How to Dehydrate Watermelon

Dehydrate watermelon, and you will have the best-tasting watermelon candy or taffy.

It’s a fun snack for kids of all ages that you can feel great about serving your kids.

Summertime is prime time for watermelon. But do you ever feel like you have watermelon fatigue.

When you’ve had enough, yet you still have a half watermelon just sitting in your fridge, begging to be eaten?

Equipment

▢ Dehydrator
▢ Break Knife or another serrated edge knife.
▢ Cutting board – this gets messy!
▢ Parchment paper (or fruit leather trays)
▢ Airtight container

Ingredients

▢ 1 Watermelon

Instructions

Slice the watermelon into 1/2″ slices
Use your knife to cut around the flesh and remove the rind.
Cut the flesh into shapes you prefer
Place pieces onto tea towels to drain a bit (I put mine on my dehydrator trays over the sink and just let them dry out for about fifteen minutes)
Place watermelon pieces on trays, using parchment paper if desired.
Dry at 135°F / 57°C for between 8-18 hrs until dry and leathery, with no signs of stickiness.
After 4-5 hours, flip pieces to help reduce sticking.
Condition
Store in an airtight container for 3-6 months.

Darcy’s Tips

Choosing:

Pick a watermelon that feels really heavy for it’s size and is a good rich color. Expect to find a patchy area where it is yellow/brownish. This is fine – it’s where it was allowed to ripen on the ground instead of being picked early.

Preparation suggestions:

Try adding a little bit of salt. Be gentle, it can intensify with drying.
Squirt some lime juice on them before drying.
Sprinkle a little mint on top.

OVEN INSTRUCTIONS:

Follow steps 1-4 above
Place on a parchment paper lined cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This allows airflow and help keep the fruit from overdrying on the bottom.
Dry at 140-170° for 4-6 hrs, keeping a close eye on burning
Turn pieces halfway through the process to help prevent sticking.
Condition. If eating as a snack immediately, no conditioning is needed.
Store in an airtight container.

Note: If your oven does not reach 170°F, go as low as possible and crack the door to allow heat to escape. Be aware of any small children or mobility-impaired individuals.

Condition: Place in a jar, shake it around every day for 5-7 days. If you find it begins to stick together and can’t easily be separated, or are seeing signs of moisture, put the watermelon back into the dehydrator to dry some more. Conditioning is only necessary for the watermelon you intend to store for more than a week.

Nutrition

Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.