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Prior to my first el Camino in October 2016, I dehydrated some bananas as snacks. I thought it would be a great idea to have some nutrition handy.
Its very easy to do, so this is more for a visualization:
1. Cut the bananas about 0,5 cm thin. Too thick and they take too long to dry.
What you see is on the picture about 5 kg of bananas, or 30-35 pieces.
2. Then into the oven at 60C (use fan if you can). Keep the door slightly open so all the moist can ventilate. Too high temperature and I think they will get burned/cooked.
They are ready when they feel dry, dont have to be completely dried. I keep mine in the owen until their is no stickiness.
Sometimes it takes about 8 hours, sometimes longer. It all depends how thick/thin you cut the banana, and how soft/dry you want them to be.
At the end you can have the door closed because most of the moist is then gone.
When they are almost done, turn the chips over. Those who are dry, bring them out and leave the rest to dry. Eat the ones that never seem to dry 😉
3. Of 5 kg I ended up with 600 gram, almost 2 litres of dehydrated banana chips. They are so delicious and have a sweeter aroma, so bear in mind that you will have some “losses” …
Im not going to carry 600 gr of dried bananas on el Camino. Thats too much. But on the other hand, you dont want to be dry on bananas …
Some I will eat before I jump on the plane to Spain. Its nice to have some extra nutrition, especially after a long walk in the late afternoons, or in the mornings when you leave the albergues (pilgrim hostels) with an empty stomach.
A dried fruit weight much less. You can also bring apple or mango. I never experienced that my dried bananas went into mold. You should at least be able to save them for six months in a container in a dark place.
Buen Camino!
