Dehydrated Watermelon

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Dehydrated Watermelon is an incredibly enjoyable treat that you can enjoy all year round. This snack is full of good nutrition, and is refreshing for the whole family. The scraps make great chicken snacks, if you have backyard chicks or your friends do. 

If you have an oven, dehydrator, or freeze dryer, making dehydrated watermelon is simple. 

Since watermelons grow on the ground, there is usually dirt on the rind. Make sure to wash with soap and water to remove all of the dirt and contaminants before you cut it open.

After the watermelon is washed, cut it open and definitely eat a piece to make sure it's good and delicious.

Watermelon is a fruit that originated from Southern Africa. Watermelons come in a variety of sizes and colors. They can range from 2-3 pound single serve minis to 10-15 pound party watermelons, carved into fruit boats.  Watermelon is a refreshing treat, full of hydrating water, summer sweet goodness, and a low calorie great snack full of vitamins and nutrients.

Watermelons are known to lower blood pressure, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce muscle soreness, likely from its high water content. Watermelons are said to be high in citrulline and lycopene

Watermelon is in the cucurbit family, related to pumpkins, zucchinis, and cucumbers.

Watermelons come in a variety of colors. There's red, pink, yellow, orange. Each color and size all have slightly different flavors. Smaller, redder ones will have more depth of cucurbit flavor along with the fruit sugar content, that the larger pink watermelons, which tend to be sweeter of perfectly ripe. 

How to select watermelons for dehydrating

If you can, go to your farmers market and carefully select an organic watermelon. You can select a few at a time, if you are planning ahead for Winter storage and dehydrating, by using this tapping method. Gently tap the watermelon with your fingertip or knuckle and listen for the tone. A high pitch tone means it's close to perfect ripeness, as the flesh and water turn to fruit sugars, which give the watermelon flesh its full color.

Every year, I attempt to grow melons, but they are a tricky fruit, that I usually grow enough of to eat during the harvest, but not enough to dehydrate for daily snacking throughout the Winter.

Get to know your favorite watermelon farmer, and they will help you select the best they have.

When I am buying watermelons to dehydrate, I will select ripe ready eat, and then denser sounding watermelons that can ripen, while the ripest ones will go in the dehydrator first. Of course, with every watermelon I prepare for the dehydrator, I also make sure to enjoy a piece. 

While I am going through the dehydrating process, I store the watermelons in a cool dark, dry-ish place so they ripen slowly and evenly, and will dehydrate perfectly.

Dehydrated Watermelon instructions

Slice the watermelon into 1/4 inch chips and place on parchment paper that is lining the dehydrator rack.

Pack the cooled dehydrated slices in layers in canning jars.

1. Dehydrated Watermelon instructions:
2. Select your watermelon for perfect ripeness by using the tapping method described above. After a few times, you will become an expert at your selection process.
3. Wash your watermelon with a natural Castile soap and clean drinking water. Rinse well.
4. Cut your watermelon in half, then quarters, and eighths or smaller to easily make handle. Then carefully make thin slices about 1/4 inch or less thick. Then slice underneath your thin slices to remove them from the rind. If you have chickens, leave a little bit of sweet colored flesh on the rind for them to enjoy.
5. Do not remove the seeds. They dehydrate and add to the crunchy texture, and add seed nutrition and flavor to your dehydrated watermelon snack.
6. Place your watermelon sliced on a piece of parchment paper, on the dehydrator rack. By using parchment paper, you may decrease the air flow, and increase the dry time, but all of the juice, vitamins and nutrients will go into the fruit slice, instead of being lost to dripping.
7. Fill your racks. Set the temperature for fruit and fruit rolls, which is between 135-145 degrees F. for 10-12 hours. Read the dehydrator instructions, if you have them.
8. Test for dryness and crispness by trying a piece or gently flexing it. If it is rubbery, dry it some more. 
9. Pack in mason jars with good lids that will seal will to keep out air. Store in a cool dark place your pantry, basement, root cellar.
10. If using your regular baking oven, use a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set the oven temperature to the lowest setting. If the oven setting doesn't go as low as 135-145, leave the oven door open a few inches. Bake for 2-4 hours. You may want to turn the watermelon slices over every hour. Follow the packing instructions above.

Pack tight enough to maximize the storage space, but not so tight that you will break the dehydrated watermelon slices and turn them into crumbs

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