Dehydrating Fruits

[mujer]

With plenty of fruit from the land I'll really like to try dehydrating some for the winter, like figs, apricots, tomatoes, etc.
I've never been sure about just leaving them out in the sun though with insects and campo rats around.
Then the other day I happened to see an 'electric fruit dehydrating machine' in Supersol. Never even knew this existed!
Has anyone used one of these machines? Or successfully dried their fruits?
Sorry, just realised as I write perhaps this would have been better in the Gardening Section.

[Enrique]

Hi mujar,
Sun drying figs works well, make two cuts at 90degrees, open out into a star and place on wire frame in the sun, insects seem to ignore ...........well mine did when I had them drying and I've seen others by the road side insect free.

[luckyjim]

I have done this before but not in Spain. Take figs if large cut in half. Dip into boiling water then directly into a bowl of iced water. Place on parchment paper and place in oven about 135degrees far. For up to 24hrs(at the time I had an aga). Long winded but worked the were delicious.

[LITTLEMO]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/ ... nacks.html

[Manchesteral]

I do own one of those drying machines, I bought it for drying mushrooms and it's very effective but,,, it costs a fortune to run, if you want to dry fruit just keep it in a jar and every time you've finished with the oven pour the fruit onto a baking tray and leave it for a couple of hours, it works very well and it's free.