I wrote about how my dehydrator turned some OK, ugly Celeste into bites of heaven. So I thought we should share dehydrator tips for figs. 

This is my first year with a dehydrator so I know very little, but it does seem that the quality is better if dried on a little lower heat than in the manufactorer's recommendations. I dried the Celeste at 125F and they were gooy and just about perfect by morning.

Any voice of experience with dehydrators out there?

Temperature is important. Too hot and they can take on off, cooked, flavors. I don't know what's too hot for figs. 125 sounds hot enough. I sold my dehydrator because outside works well enough. But it does give more control than relying on the sun and air temperature.

I haven't dried any figs yet, but when I dry other fruits I also use lower temperatures.  I start at about 125 for the first couple hours, then turn it down to maybe 105 or so - and then check them once in awhile. I also rotate trays to keep things drying evenly, even in my dehydrator that says you don't have to.

The manufacturers suggest the high temperatures because they would rather you almost cook the things than run the risk of it molding and anyone getting sick - I think it's more of a 'cover their a$$' recommendation rather than what is best for taste and texture.

First fig dehydrator with solar heater pre-heating the intake air.
Temp was around 110, for 24 hours.

I like the idea of starting at 125F then turning it down some.

Does everyone cut their figs? Since the Celeste I dried were so small I just did them whole and they turned out great. But maybe it would be too hard to get the same result from a bigger fig?

I have a dehydrator without a temperature setting. Despite this, I've gotten pretty good results from everything I've dried. I did make the mistake the last time I dried figs of halving them first. Now I have tiny, little fig chips. The latest batch I put in whole and they came out mostly great. Without a temperature gauge, I watch them carefully and put several empty trays underneath the tray with the fruit/veg so it's a slower dry. I've seen those Excalibur dehydrators on the Internet and they look awesome, more controlled and everything. But more expensive. The one I have was about $30 or something.

The one I just bought is an NESCO "American Harvest" FD-60. I paid $49 with free shipping. It has controllable temps from 95-160F. The reviews were really good and the price just came down so I wanted to snag it for this years fruit. I've had a lot of fun so far with pears and a few cherries and figs. Got the cherries on discount  at Kroger for 0.99 per pound and dried 10lbs! It was a lot of work pitting them, but they are well worth it.

Looking forward to the day I can dry enough figs to eat 1 or 2 lbs each week of the year.

Gene, I agree. Nesco dehydrators with the forced air are great. I haven't used mine for figs yet, hopefully some day. I use mine primarly for game jerky and wild mushrooms.

Wanted to bump this thread with something I just read:

Gene,

Our traditional method of drying figs also requires that they are dipped in hot boiling water.

Here's a few photos of the process in the Blog of Manuel Peralta - Terra dos Cães - where he writes about some traditional practices. Another page of the blog with some fresh and dried figs.

A few images of the automatic google translation - the translation is not very good, as Manuel Peralta has an habit of writing in verse, using traditional Portuguese terms, that can't be easily translated,
but i think the essential got through:
 
     

I just dehydrated a small batch of figs, but blanching them in boiling water first. They turned out perfect! Soft, jammy, and just a little sticky, just like the ones I buy in the foil packages at the store. It was really simple:

boil for 30 sec
place immediately in ice cold water
slit small figs/ split large ones
dehydrate at 105F for 6-8 hours

My trees are still small, so I don't have a lot to do. But I am "saving up" figs this week until I have enough for another batch this week. Yeah!