

Delicious!

The last three lasted less than a minute. Apparently, if dried until they are leathery and dry, I could have stored them in a jar for up to a year. I doubt they'd ever last a year in this house.

With the price of bananas expected to rise as a result of the recent cyclone Yasi, I think i'll do another batch tomorrow. There's only so many bananas I can fit in the solar oven, so i'm keen to try dehydrating some in my car. I'll let you know how it goes.

Do you dehydrate? Whats your favourite food to dehydrate?

~

Need some sustainable living inspiration? Head on over to the Little eco footprints inspiring reads page. My favourite post this week was Penniless Parenting's Rules of Foraging.

Be well and happy,

Tricia

~