How to Freeze Dry Cantaloupe

Freeze Dried Fruits

Cantaloupe is a wonderful, sweet fruit that you can enjoy for snacks, juices, and smoothies. Although it’s available all year round, it can be expensive to get during the winter months. If you love cantaloupe but don’t want to spend unnecessarily when it’s out of season, then try freeze-drying it.

How Do I Pick Cantaloupes?

Many hesitate to buy cantaloupe because it looks pretty intimidating, and with good reason. Unless you regularly buy the fruit, picking the sweetest and most flavorful one is like finding a needle in a haystack. But here are tips that can help you purchase cantaloupe and increase your chances of getting the right one for freeze-drying.

Buy at Peak Season

The best time to buy cantaloupe is during the spring. The warm spring weather helps the plant give moisture and sugar to the fruit until it’s ripe for picking.

Check the Skin

A good cantaloupe has light tan skin with light green lines weaving across the surface. You should feel the ridges of those weaving lines when you touch the skin. Don’t choose one that has smooth, even skin or has brown, depressed spots.

Check the Heaviness

A good, ripe cantaloupe should be heavy for its size. The fruit is rich with a sweetness that makes it perfect for freeze-drying.

Look For The Sweet Smell

See the stem core where the fruit was once attached to the plant? That portion should have a sweet, musky melon scent. If you can’t detect any smell or the fruit has a hint of sour scent, choose another one.

Check the Firmness And The Stem

A good cantaloupe should be firm with a slight give to it. A hard cantaloupe is unripe, while a soft, wobbly one is overripe.

Also, check the stem, the same spot mentioned above. It should have a round, smooth, and slightly dented appearance. If you press it, it should have a slight give but should bounce back after pressing.

How Do I Prepare the Cantaloupe for Freeze Drying?

The first thing you need to do is to wash the fruits before processing them. The inedible skin can harbor microbial growth that can cause food-borne illnesses. No fancy washing, just running water and a firm-bristled vegetable brush. As the water flows, firmly brush every single inch of the skin. This will help make your tropical fruit safe to eat.

After washing, there are two ways to cut and prepare the fruit.

Keeping it Whole

You can keep the fruit whole as you peel it. This method is easier for others, especially those not skilled in handling a knife.

1. Cut both ends of the fruit. This will help keep the fruit stable on the cutting board and expose the flesh.
2. Stand the fruit on one end, looking for the green ring under the skin. Then, using a kitchen knife, slice the skin in a downward motion. Your cut should be a millimeter beneath that green ring.
3. Continue slicing down the skin until the whole fruit is exposed. It’s the same way you would peel a pineapple, except there are no eyes.
4. Once you peel the fruit, lay it across the cutting board. Make circular slices 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick on both ends until you expose the seed cavity.
5. Stand the fruit again and make slices straight down until you reach the core.
6. Repeat on all sides until all you have left is the seed cavity.

Making Wedges

This is how people usually process the cantaloupe.

1. Slice off the end to keep the fruit stable.
2. Stand the fruit on the cut end and slice the fruit in half straight down. Set the other half aside.
3. Using a spoon, scoop out the seed and the seed membrane.
4. Place on the cutting board with the flesh facing up.
5. Hold the fruit carefully and slice the fruit into wedges.
6. Do the same with the other half.
7. Place the wedge skin-side down and carefully slide the knife beneath the flesh to cut off the skin.
8. Once all the wedges are peeled, cut the cantaloupe into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices.

Do I Pre-Freeze Cantaloupe?

You don’t have pre-freeze the fruit, especially if your freeze dryer’s free to use. But pre-freezing is a smart move if you have plans or your freeze dryer’s busy at the moment. This way, the food already has ice crystals that can make freeze-drying easier.

If you decide to freeze-dry, make sure the trays are also icy cold. Then set the chamber of your freeze dryer to pre-cool down to -8°F (-22 °C) or lower. This will keep the food from melting and make the process more efficient.

How To Freeze Dry Cantaloupe

Got all your cantaloupe trays ready for freeze-drying? Then let’s load them up in your Harvest Right freeze dryer.

1. Turn on your unit and press “START > NON-LIQUID”.
2. For warm cantaloupe trays, choose “NOT FROZEN”. If you pre-froze your fruit, select “FROZEN”.
3. Close the drain valve when the unit tells you to.
4. Load the trays and close the chamber door securely. The ring should have a tight seal around to keep the pressure and cold in.
5. Press “CONTINUE” and the freeze dryer will do its work for you.

Depending on several conditions, freeze-drying cantaloupe can take 16-28 hours. It can take longer if you have a lot of food to freeze dry or if the weather is hot and humid. You’ll know that the fruit is done when it’s dry, crispy, and airy. When you bite into it, it will be bland at first but will explode in flavor when your saliva moistens it as you chew.

If any of the cantaloupes feels soft, cold, and moist, bring the trays back to

How Do I Store the Freeze Dried Cantaloupe?

If you can’t get enough of the freeze-dried fruit, Mason jars are great storage compartments. They’re easy to open and reseal when necessary. There’s also a manual pump that can help you create a tight vacuum seal when you need it.

Mylar bags are excellent if you prefer to store the freeze-dried fruit for long-term storage or traveling. They’re inexpensive and easy to carry around without taking up too much space.

One crucial element in packing is oxygen absorbers. They take out residual oxygen left inside the empty space of your container. 1-2 packets of the 300cc volume are enough for every gallon size of your container. Replace your OAs each time you open the seal.

Keep the freeze-dried cantaloupe in a cool, dark place. The temperature should not go above 72°F (22 °C), and the relative humidity should be at 15% or less.

Those who’ve tried freeze-dried cantaloupe say it tastes better and sweeter. Even if you freeze-dry a slightly underripe one, the flavor will remain. Some prefer this because there’s less of the musty scent and taste others dislike about the fruit.

Where do you plan to buy your cantaloupe for freeze-drying? Let us know in the comment section.

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