Strawberries are my favorite berry. I adore them. I could eat strawberries for
breakfast,
lunch,
dinner and
dessert any day of the week. I dehydrated 8 lbs of them a few weeks ago and my kids are now eating them like chips. I am not a huge fan of them dry, but I am seeing lots of potential for winter salads and desserts, provided they rehydrate well.
I have yet to play with rehydrating them, since we've had an abundance of fresh ones available recently. As far as I'm concerned, fresh is always going to be best with any produce item. So, I've been making the most of the strawberry season while it is here.
As far as the dehydrating goes, wash the berries and remove the tops. Don't throw them away! Freeze the tops and toss them into your smoothies, I swear that you won't taste anything but strawberries.
I used an egg slicer to make even slices. The slicer made quick work of cutting up all the berries. Here are the finished berries waiting for the dehydrater.
Spread them out across the trays in a single layer. Spray them with lemon juice before dehydrating or they will turn a dark brown color once they are dry. However, if you'd care to learn from my experience, do not get crazy with the sprayer. They don't require much lemon juice and too much lemon will make them more tart than usual.
Once they are dry, store them in jars. This jar contains 4 pounds of strawberries. It still boggles my mind how much everything shrinks.
I am looking forward to trying these in smoothies and salads very soon!
you think I could do this without a dehydrator? In the oven on low heat?
ReplyDeleteI've never done it myself, but I found this information online: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_dry_fruit.pdf If you happen to have an oven that will heat as low as 140, it would be simple. Otherwise, it looks like you'd turn the oven as low as possible, leave the door open, keep a thermometer in the oven and then use a fan to circulate the air and maintain the temp you want. Honestly, sounds way more complicated than I'd be willing to do. Especially since you'd need to do that for anywhere from 8-24 hours. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI'm now even more grateful that I can turn on the dehydrator and then walk away for a day or so while it does the job for me!
What a great idea - such a healthy snack for evryone -
ReplyDeleteMary
Woww.. that is a cool idea.. I gottu try this too :D
ReplyDelete"Freeze the tops and toss them into your smoothies, I swear that you won't taste anything but strawberries." Fa realz? I always cut and toss my tops when making smoothies. I'm gonna give this a go, since I hate to waste!
ReplyDeleteI promise that I don't taste anything weird in our smoothies. I typically toss in a handful of frozen berries and a handful of the frozen tops if I have them available.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas - Thank you for sharing! =)
ReplyDeleteI don't have a dehydrator and I can't afford one so using the oven is the only way I can do this but it sounds interesting.. How hard do the strawberries get when dried.. most stuff dried is way to hard for me to bite or chew.
ReplyDeleteThese turned out crisp enough to click on the countertop when dropped, but still a bit flexible. That said, I don't enjoy eating them by themselves. I prefer them re-hydrated and added to smoothies or salads.
DeleteCan something other then lemon be used? I am allergic to citrus although lemons are not as bad as oranges, so I might be ok it I use very little.
ReplyDeleteThe lemon is only used to prevent discoloration. An apple cider vinegar might work the same way. I have done a batch with no lemon (simply because I forgot to spray them) and they were simply a bit darker with more brown to the color than red. Good luck!
DeleteKids love dried strawberries. They are expensive. The dehydrator is very expensive too. The Excaliburs start 250.00
ReplyDeleteIf using oven, what temp and how long to leave in? I'm thinking lowest setting and keep checking for doneness
I've never done it myself, but I found this information online: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_dry_fruit.pdf If you happen to have an oven that will heat as low as 140, it would be simple.
DeleteOtherwise, it looks like you'd turn the oven as low as possible, leave the door open, keep a thermometer in the oven and then use a fan to circulate the air and maintain the temp you want.
Good luck!