Remove the stems from the cherries and discard any bad ones

Rinse the cherries in a colander and drain them

Use a cherry pitter of choice to remove the cherry pits

Cut the cherries in half

Place the cut cherries skin side down with the cut side up on your dehydrator racks in a single layer

Turn your dehydrator on to (145°F) = (62°C) degrees for two hours. Then lower the temperature to (135°F) = (57°C) degrees and dehydrate until the cherries are leathery. Please refer to your Dehydrator Book, I have an Excalibur Dehydrator. All dehydrators have a different wattage so some will take longer than others to dehydrate.

The time to fully dehydrate your cherries will of course depend on the humidity in the location you are dehydrating them.

If you live where it’s HUMID: “To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days. The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation.” https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/pack_store.html

I used to live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.

You need to set the oven to its lowest temperature, put a wad of foil to keep the oven door ajar and place the sliced cherries on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Skin side down and cut side up.

Be sure to check the cherries often since your oven will dry them much faster than a regular dehydrator. The lowest temperature my oven can be set at is (170°F) = (76°C) degrees, If you can set yours lower for instance (150°F) = (65°C) degrees that would be much better. Then Condition your cherries before storing them.