With a bumper crop of cantaloupe in the garden they are ripening faster than we can eat them. With fruit in short supply this year we hate to see them go to waste. So we decided to try something new and instead of dehydrated apple chips we dehydrated cantaloupe chips. It was simply a matter of peeling and chopping the cantaloupe into 1/4 inch slices and then laying them on the dehydrator trays. No lemon treatment or anything.
Once all the trays were full we set the dehydrator to 130 and let them dry for about 18 hours or overnight. They were a little crispy barely around the edges and chewy otherwise.
Drying them really concentrates that sugar so they are really sweet but the grandkids will love that on a cold winter day. Our favorite ones were the one tray that I experimented with and sprinkled them with sea salt. Loved that sweet/salty combination.
We let them cool slightly and then placed them in quart jars with oxygen absorbers to seal.
These will not be reconstituted but rather just be eaten as a snack. Just a little reminder of those warm summer days in the melon patch to get us through the winter.
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
I looked up oxygen absorbers. Boy there are a lot of different ones to choose from. What kind and how many cc do you put in your quart jars?
ReplyDeleteFor quarts of dried fruit which is what I use this for I use 100cc oxygen absorbers.
DeleteI didn't grow one cantelope! And I never thought about drying them either : )
ReplyDeleteThis is very interested recipte :) I must do this
ReplyDeleteI greet
Ilona of Poland
CQ, Making chips is a great idea,and healthy too.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I love it!
ReplyDeleteNeed to keep working on that dehydrator. Maybe for Christmas...
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ReplyDeleteI'm going to try the chips. I tried watermelon ones and they didn't turn out good. Thank you for sharing this at the Carnival of Home Preserving!
ReplyDeleteFabulous idea. Reminds me when I chopped some left over from and event I catered. Threw them in freezer zippy and in the freezer! Pulled them out months later and made a lovely cocktail in the blender with some white rum and splash of lime.
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