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Freeze Dried Melon
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Freeze Dried Watermelon (& Other Melons)

Freeze-dried watermelon is a delicious, nutritious, crunchy snack that tastes like watermelon cotton candy!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 day 11 hours
Additional Time30 minutes
Total Time1 day 12 hours
Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

  • Fresh or Frozen Watermelon

Instructions

  • Start with pre-chilling your freeze dryer for a minimum of 30 minutes.
  • Slice the watermelon into equally sized slices. You can go with cubes, strips or longer sticks. 
  • Place the watermelon pieces on freeze dryer trays in a single layer. For easier cleanup, you can line trays with parchment paper or silicone mats first.
  • Once the freeze dryer is pre-chilled, place your trays in the freeze dryer and close the door.
  • Program your machine and press “continue.” It can take anywhere from 30 to 40 hours for your watermelon to freeze-dry, but times will vary based on the size of the fruit, water content of your watermelon and whether or not you’ve pre-frozen the fruit.
  • When the cycle is finished, open the machine and check to see if the watermelon is completely freeze-dried. If it is not, add a few more hours of dry time.
  • Once dry, remove the trays from the machine.
  • Set your freeze dryer to defrost and pack away your freeze-dried creations.

Notes

Pre-Freezing

If desired, you can pre-freeze fruit by freezing directly on freeze dryer trays or in large freezer bags (some sticking will occur when using bags, so be wary). Pre-freezing watermelon will help to shorten freeze-drying time.

Storage

If planning on consuming your freeze-dried watermelon soon, you can store it in mason jars with tight-fitting lids. Short-term storage in airtight containers such as these is fine if you plan on using the contents within a year. For long-term storage, freeze-dried watermelon should be kept in mylar pouches with oxygen absorbers. When properly packed, this method will keep for 30 years.