Drying plums: How to make your own dried fruit

You can dry plums at home or simply make other dried fruit yourself. There are two methods for this, which we present here.

Drying plums: the preparations

Plums are a healthy and delicious fruit. To make the harvest stable, you can dry the fruit yourself. Here's what you need to consider:

• Use only freshly picked plums to dry. Falling fruit is not suitable because it is already damaged or can have pests.
• Wash the plums and dry them thoroughly. You can also rub the fruit with a damp kitchen towel. It is important that the fruits are not wet before you dry them.
• Halve the plums and remove the seeds and stems.
• Place the fruit loosely on a baking sheet with baking paper or on the rack of the automatic dehydrator. The plums should have enough space and not be too dense or one above the other.

Methods to dry plums

You can dry plums in the oven or in a dehydrator.

• Preheat the oven to 50 degrees. Put the baking sheet with the plums in the oven. You can also put several trays in the oven at once. Change the position of the trays frequently so that the fruits can dry evenly.
• Use a wooden stick or wooden spoon to keep the oven door a crack open. The released moisture can escape.
• It takes around 24 hours to dry in the oven. Always check how the plums are doing and adjust the temperature if it gets too hot or too cool.
• In the automatic dehydrator, dry the plums at 70 degrees for around 16 hours. For a perfect result, be sure to follow the operating instructions for your device.
• The plums are dry when your skin is leathery and firm. The fruits are no longer sticky either. The flesh should remain soft.

You can read the difference between plums and plums in our next practical tip.