One of my favorite snacks while either hiking or camping is trail mix. The assortment of mixed nuts, M&Ms and dried fruit is a delicious way to keep hunger at bay until it’s time to settle down for a meal. On many Boy Scout camping trips and hikes I’ve used the snack to keep warm and stay energized. I’ve recently decided to start making my own trail mix so I can eventually bring it to work as a snack. That is if my snack can actually make the drive to work without being devoured first.

Something I plan on doing in the future is investing in a food dryer or food dehydrator. That way I can be more creative with the fruit I add to my trail mix. I’m still fascinated that fruit can completely changes characteristics when dehydrated. From raisins, prunes, figs and apricots dried fruit provide many health benefits. They are a great source of vitamins and are even believed to promote healthy teeth and gums.

The fruit drying process is a long one. After slicing up a chosen fruit into thin slices it can take around 6-10 hours to dry. Depending on the fruit you will soak it in lemon juice for 1-2 minutes to keep it from browning during the dryer process. Despite being used interchangeably a food dryer is not the same as a food dehydrator. Food dryers allow foods to retain more moisture than the dehydrator.

Either way the process is practically the same, it just depends on what fruit is being dried or how dry you want it. Personally I would prefer a food dryer because I enjoy more moisture in my dried fruit. When it’s completely dehydrated it’s too brittle for my taste.