The summer harvest season is upon us, which means it's time to begin preserving your favorite fruits and vegetables. Many foods can be dehydrated, including fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats. Drying foods is a great way to easily preserve food so it can be enjoyed all year long. Here are a few tips to help you begin processing your food by dehydration: Always use fresh produce. Slice fruits and vegetables to about a half inch in thickness. For plums and apricots, slice in half and place them skin side down. This will make it much easier to remove them from the trays when they have finished drying. Peel, core or remove pits/seeds before dehydrating peaches, pears and apples. Sweeteners can be added if desired, either by sprinkling it on the fruit after it's on the tray or by dipping fruit in a sweet liquid. Set the dehydrator temperature, usually between 125 and 140. Turn the dehydrator on and check every 4 hours, until the fruit/veggies appear to be getting close to be