How to dry cherries in oven

Cherry harvest is very short, but when it comes, there is a plenty of work that you must do. Cherries need to be processed as soon as possible, otherwise they will rot very quickly. People usually make excellent marmalades out of cherries but cherry drying is very popular too. You did not know that? Yes, and you do not even need a fruit dryer, but if you have one, we recommend using, it as it makes the entire process easier. Dry cherries are excellent and healthy.

Preparation

First, you need to remove stems and wash the fruit. Since you will be drying them, wash smaller quantity and let it drain thoroughly in a strainer. Now comes the hard work: You need to remove all stones. Yes, there are special machines that will make your work easier, but you still need to check each cherry… If you do not want to use the machine, here is a little trick. Get a beer or wine bottle and a stick. Place a cherry on the neck of the bottle and push the stone inside with a stick.

Photo: Pixabay

Preparation for drying

Cut the de-stoned cherries in half and place them on a baking tray lined with a baking paper. Make sure the cut side is up. Individual cherries must not touch to ensure sufficient air circulation.

Drying in oven

Preheat to 65 °C. The drying process will take about 10 hours. You can tell whether cherries are fully dried if they are dry to the touch, but somewhat still pliant. Do not increase the drying temperature as it will not speed up the process. It will bake cherries instead. The best way to tell whether cherries are sufficiently dry or not is to let them cool down completely. Pull out the entire tray, not just one cherry. Let it cool for 20 to 30 minutes, and then try. Break the cheery half and if it is still moist, reheat the oven and dry for another 30 minutes. Repeat the test.

Storage

Even properly dried cherries still retain some moisture. You need to put dried cherries in a sealable jar or container. Fill to two-thirds close and shake them several times a day for one week. If no condensed moisture appears on jar walls, you can move cherries to the final storage container. Fill it all the way up.

Source: https://www.thespruceeats.com/drying-cherries-in-the-oven-method-1327533

Preview photo: Pixabay