Ever walked past a bin of star-shaped fruit at the grocery store and wondered whether a dehydrator could do anything with it?
Short answer: yes, and some of the strangest-looking fruit in the produce aisle turns into the best snacks on your shelf. Apples and bananas get all the attention, but sugar-rich, thin-skinned, or oddly shaped fruit often dries even better. Here are five I’d happily put on a tray this week. Let’s dry something you’ve never tried.
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In this article:
TL;DR: Key Takeaways
- ⭐ Starfruit slices keep their shape and dry into pale, crisp stars, but they’re not safe for anyone with kidney problems
- 🍊 Fuyu persimmons are the firm, non-astringent kind and dry into a chewy, honeyed chip
- 🟠 Kumquats go in whole slice and all, because the peel is the best part
- 🫐 Golden berries need a quick skin prick so the moisture can escape
- 🔴 Fresh jujubes become chewy “red dates” with a long, slow dry
- 🌡️ Everything here dries at 135°F (57°C), so one temperature covers the whole batch
New to fruit drying in general? My guide to the 15 best fruits to dehydrate covers the basics, and my tropical fruit roundup handles the better-known exotics like dragon fruit and kiwi, which I’m skipping here.
1. Starfruit (Carambola)
Starfruit looks like a craft project, and it dries like one too. Every crosswise slice is a perfect five-point star, and the shape survives the dehydrator better than almost any fruit I’ve tried.
Pick fruit that’s yellow with only a faint green tint, since greener ones stay sour. Trim the thin brown edges off each rib, slice 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, and pick out any seeds. Dry at 135°F (57°C) for 6–10 hours. Thin slices finish crisp, and thicker ones stay chewy. One important note before you buy:
- Starfruit contains a compound that can harm people with kidney disease, so skip it if that’s you or someone you’re feeding
- Slice evenly so every star finishes together
- Store fully cooled stars airtight, because crisp stars soften fast
They’re mild and gently tart, which makes them a pretty garnish for drinks and desserts. My dehydrated dessert topping recipes have other ideas for decorating a bowl.
2. Fuyu Persimmon Chips
Persimmons are fall’s most overlooked fruit. They’re also the best argument for owning a dehydrator, because drying concentrates their honey-and-spice sweetness into something that tastes like candy without the added sugar.
Buy the Fuyu kind, which is squat like a tomato and edible while still firm. Hachiya persimmons, the acorn-shaped ones, stay unpleasantly astringent until they’re soft and jelly-ripe, so they’re the wrong choice for chips. Pull off the leafy top, peel if the skin is tough, and slice 1/4 inch thick. A mandoline keeps the slices even. Dry at 135°F (57°C) for 8–12 hours until leathery and pliable, with no sticky spots in the center. Firm fruit makes the best chips.
Persimmons are also a Korean tradition. If you want the old-school air-dried version, my Korean-inspired dehydrated snacks roundup covers gotgam-style dried persimmon.
3. Kumquat Slices
Kumquats are the only citrus you eat whole. The peel is sweet, the flesh is sour, and drying turns the combination into a tangy, chewy bite that wakes up a cheese board.
Wash them well, slice into 1/8 to 1/4 inch rounds, and flick out the seeds with the tip of a knife. Dry at 135°F (57°C) for 6–10 hours until leathery and no longer sticky. Skip the sugar and you get a sharp, concentrated tang. Roll the dried rounds in a little sugar if you want a gentler snack. Every kumquat is its own size, so pull each round when it’s ready.
These are the plain version. My dehydrated citrus recipes roundup covers candied kumquats, and my how to dehydrate citrus guide has general slicing tips.
4. Golden Berries (Cape Gooseberries)
Ever notice the papery lanterns around little orange berries in the fruit aisle? Those are golden berries, and they dry into tangy, raisin-like bites that taste a bit like a cross between a tomato and a pineapple.
Peel back the husk and rinse off the sticky film. The skin is waxy and holds in water, so each berry needs help. Cut them in half, or prick each one with a pin. Dry at 135°F (57°C) for 12–18 hours until chewy and no longer plump. Here’s what keeps them from turning into shriveled bullets:
- Halve or prick every berry so moisture can escape
- Dry them on mesh or a silicone sheet, because the juice is sticky
- Test one from the center of the tray, because the middle dries last
Use them like raisins in oatmeal, baking, or trail mix. For more small fruit ideas, my dehydrated berry recipes post covers snacks, baking, and cereal toppings.
5. Fresh Jujubes (Red Dates)
Fresh jujubes taste like a crisp apple with a hint of date. Dried, they turn wrinkled, reddish-brown, and chewy. In Chinese kitchens they’re called red dates, and they go into teas, soups, and sweet snacks.
Pick fruit that’s mostly red-brown with a few green patches. Cut each jujube in half around the pit, and pop out the hard, pointed stone with a small knife. If you want to dry them whole, prick the skin a few times. Dry at 135°F (57°C) for 10–16 hours for halves, and closer to 24 hours or longer for whole fruit, until chewy with no wet center. Dried jujubes keep well in a sealed jar, and they’re sweet enough to stand in for dates. Patience pays off here.
Looking for more chewy fruit that behaves like raisins? My guide to dehydrating grapes into raisins uses the same patient approach.
Personal Tips You Can Steal
I always buy one fruit I’ve never dried before and test a half tray, because new fruit teaches me something every time. I keep a small bowl of fresh slices on the counter so I can compare them to the dried ones after the first few hours. I cool each batch fully and then taste a piece, since warm fruit always feels softer than it will be.
I label each jar with the fruit and the date, since dried persimmon and dried jujube look surprisingly alike. And I write down the thickness I sliced and the hours it took, which makes my second batch better than my first.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need rare fruit or fancy equipment to make a snack nobody else has. Pick one from this list on your next grocery trip and put it on a tray.
Related reading: if you want a machine built for fruit, check my best dehydrator for fruit picks, and if you ever worry about drying too long, my guide on whether you can over dehydrate food will help.
P.S. If you only try one, make it the Fuyu persimmon chips. They’re the easiest to find, the easiest to slice, and the first jar to empty. 🙂
