How to Dehydrate Plums

How to Dehydrate Plums for Tasty Prunes

Let's get busy learning how to dehydrate plums!

1. Wash the fresh plums, slice them in half, remove the pit, and pop the back* to expose more of its surface to the air. Slice into quarters if desired.
2. Place them on your food dehydrator trays with the cut side up to prevent drips on the lower trays!
3. Turn on your dehydrator and set the temperature between 125°F and 135°F (or per your food dehydrator's instructions).

Use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!

*NOTE:
"Pop the back" simply means to turn the fruit inside out after slicing it in half, best done by using your thumb to push the skin side inwards.

When will Dehydrated Plums be Fully Dried?

• Drying time: between 12-30 hours and the plums will be leathery in consistency when dried. See my important notes from Beverly and Don, below.
  
• Remember to rotate your food dehydrator trays, for even drying.

A Note from Beverly in Washington State:

Beverly, from Washington State, wanted to add this when she was dehydrating plums: They dried way faster than stated above, which was 22-30 hours: in 16 hours at 72% humidity and 135°F degrees, my prunes/plums were almost to the point of "brittle!" My plums were small ~ this is perhaps a factor as well. I will shorten the drying time to 12 hours for the next batch.

Use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!

Don Hendricks on Plum Trees:

NOTE: Don Hendricks posted this great information: My "plum" tree is a Stanley Prune tree – although it is a variety of plum, it is an Italian PRUNE - it's where prune juice comes from – not all varieties will dry into a prune!

What is a Stanley Prune Tree?

Regarding Don's comment above: a Stanley prune tree is a type of plum tree that produces large, sweet fruits. The fruits of this tree are often used for drying and can be made into prunes.

The Stanley prune tree is native to the western United States. It's a popular choice for gardens and orchards because it's easy to care for and produces a large crop of fruit.

If you're looking for a tree that will produce a lot of prunes, the Stanley prune tree is a good choice!

Margaret's Tip of the Day:

Margaret posted this great idea (on our Facebook page): I sliced my plums into thin rings and dehydrated until crisp. Resulted in a great snack to eat on the go!