Dehydrating Peaches

This Guide to Dehydrating Peaches covers how to dehydrate peaches and use them in trail mixes, desserts, and breakfasts. There's even a recipe for making and dehydrating peach salsa.

Learn how to make peach fruit leather, peach granola clusters, peach perfect trail mix, hot peach crumble, peach crunch breakfast, and peach salsa rice salad.

Clingstone peaches after peeling. Remove pits and slice thinly.

How to Dehydrate Peaches

Peaches dehydrate best when you slice them thinly, about an eighth-inch up to a quarter-inch thick. Peel the skins off with a sharp peeler, or leave the skins on. With squat-shaped clingstone peaches (top photo), cut the peaches into four chunks along the pit, and then slice the chunks.

Sliced peaches on Excalibur Dehydrator tray before drying.

Arrange sliced peaches in a single layer directly on mesh sheets.

Dehydrate at 135°F (57°C) for approximately 8 to 12 hours.

Dried peaches will be pliable. Tear a few in half to check that no moisture beads up inside.

Photo: Finished dehydrating peaches.

Storing Dehydrated Peaches

Conditioning: Place dried peaches in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Check jar after a couple of days. If any moisture has formed on the inside of the jar, put the peaches back in the dehydrator and continue drying them for another hour or two.

Long-term Storage: Enclose an oxygen absorber in jar with peaches or vacuum seal with a FoodSaver Jar Sealing Accessory. Alternatively, store in vacuum-sealed bags, or seal in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.

Store dehydrated peaches in a dark place away from heat.

Dehydrating Peach Fruit Leather

Peaches can be reduced to a smoothie-like consistency in a blender, or they can be grated, which produces a mash of juice and peach shreds. Either method makes a good dried peach leather.

Photo: Grater used for reducing peaches for dehydrating as peach leather.

Photo: One cup of grated peaches on Excalibur tray before dehydrating.

Peach Leather Ingredients: (per Excalibur tray)

• 1 cup grated or blended peaches
• ½ tsp. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. sugar (optional)
  

Spread grated or blended peaches thinly on dehydrator trays. Four to five squat clingstone peaches will reduce to one cup after blending/grating, which is a good quantity to spread on one Excalibur tray.

Dehydrate @ 135°F (57°C) for approximately 10 to 12 hours. When peach leather is almost dry, flip it over, peel off the non-stick sheet, and finish drying directly on the mesh sheet.

Photo: Dehydrated peach leather made from grated peaches.

Dehydrating Peaches for Trail Snacks, Desserts & Breakfasts

Peach Granola Clusters

Mix together two cups (200 g) of granola with one cup (225 g) of blended or grated peaches. Add a teaspoon each of lemon juice and sugar. Use your favorite granola mix, which can include nuts and seeds.

You can also make your own granola instead of buying it at the store. See How to Make Granola. It's delicious!

Allow a few minutes for the granola to become fully saturated with the peach juices.

If using an Excalibur dehydrator, this quantity fits nicely on one tray covered with a non-stick sheet.

Photo: Two cups of granola combined with grated peaches before drying.

Dehydrate @ 135°F (57°C) for approximately 10 to 12 hours. After six to eight hours, slide the non-stick sheet out from under the sheet of peaches/granola and continue drying directly on the mesh sheet. It should stick together. If you can't slide out the non-stick sheet, you can flip the tray over and peel away the non-stick sheet.

Photo: Dried peach granola.

Once dry, the granola-peach mix will easily break into clusters of varying sizes. The taste is wonderful – like fruity oatmeal cookies. If you put them in a glass cookie jar in your kitchen, they will be irresistibly snatched up by all who pass by. To keep them around longer, store in an airtight container.

Peach Perfect Trail Mix

Photo: Peach Perfect Trail Mix (L to R) Peach granola clusters, dehydrated peaches, and peach fruit leather.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup peach granola clusters
• ½ cup dried peaches
• ½ cup peach fruit leather, torn

Bag these items together for a high-energy, nutritious trail mix. Take your time eating this, if you can, to allow the juicy peach flavor to delight your taste buds.

In the unlikely event that your trail mix survives the day, turn it into a delicious hot peach crumble for dessert.

Hot Peach Crumble

Photo: A delicious bowl of Hot Peach Crumble

Using the same ingredients and quantities as the Peach Perfect Trail Mix above, place food in pot with one cup of water. Light stove and heat until bubbling. Let sit for about ten minutes with lid on pot. You will be amazed.

Peach Crunch Breakfast

A delicious, fast-energy, no-cook breakfast.

Photo: A healthy bowl of peach crunch breakfast with milk.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (80 g) peach granola clusters, crumbled
• ½ cup (20 g) peach leather, torn
• ½ cup (20 g) dried peaches
• 4 – 5 Tbsps. powdered milk
• 1½ cups cold water

Pack granola clusters and powdered milk separately from dried peaches and peach leather.

On the Trail:

Combine dried peaches and peach leather in pot or bowl with 1½ cups of cold water.* Let soak ten to fifteen minutes.

Stir in powdered milk and continue stirring a minute to dissolve the peach leather.

Add crumbled peach granola clusters. Enjoy. Your day is off to a great start.

* This breakfast can also be made with hot water. Delicious!

Peachy Fruit Cocktail

A refreshing, late-afternoon trail treat.

Photo: Dried peaches make a colorful addition to fruit cocktail. Shown with dried bananas and apples.

On the Trail:

Combine one cup of mixed dried fruits with one cup of cold water. If you would like to have some fruity juice to drink with the rehydrated fruit, use two cups of cold water.

Photo: Peachy fruit cocktail rehydrated in thermos food jar.

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How to Make & Dehydrate Peach Salsa

Check out my recipe for making and dehydrating peach salsa.

Use the dehydrated peach salsa to make the delicious rice salad shown below. It rehydates in cold water for a refreshing summer hiking lunch.

See: Cold-Soak Peach Salsa and Rice Salad.

Photo: Peach Salsa Rice Salad rehydrated in thermos food jar.

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