We love dehydrated pineapple at our house. Unlike store bought dried pineapple, when you make it at home from fresh pineapple is so much more flavorful. Also, when you make it at home you know what you are getting...dried delicious fruit. Store bought has added sugar and preservatives...yuck!
I used to "can" everything but once I discovered dehydrating, I can a lot less often and dehydrate more and more. Dehydrating takes less time; is not as complicated; and the items take up a fraction of the room. Food lasts a long time this way and is really yummy too.
The very first thing you need to do is slice the top off of your pineapple(s). Now, cut off the sides of the pineapple.
Don't worry about the little brown "eyes" or the rest. Once all the sides are cut off, just carefully cut them out. I do not use a "pineapple cutter" or anything fancy. I use a regular cutting board and one of my kitchen knives. They do a fantastic job with minimal pineapple flesh waste.
Once the top and sides are removed, I cut off the bottom of the pineapple. Now you can start slicing the pineapple up. Be sure to cut out the center part of the pineapple. It is almost like the core of an apple except on a pineapple, the center has a woody type center and is not very tasty so we throw this part out.
Once I have all the slices, I generally cut it up into small chunks. Then lie all the pieces onto your dehydrator trays.
Place all the trays in the dehydrator and set it for 135 degrees and start it. It takes about 12 hours for the fruit to be ready. It is so good and makes a great treat. Kids and adults all love them because they are almost like candy. We also throw it into trail mix; our morning cereal or oatmeal; or even into baked desserts.
I shared this blog post on the following blogs:
The Chicken Chick
Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth
Cornerstone Confessions
