How to dehydrate pineapple
Drying pineapple is a fantastic way to preserve it as a healthy snack. As a mother with two small kids, it’s a way I can take a sticky, generally messy fruit and make it a snack safe for the car or for on-the-go! It’s great to chop up and add to trail mix.
This particular time, I used canned pineapple! WinCo had canned Dole pineapple for $0.31 cents a can back in February, so I had stocked up on sliced pineapple in juice (not syrup). I couldn’t find any information online about drying canned pineapple – so I thought I’d just try it (the price was right!). It worked great, in my opinion. As we head into the summer we should see fresh pineapple for as low as $1 each – and when that happens ‘ll be picking some up for drying at that time.
How to dry pineapple:
1.) If using canned pineapple, use the sliced variety. Drain pineapple well. Place slices on drying trays. If using fresh pineapple, remove skin and core pineapple (these pineapple corers and slicer would be ideal!)
2.) Cut pineapple into even slices, about 1/4 inch thick
3.) Place on your dehydrator trays, dry at 130 degrees F for about 14 to 16 hours
4.) You’ll know it’s done when the pineapple feels dry and leathery but is still flexible
I dried two whole cans of pineapple and my kids had eaten it within 24 hours! They loved it.
I love how they look like little flowers. Wish I was creative enough to figure out a way to use them as “flowers” in some other application – perhaps as a cupcake topper or something?
Store in an airtight container away from sun, moisture. . .and if you want them to last for more than a day. . . away from your kids.
I referenced these books especially, which I’m guessing you can find at your local library (or Amazon):
- The Dehydrator Bible: Includes over 400 Recipes
(pictured above on my table)
- The Complete Guide to Drying Foods at Home: Everything You Need to Know about Preparing, Storing, and Consuming Dried Foods (Back to Basics)
- The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition
<– Love this one! It’s a huge book, 922 pages, it has so much information in it.
As for the type of dehydrator that you need – I think all of them are pretty great. First you can check your local thrift shops, because they are big appliances I think people get tired of storing them and donate them a lot.
Amazon has this one – Nesco American Harvest FD-37 400 Watt Food Dehydrator
Amazon also has this Nesco FD-80A Square-Shaped Dehydrator
I personally have the Excalibur 3900B 9 Tray Deluxe Dehydrator, Black
I’ve been a drying a lot of things lately! See my recent posts:
I’d love to hear from you – what do you dehydrate? How do you use your dehydrator? Have you dehydrated pineapple before? Have you used canned pineapple before?
These would work as a topping for a Hummingbird Cake. A search for dried canned pineapple for just that cake is what led me to your site. Wish I had a dehydrator! 🙂
Hi Adrienne – Thanks for the tip! I need to research hummingbird cakes!
I got a dehydrator this last Christmas and am going crazy with ideas and tries:
1) Instant refried beans. So easy and good! Just dehydrate the refried beans on a fruit leather sheet.
2) Soup mixes (veggie, white bean chili)… just dehydrate all the veg ingredients separately, then add seasoning and seal up.
3) Fruit leathers, plus tomato leather (the latter which can be cut into bite sized pieces and put into soups for a little extra something).
4) Banana chips.
5) Instant beans for soups. Spend some time precooking them, then when you are in a rush, you can just rehydrate them and you are set (ties into #2).
6) Jerky… it was so good and different from store bought.
I want to try my own instant mashed potatoes, powdered milk, and dehydrated eggs. Kinda frightened about the eggs, so I’m doing a lot of research right now.
I want one of those dehydrators!! Thanks for sharing at Foodtastic Friday! Adding to Top 15!
Great Post! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope your weekend was great!
Miz Helen
Yum! These would disappear in my house so quickly. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday on Organized 31.
Love this! I found a brand new machine at my moms so I have been drying right along with you! Can’t wait to try this!
I do beef jerkey and tomatoes alot!! My hubby really loves the jerkey (use rump roast) there are lots of receipes out there for the jerkey marinade or you can buy a bottled marinade or we use the powdered seasoning from bass pro shop. I always have excessive amounts of tomatoes from garden at once (plant extra for this reason) . they come out so sweet and can be stored for quite a while.. love to put in my salad or just eat as snack on the go..I’ve heard garbonzo beans come out good (Corn nuts)but have not tried yet. bananas come out good too. would be good in your granola
Cool! I think that’s awesome how they look like flowers! You could decorate a cake with them, maybe?
They look good, but my son eats with his eyes….he would not touch these, only because they DO look like flowers! HA! Maybe if I chopped it up and told him it was pineapple candy…..
Good job!