Storing Summer Sweetness

Seedless watermelons were on sale at the grocery store, so guess what I did?  That’s right, I fired up the dehydrator!

Eating dehydrated watermelon in the middle of winter is like having a blast of summer in your mouth.  The flavor is concentrated and sweet.  It’s not that nasty, fake “watermelon” flavor they use in candies either, it’s the real deal.

I only dehydrate watermelon when I have no other plans for my dehydrator as it can take a day or so to finish.  My other requirement is to get the watermelon on sale. While you can use a less expensive seeded watermelon, removing the seeds is verrryyy tedious.  So, if I can afford to get seedless, I get seedless.  

Because of these limitations – price and the amount of time in the dehydrator – I don’t dehydrate watermelon every year so it really is a treat when I do. 

When I made it before I learned that it works best to thinly slice the watermelon rather than cut it in chunks.  The chunks take a longer time to dry and are very chewy and sticky.  The slices are like putting a paper-thin wafer in your mouth that just melts.  With slices though, you will want to turn them after a few hours and then again a few hours later so they don’t stick to the trays. Trying to remove fully dry watermelon slices from a dehydrator tray results in watermelon crumbles resembling the bottom of a potato chip bag.  They’re still tasty but not as fun to eat.

Store the finished product in an airtight container.

🙂