How do you dehydrate or freeze-dry strawberries?
- Spread the fresh or frozen strawberries onto dehydrator or freeze-dryer trays.
- Dehydrate at 125℉ (50℃).
- Strawberries are done when completely dry.
- If using a dehydrator, allow the strawberries to cool for 30-60 minutes, then package them in an air-tight container.
Contents
- 1 Can you make dried strawberries with frozen strawberries?
- 2 Can I dehydrate frozen berries?
- 3 How long to dehydrate frozen berries?
- 4 Is it better to freeze or dehydrate strawberries?
- 5 Can you dehydrate food that has been frozen?
- 6 Do you thaw frozen fruit before dehydrating?
- 7 Does dehydrating fruit make it crispy?
Can you make dried strawberries with frozen strawberries?
🍓 Try These Other Fruit Recipes –
- Paleo Blueberry Jam
- Paleo Strawberry Jam
- Sweet Peach Lemonade
Have You Tried This Recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below, I would love to hear what you think! Servings: 4 Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 8 hours Conditioning: 7 days Total: 7 days 8 hours 5 minutes
▢ 1 pint strawberries at least, you can use as many as you can fit in your dehydrator
- Slice the strawberries into 1/4 inch pieces. There are two different ways to do this – I have shown them in options a and b. I slice the tops off (save them – see below), then either option a) slice them lengthwise, or option b) slice them through the middle in circles.
- Lay the strawberries out on the tray of a dehydrator, ideally not touching each other so that they can dry fully on all sides. Optionally, you can drizzle them with a little lemon juice or sprinkle a little sugar on them, but we don’t think it is needed.
- Place the trays in the dehydrator, then set the temperature on the dehydrator to the fruit setting, on mine it is 135°F. If you are using a smaller dehydrator that doesn’t have a temperature control, just turn it on.
- Set a timer for 6 hours, but check the fruit after a few (maybe 3 or 4) hours to make sure that everything is drying out as expected. It should take between 6 and 10 hours to try out fully – if cut evenly, they should all be done in 8 hours.
- Totally optional, but I like to also dehydrate the tops of the strawberries and feed them our dog as treats. Sometimes she acts like she likes them. You can also dry them out and save them to steep and make strawberry tea!
- Dehydrated strawberries are ready when they are chewy with a little bit of bend to them – kind of like the pliable but tearable texture of jerky.
- The final step is to “condition” your strawberries. If you put them into an airtight container when they are warm and fresh out of the dehydrator, you will trap moisture and they will likely grow mold or get soft.
- Let the strawberries come to room temperature, then place them in an airtight container. I like to use glass jars over plastic because I have noticed that things like dried fruit, crackers, chips, etc. will start to absorb the taste of plastic after a while.
- For about 7 days, check on your strawberries daily, shaking the jar around and checking for moisture. Once you are certain that the strawberries are completely dry, place a desiccant pack in the jar with them and place them in a dry place that doesn’t get really hot.
- Enjoy when you want something sweet!
Frequently Asked Questions Can you dehydrate frozen strawberries? You can absolutely dehydrate frozen strawberries. Either use pre-sliced strawberries or slice the strawberries while they are frozen – if you let them defrost, they will be really mushy and hard to cut.
- Can you dehydrate strawberries in the oven? Yep! Set your oven to the lowest temperature possible – mine is about 180°F – and spread the strawberries out on a baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment covering it.
- Bake for 2 hours, then flip the strawberries over.
- Continue baking for half an hour, then check for “doneness” every 10 -15 from there on out.
Strawberries can burn easily at this stage so watch them carefully. Let them cool and store immediately with a desiccant pack as they will most likely not be 100% dried out. Serving Suggestions/Uses Once your dehydrated strawberries have been properly conditioned, you can eat them as snacks, add them to trail mix, cereal, oatmeal, or desserts.
- They are also really good if you let them steep in lemonade ( Peach Lemonade with Bourbon and dried strawberries?) or tea.
- Storage/Shelf Life Dried strawberries will last a long time as long as they are properly conditioned and stored correctly.
- If you add a desiccant pack and store your strawberries in a dry place away from drastic temperature changes, they could last years.
Tips
- Waiting until your strawberries are really ripe and are starting to get a little soft makes them super duper sweet. You can dehydrate strawberries at any stage of ripeness, but the riper they are, the sweeter they will be!
- Dehydrate a lot more than you think you will want. They are so yummy and you will be happy you made a lot. There really isn’t much of a time difference between slicing 15 strawberries and 25 strawberries and if you are already running your dehydrator, you might as well fill it up!
- If you are using a dehydrator that does not have temperature control, the strawberries might dry faster than if you set the temperature to 135°F.
