Tips to pick and prep produce for drying

Drying produce is a time-honoured method of preserving a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs so they can be enjoyed in winter well past harvest. Here's how you can get on board.

Drying food is a time-honoured method of preserving a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs so they can be enjoyed in winter well past harvest. This natural form of preservation concentrates and enhances flavours.

When drying foods, warm air removes the water and harmful bacteria that eventually cause spoilage. Removing the water also concentrates the flavour and aroma in the skin of fruits and vegetables. Dried fruits and vegetables have to be checked regularly for mold, as the skin still contains a fair amount of water — unless they are dried at high temperature, which unfortunately sacrifices taste.

After drying, small plums are usually little more than skin and pit, and it is generally difficult to separate the pit from the skin. You're better off choosing larger, late plum varieties and halving the fruit so it dries faster. Here are some other quick-dry tips.

• Compare the items in the batch of produce you want to dry. They should be of comparable size and thickness so they dry at an even rate.
• Place fruit into lemon water made from five millilitres (one teaspoon) lemon juice and about 500 millilitres (two cups) water immediately after cutting it so that the fruit does not discolour.
• Alternatively, dissolve 250 milliltres (one cup) sugar in the same amount of water to make a sugar bath. Bring the mixture to a boil and let cool before briefly immersing the fruit.
• Always lay out produce for drying in a single layer, with the cut side facing up.
• Pit, blanche and skin apricots and peaches before drying.
• Beans need to be blanched in advance in order to retain their colour and aroma. You can also blanch other vegetables before drying.
• Thread apple slices, mushrooms and chili peppers onto a cotton thread and hang to dry.
• Dry the plucked leaves of herbs, or hang the stems in bunches and pick the leaves off after drying.

• Dry only high-quality, fresh, ripe produce, preferably organic.
• Harvest produce for drying only on dry, sunny days. Wet produce decays quickly and takes extra time and effort to dry.
• Pick herbs in the late morning or early afternoon, when their water content is lowest.
• Windfall fruit isn't suitable for drying.
• Stone fruits and seed fruits are easy to dry, although you may wish to peel seed fruits.
• Avoid the tedious job of picking one berry at a time by drying the entire cluster; the berries will practically fall off by themselves.
• Look for a full, ripe aroma with all berry varieties — otherwise the dried fruits won't have any taste.
• The aroma of herbs changes when they dry; many, like dill, chervil, tarragon, basil and cress lose their scent altogether.

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