A bushel of peaches is about 48 pounds and they all ripen in the same week. Utah State University Extension uses that exact example to show how slowly a home machine works through a harvest: at 7 to 10 pounds per batch and roughly a day per cycle, it takes over a week. If peaches are your main crop, plan batches before they ripen.
The result is worth the planning. Freeze-dried peaches keep their fragrance better than any canned or dehydrated peach, and they rehydrate close to fresh for cobblers.
Prep and loading
- Peel by dropping peaches in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then into ice water; the skins slip off.
- Halve, pit and slice ¼ to ⅜ inch thick.
- Dip in lemon or ascorbic acid solution and drain.
- Single layer on lined trays. Pre-freeze if you can; peaches are juicy.
How to tell it’s done
- Slices are crisp from end to end and pale orange inside.
- Weight is stable between two checks.
Not sure? The weight check compares two weighings and the expected dry weight for peaches.
Problems and fixes
Brown slices
Peaches brown fast. Keep cut slices in the treatment dip until loading.
Soft spots after a few days
Thick slices hold moisture near the pit side. Add dry time, then repack with a fresh oxygen absorber.
Rehydrating and storing
Rehydrate: Soak 10 minutes in warm water or juice; they plump well. By weight, 100 g of dried peaches takes back about 782 g of water to return to fresh weight; the rehydration calculator does any amount.
Store: Mylar or jar with an oxygen absorber. Label the date; you will have many bags at once.
Ways to use it
- Cobbler and crisp, rehydrated
- Snacking
- Powder in smoothies and ice cream
- Crumbled on oatmeal
How much fits per batch
At a normal single layer, peaches load at roughly 2.4 lb of fresh food per square foot of tray. That works out to:
| Machine | Fresh per batch | Dried per batch |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest Right Countertop 360 | 6.0 lb | 10.8 oz |
| Harvest Right Small | 7.2 lb | 13.1 oz |
| Harvest Right Medium | 11.3 lb | 1.28 lb |
| Harvest Right Large | 18.4 lb | 2.09 lb |
| Harvest Right X-Large | 37.5 lb | 4.25 lb |
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central: peaches, yellow, raw (water content)
- Utah State University Extension: Can I Freeze-Dry That? (2026)
- Penn State Extension: Let’s Preserve: Freeze-Drying
- Iowa State University Extension AnswerLine: Preserving by home freeze drying
Water content rounded from USDA FoodData Central (peaches, yellow, raw). Cycle times are typical ranges at default settings; thickness, load and your room change them. How we put these together.