Serving: 1 pint berries Calories: 151 kcal Carbohydrates: 36 g Protein: 3 g Fat: 1 g Saturated Fat: 1 g Sodium: 5 mg Potassium: 724 mg Fiber: 9 g Sugar: 23 g Vitamin A: 57 IU Vitamin C: 278 mg Calcium: 76 mg Iron: 2 mg Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide. Hi, I’m Kari! I am a newlywed, food blogger, health coach, and mama to a hot mess of a border collie. I love to put a new spin on old family recipes and I try to make as many meals as possible with an Instant Pot.
Can I dehydrate frozen berries?
You may wonder about dehydrating frozen fruit because you need to make room in your freezer for other things. Or perhaps your local grocery store is having a sale on frozen fruit, and you’d like to take advantage of the sale. You’d like to buy as much as you can, but don’t have room for it all.
- Or perhaps you just want to add more dehydrated fruit to your prepper pantry and are looking for an inexpensive and easy way to make it happen.
- Regardless of the reason, if you’ve asked the question, “Can you dehydrate frozen fruit?” you’re in the right place.
- The good news is that you can indeed dehydrate frozen fruit, and there are many benefits of doing so.
About 4 pounds of frozen fruit fills up a dehydrator, I n about 12 hours, the fruit will be fully dehydrated. In this article, I’ll cover the benefits of dehydrating frozen fruit, how to prepare frozen fruit for dehydrating, and the best temperatures to use when dehydrating frozen fruit.
How long to dehydrate frozen berries?
How to Dehydrate Frozen Fruit (Blueberries Are One of the Best Options for This Method!) – When dehydrating frozen fruit, you may think that you need to defrost and drain the fruit first. This extra step isn’t needed though. To dehydrate the frozen blueberries using a dehydrator, spread them out on the trays so that they’re in a single layer.
Set the dehydrator to 125-130 degrees or the machine’s directions. The drying process can take anywhere from 15-30 hours depending on the size of the blueberries. Make sure that you don’t raise the temperature to speed up the drying process. This can cause the blueberries to dry unevenly so it’s best to use the slow, steady process for the best results.
Store the frozen fruit in airtight containers away from direct sunlight and preferably in a cool, dry place.
Can I dehydrate frozen strawberries in the oven?
Can I dry strawberries in an oven? – Yes, it is possible to make dried fruit in your oven even if you do not have a food dehydrator. A low temperature and some patience is all it takes to create this delicious snack. Also, your kitchen will smell amazing!
Is it better to freeze or dehydrate strawberries?
Freeze drying vs dehydrating shelf life – Dehydrated fruit can typically lose up to 90 percent of its moisture in an industrial setting. Home dehydrators may only remove 80% of the water in the fruit, resulting in a shorter shelf life. Dehydrated fruits can typically last for 12 months.
- Thanks to top-end dehydration equipment, it is possible to increase their shelf life to 5 years or even longer.
- Rarely dehydrated fruits can last more than 15 years in proper storage conditions.
- Freeze dried fruit is much more suitable for long‐term storage.
- Around 98‐99 percent of the moisture in the freeze dried fruit is removed during the lyophilization process.
This gives the freeze dried fruits a shelf life of 25 years. You can read about this topic in another article titled ” all about freeze dried fruits shelf life,” In both freeze dried fruit vs dehydrated fruit, cooler temperatures will help prolong the shelf life.
Can you dehydrate food that has been frozen?
Dehydrating Vegetables–Frozen – Photo above shows dehydrated frozen mixed vegetables in Ham & Cheese Macaroni, Frozen vegetables are available year round and save time in the kitchen because they require little or no trimming before drying. Frozen mixed vegetables, corn, peas, broccoli, green beans, and okra all dry well.
Is freeze dried just dehydrated?
What is Freeze-Drying? – Freeze-drying is a bit different than dehydrating. Instead of using heat, freeze-drying uses extremely cold temperatures (like -40 F) and then forms a vacuum around the food and alternately heats and cools the food to remove 99% of the moisture out of the food.
What temperature do you dehydrate frozen strawberries?
Fresh to dehydrated conversion – Dehydrating strawberries will reduce their weight to about 10% of their original weight. One pound of fresh strawberries will yield about 1.5 oz (42g) of dried strawberries.
Airtight storage container Vacuum sealer (optional)
1 ½ lb strawberries, see note 1
Start with clean hands, equipment, and countertops. Wash the strawberries and remove the tops with a knife or strawberry huller. Slice the strawberries into ¼”-⅜” thick slices (either cross-wise or pole-to-pole). Arrange strawberry slices in a single layer on dehydrator trays, ensuring there is space between pieces to allow airflow. Dehydrate at 135F/57C for 6-12 hours, until dry (see note 2).
Can frozen raspberries be dehydrated?
Can I dehydrate frozen raspberries? – Yes, you can undoubtedly dehydrate frozen raspberries as well. Simply unfreeze them naturally, let them dry and then dehydrate. If they are too soft, which happens after de-freezing, use liners for the dehydrator trays.
Do you thaw frozen fruit before dehydrating?
