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).
Contents
How long do you dehydrate strawberries for?
Directions –
- Select sweet berries that are firm, ripe and have a good solid color.
- Wash berries, remove caps and cut into 1/2″ slices. You can also cut them in half lengthwise.
- Dry cut-side up at 130 to 140 degrees F. Use a dehydrator or dry in an oven if you are able to set the oven temperature low enough.
- Drying time depends on the size of the berry pieces, exposure to air to cut surfaces, temperature, air circulation and method of drying.
- 7 to 15 hours for slices.
- 24 to 36 hours for whole berries.
- Dried strawberries should be pliable and leathery with no bits of moisture.
- After drying, cool fruit for 30 minutes.
- Store in an air-tight or vacuum-sealed container. For longer storage, freeze.
University of Minnesota Extension. Home Food Preservation Newsletter, June 2012. : How to dry strawberries at home
Are dehydrated strawberries good?
Conditioning –
This is an important step for food safety, so don’t skip! Once fully dry, and cooled, place berries in a glass or plastic jar. Place the jar in a dark area. Daily, for 7-10 days, shake the jar to break them apart. If you see any signs of moisture on the jar, dehydrate them again. Once fully dry, condition them again. See notes for storage tips.
Check out Binky’s Amazon Store ! 1 quart of strawberries weighs between 1¼ and 1½ pounds How to Store The best way to store fully dried dehydrated foods is to vacuum pack single serve portions. Vacuum sealing larger portions exposes moisture to the product, from the air, every time the bag is opened.
Food can also be packed tightly into jars or other airtight container. The addition of a food safe silica gel pack will help the foods stay moisture free. Shelf life of the strawberry chips is approximately one year. How to use them Dried strawberries are great to add to so many of your current recipes to give them a punch of strawberry flavor or just use them for snacking.
Add them to;
granola or trail mix cereals – they bump up the flavor and healthiness of everything from oatmeal and grits to cold cereals. Flavor vanilla pudding Ice cream for a strawberry flavored treat. Garnish cocktails and mocktails Muffins, cakes or quick bread Frostings Make strawberry powder to make it easier to incorporate them into some dishes.
Calories: 38 kcal | Carbohydrates: 9 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 0.4 g | Saturated Fat: 0.02 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1 g | Sodium: 1 mg | Potassium: 181 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 6 g | Vitamin A: 14 IU | Vitamin C: 70 mg | Calcium: 19 mg | Iron: 0.5 mg Originally published June 24, 2022.
How do you keep fruit from turning brown when dehydrating?
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is an antioxidant that keeps fruit from darkening and enhances destruction of bacteria during drying. Pure crystals usually are available at supermarkets and drug stores. Stir 2 1/2 tablespoons (34 grams) of pure ascorbic acid crystals into one quart (1000 milliliters) of cold water.
Are fruit dehydrators worth it?
4. Cost savings – Processed, store bought snacks can be expensive and organic dehydrated foods are often highly over priced. You can save a lot of money by using your own food dehydrator and by purchasing fresh food items in bulk when in season, or by harvesting your own produce.
Can you dehydrate blueberries?
Dehydrating Blueberries – Do you know how simple it is to dehydrate blueberries? So simple!
- 4 cups fresh blueberries
- 10 cups boiling water
- I like to pour the blueberries into a colander. Then dip the colander into the boiling water for about 20-40 seconds. It won’t take long.
- This is done to soften the skin and split it just a little bit.
- Remove from the water and let it drain. You may need to do this in batches.
- Spread the berries on the dehydrator trays.
- Dehydrate it on 130 degrees for at least 18 hours. It could take quite a bit longer, depending on the size and moisture content of your blueberries.
- Make sure they are completely dehydrated before turning off the dehydrator.
- Blueberries have skin that gets pretty hard when it dehydrates. It is also covered in thin natural waxy skins. The skin needs to be pierced in some way, this will give you the best results.
- I like to “check” the blueberries by boiling them for a short period of time. It only takes seconds, so don’t walk away. Especially if you have small blueberries- don’t boil them for more than 10 seconds. The easiest way is shown in the photos- add them to a colander and dip it in the boiling water. You can also add the berries directly to the water and remove them with a slotted spoon when they are done.
- You can also pierce the berries with skewers, chop them, or pulse them a couple of times in the food processor. Out of all of these, I like the boiling method best.
- Next spread them in a single layer on your dehydrator trays. Make sure you are using mesh trays. Some people recommend drying the berries with paper towels, but I have not found this makes a difference. I use a L’Equip food dehydrator and love it. The trays are easy to remove and fill and the temperature is consistent. All the dehydrated foods I have done in it have turned out really well. This size also allows you to do lots of blueberries at one time!
- Dehydrate between the temperature of 115-130 degrees. I usually do mine about 125-130 degrees. This needs to be done on low heat.
- Once they are dried, let them cool to room temperature, and store.
- I like to store them in glass jars (mason jars), an air-tight container, or even plastic bags. Just make sure to remove all air. If you want, you can also add in a desiccant pack as well to remove any extra moisture.
- Make sure they are stored in the pantry, in a dark place, out of direct sunlight.
- You can also use frozen berries. If you do, make sure and thaw them and drain really well. Also, you will not need to boil the blueberries if they were previously frozen. Their skin is already split, so no need.
Keyword blueberries, dehydrated
Do I need to vacuum seal dehydrated fruit?
Dried fruits – like apples, mangos, raisins and cranberries – don’t need to be stored in the fridge and are well-suited for vacuum sealing, according to USA Emergency Supplies.
What happens if you dehydrate fruit too long?
Author: • Published: Dec 13, 2021 Can you overdry food in your dehydrator? Generally, no, but the answer is nuanced. Learn the secrets of drying for storage vs drying for snacking! 
Essentially, the answer is no, you cannot overdry your dehydrated foods. The nuanced answer is this; You cannot overdry foods you plan on putting into storage. The drier it is, the better it will store. You might over dry fruit leather or jerky a little more than your taste preference is, but you cannot overdry food meant for food storage.
How long do you leave fruit in a dehydrator?
Dehydrating fruits – For the best dried fruit, choose high quality produce that was picked when ripe. Ripe fruit is at its peak sugar content, which means sweeter snacks. But watch for anything overripe or bruised: these may turn black while drying. Wash skins if you’re planning to leave them on, then core or pit (if required) and slice to an even thickness.
- Place on dehydrating trays and dry at 135 to 145 F until pliable.
- For fruits like apples, bananas, peaches, and nectarines, drying times will range from 6 to 16 hours.
- Apricots, grapes, figs, and pears can take anywhere between 20 to 36 hours.
- Check every 2 to 3 hours within those ranges, rotating trays if necessary.
Don’t add new fruit to your dehydrator if an old batch is still in the works: this will cause partially dried fruit to absorb moisture.