[pct-l] Dehydrating Fruit - Now is the time for Persimmons

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

Gang, 



For those of you that enjoy dried fruit on the trail, now is the time to start drying persimmons.  I dried over 50lbs of fresh persimmons in 2006 and they were some of my favorite trail snacks during my thru. 



Over the past two weeks, I have dried about 30 lbs. of persimmons that I have put away in the freezer and will be putting more away in the next couple of weeks. 



There are two different types of persimmons and both dry very well.  I personnally use the japanese persimmon (the type that comes to a point at the bottom and does not have the large seeds.  These are readily available in my area as most folks do not like to eat them fresh as they are very bitter until they become very ripe (almost mushy).  However, when they are peeled and dried, all the bitterness is removed and the dried pieces are very sweet and very tasty.  So, many folks in my area of California are willing to let me strip their trees this time of year. 



I simply cut the top 1/4" and the bottom quarter inch off and then peal them with a carrot peeler and cut them into slices about the size of an orange wedge.  When dried the pieces are reduced to bite sized pieces that are most excellent on the trail.  I typically put them in my dryer for 8-10 hrs at 155 degrees. 



I also dry quite a bit of jerky as well, but I have access to a lot of venison and other game meat, so the cost is minimal for me.  I don't think it is cost effective to purchase and dry beef jerky.  But, again, I had no problems with the large bags of store bought jerky on the trail.  No problems with a bag lasting a week or so, once it is opened and it rarely ever needed to last more than 3-4 days as I typically sent a bag in all of my resupply boxes so I had a new bag at every resupply. 



Elevator