How to Prepare Frozen Fruit for Dehydrating – There are a few necessary steps to prepare frozen fruit for dehydration:
- Run the frozen fruit under cold water for a few minutes.
- Defrost the fruit by thawing it in the refrigerator overnight or leave it at room temperature until fully defrosted.
- Drain excess water from the fruit using a colander or a strainer. You can also pat the fruit dry with a clean towel or paper towel.
- Slice larger fruits into smaller pieces using a sharp knife or fruit slicer. The size and thickness of the fruit cuts depend on the type of fruit and your preference.
Does dehydrating fruit make it crispy?
Freeze-Dried Vs. Dehydrated Food What’s the difference? From how they’re dried to texture and taste, there are key distinctions between our freeze-dried and air-dried fruits.
The best way to understand the difference between Crispy Green freeze-dried and air-dried snacks is to learn how we make them.
We start with handpicked fruit, and once it’s washed and sliced, we freeze dry it at minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The process removes 98% of its moisture and leaves behind the fruit’s true essence in a light and crispy texture.
Our zesty Piña Picante fruit snacks are air-dried at low temperature in small batches. The moisture is removed from the pineapples via evaporation, leaving a soft and chewy texture. Freeze-dried fruits have a crispy, crunchy texture as opposed to air-dried fruits, which are chewy with a bit more weight to them.
Freeze drying removes nearly all moisture or water content from the food, giving it a crispy, crunchy, airy texture. And because they’re little to no moisture content, freeze-dried fruit is very light.
Air-dried fruits tend to be chewy because they still hold about a third of their original water content. They’ll also typically retain the fruit’s color and will feel firm to the touch. For a sweet flavor, freeze-dried is the name of the game. If it’s zest you’re after, choose air-dried fruits with a dash of spice.
Freeze-dried fruits keep most of their original flavor until they’re ready to be enjoyed as a light, crispy snack. They also retain nearly all of their original nutrients.
Air-dried fruits are naturally sweet and we also add a little spice to our line. We use premium Costa Rican air-dried pineapples and throw in bold flavors like chili and cayenne peppers. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.
Are freeze-dried strawberries the same as frozen?
There are certain expressions that often make it to the headlines, but just because they’re popular, it doesn’t mean they’re true. You’ll see assertions like, “Only shop the perimeter,” or “Don’t buy foods with more than 5 ingredients,” or, the one we’re going to explore today, “Fresh is always best.” As you’ll see below, when it comes to picking produce, I tend to choose fresh fruit and vegetables when they’re in season.
But at other times during the year, I have many reasons for choosing other forms of those same foods to bring more value nutritionally and financially. Let’s take a closer look at strawberries and how you can appreciate them for so many reasons in any season: Strawberry Specifics Strawberries add a natural sweetness to any dish while also providing fiber, potassium, folate, and antioxidants.
Strawberries are one of the best sources of vitamin C, important for supporting a healthy immune system, collagen production in skin and bones and so much more. In fact, a serving of about 8 strawberries has as much vitamin C as an orange, which is all the vitamin C we need in a day! The anthocyanins and polyphenols in strawberries may reduce inflammation thereby helping to support heart health and brain function.
Fresh Strawberries Did you know that 90 percent of strawberries grown in the US come from California? California strawberries are nutrient-rich in their natural state without processing and they’re so versatile that they can be enjoyed any time of day.
Frozen Strawberries Despite bringing us a wealth of benefits, frozen foods, including strawberries, are often misunderstood. In some cases, frozen fruit may even offer more nutrients than their fresh counterparts. Fruit is picked at their peak and then they are frozen to lock the nutrients within.
Dried Strawberries Dried strawberries are also known as dehydrated. And if you buy too many fresh strawberries and you want to preserve them or you just like the crunch of dried strawberries, you can even make homemade dehydrated strawberries in an oven, dehydrator or air fryer.
You can purchase dehydrated strawberries in the supermarket and just like with frozen berries, check labels to help you cut back on added sugar. Dried strawberries bring the same benefits as fresh or frozen varieties and, in some cases, might even provide more fiber and more of the antioxidants than fresh fruit.
You may also notice more freeze-dried products in your supermarket these days. These fruits and vegetables are produced in a process whereby moisture is removed. This process concentrates the taste, natural color, and texture of fresh foods in their freeze-dried state.
- Freeze-dried and dehydrated products are easy to store at home and their light weight makes them easy to travel with for quick, nutrient-packed snacks.
- Freeze-dried strawberries can be stored effectively for long periods of time.
- Strawberry Summary Whether it’s for breakfast (sliced on cereal), lunch (served on a salad), snack time (dunked in yogurt) or dinner (pureed into a sauce for fish or poultry), strawberries provide a powerhouse of nutrients and a sweet, delicious flavor you can enjoy year through.
Explore our recipes Resource: Read It Before You Eat It – Taking You from Label to Table by Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN. Disclosure: Bonnie partnered with the California Strawberry Commission for this post and the opinions are her own.