Dacor EORS136SCH Manual

19

Operating Your Oven

When you dehydrate:

wash and remove excess moisture from all fruits and 

1. 

vegetables before dehydrating.
cut fruits and vegetables into uniform pieces.

2. 

You can add honey, spices, lime juice, or orange juice 

3. 

to give the fruit a different flavor.
it is best to dehydrate on a baking rack with a pan 

4. 

underneath to catch any juices. If the fruit is small, 

use cheesecloth over the rack. if you use a rack, it 

will allow for maximum air circulation around the fruit. 

the cheesecloth will prevent the fruit from sticking to 

the rack.
place the food onto the center of the oven rack.

5. 

Solving Discoloration Problems:

to prevent darkening during dehydration and storage, 

• 

you should steam blanch apples, apricots, peaches, 

nectarines, pears or foods that will oxidize.

add 1 inch of water to a 4 quart sauce pot. insert the 

1. 

steam basket and place the fruit in it.
cover the pot and steam for 1 to 2 minutes.

2. 

remove with a slotted spoon and dab with a paper 

3. 

towel to remove excess moisture before dehydrating.

apples, pears, pineapples and some other fruits will brown 

or darken during dehydration. to prevent discoloration, 

dip fruits in pineapple juice or lemon juice after steam 

blanching.

Creating a Candied Effect

to give the fruit a candied effect and to help retain color, 

blanch them in a simple syrup. you can candy the fruits 

mentioned above as well as figs and plums. The basic 

ratio for a simple syrup is 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of 

water. add these ingredients to a 4 quart stock pot and 

bring to a boil. stir until all the sugar dissolves. remove 

the saucepan from the cooktop and allow it to cool. Dip 

fruit into the simple syrup after it has cooled.

Preventing Tough Skins when Dehydrating

you should water blanch items with tough skins such as 

grapes, prunes, dark plums, cherries, figs and some types 

of berries. water blanching these types of fruit will crack 

the skins so that moisture can escape and dehydration 

can be done more effectively.
to water blanch:

bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a 4 quart sauce pot.

1. 

Drop the fruit in the water for 1 to 2 minutes, or until 

2. 

the skin begins to crack.
remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and dab dry 

3. 

with a paper towel before dehydrating. the pit can be 

left inside or removed half way through the dehydrat-

ing process.

Defrosting Tips

food that takes an exceptional amount of time to 

• 

defrost will not defrost well in a convection oven.
you should not defrost anything that would normally 

• 

take over 2 hours to thaw. the food will begin to spoil 

because the defrost temperature is not high enough 

to cook the food.
if you have a partially defrosted turkey, rib roast or 

• 

other large cut of meat, you may continue to defrost it 

in your convection oven. if wing tips and legs begin to 

dry out when you defrost poultry, you may wrap the 

tips with aluminum foil.
if you are defrosting a small cut of meat, lay it on a 

• 

flat cookie sheet with a 1-inch rim to catch juices as 

the meat thaws.
thick, frozen casseroles such as lasagna will not 

• 

defrost well in your oven. instead, defrost accord-

ing to the food manufacturer’s suggestions. you can 

defrost casseroles in the refrigerator overnight. you 

should leave the food in its original container and 

keep it covered.
you can bake some foods from frozen. some exam-

• 

ples are: pizza, frozen pastries, croissants, cookies, 

etc. before baking frozen food, allow the oven to 

preheat.