22 Sep Slow roasted grapes AKA Homemade Raisins

Ron Popeil.

When this month’s Recipe Redux theme –Get Your Dehydrator On- was announced, my mind immediately went back in time to the 1970’s and Ron Popeil’s Ronco Food Dehydrator commercials.  (It’s at 12:30, right after the Flower Loom commercial) I  SO wanted one of those dehydrators. I was totally going to dehydrate mushrooms, onions, fresh herbs (keep in mind we had no fresh herbs growing up-ever) and beef jerky. My Mom was completely on board. 

Not sure who Ron is? Let me give you a bit of refresher. Before QVC, before HSN, before the Internet, there was Ron Popeil–the master of infomercials. He created the direct marketing company Ronco and invented must-have items like the  Chop-O-Matic, the Veg-o-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman and my favorite, Mr. Microphone. Still not ringing a bell? How about “Set it and forget it!”, the tagline for the Showtime Rotisserie oven. Ahhh, yes. Now you might remember.  

Back to the dehydrator. I never got one.  

Fast forward a few years and I’ve never dehydrated anything. Not one thing. 

I thought it best to choose something on the simpler side for this assignment.

A handful of firm green grapes made their way into the toaster oven at 250 degrees for 2 1/2 hours and out came the sweetest raisins I’ve ever tasted. Tiny golden yellow nuggets with a tiny bit of chew to them and enough flavor to make my cheeks pucker. They were perfect. 

I scooped out a bit of ice cream, sprinkled my newly formed raisins on top, drizzled a drop of pure maple syrup and topped it off with mini dark chocolate chips. The creamy, velvety feel from the Blue Bell vanilla ice cream plus the warmth of the maple syrup and the sweetness from the raisins made this a perfect early fall dessert.  My only suggestion for improvement would be to throw a few toasted nuts on top for added texture. 

Listen-this was a great experiment and I’m glad those Recipe Redux founders pushed me out of my comfort zone on this one. But don’t count on me dehydrating pickles or making my own turkey jerky anytime soon. 

Ron, your empire is safe from the likes of me.