The Dried Fresh Strawberries, like all dehydrated fruit, are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. They are also excellent as an energy source because they contain natural sugars. Drying is a process that does not require much kitchen skill, just some patience to achieve a healthy and delicious product that remains unchanged for many months. If you don’t have an electric dehydrator, you can always use a traditional oven. During the seasonality of certain types of fruits and aromatic herbs, I always enjoy making these preparations. This way I can use these dried foods all year round for my recipes. Sure, we can find ready-made ones, but they are industrial products that usually contain preservatives and colorings that are not healthy for us.
When needed, perhaps for colored fresh pasta, I also make freeze-dried products. How do I proceed? I take the dried food and blend it until I get a very fine powder.
If you like strawberries, then don’t miss the upcoming recipes:
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Other
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients
- strawberries
Tools
- 1 Dehydrator
Preparation
Remove the stem from the strawberries, wash them quickly but thoroughly under running water to remove all soil residues, and dry them well.
Slice them, keeping in mind that the thicker they are, the longer they will take to dry. I like to feel them under my teeth, so I slice them a bit thicker. After slicing, arrange them inside the grids of the electric dehydrator, trying not to overlap them, so that the hot air can circulate evenly. If you don’t have one, you can proceed in the same way in the oven. We’ll need a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, on which we’ll lay all the strawberry slices.
At this point, the time needed for the electric dehydrator will be about 12 hours, setting the thermostat at 140°F
For the oven, we’ll set it to fan mode, with a temperature of 158°F and cook for about 6 hours.
The times I’ve given you, however, are very indicative, because the intensity of the temperature varies from oven to oven, and in this case also between dehydrators.
The only way to be sure they are well dehydrated is to check several times during the entire process.
Once the strawberries are ready, let them cool. Store them in glass jars with airtight closure so that they can be preserved for a long time. Then store our jars in a cool, dark place.
Serve our Dried Fresh Strawberries, at breakfast by adding them to cereals, with yogurt, in fillings, and so on, because they will always be fantastic.
Tips and Storage
To extend the storage of dried strawberries, just freeze them and they will last up to 12 months.
With the same process, it is possible to dry all types of fruits and also vegetables.
I also preserve in this way the aromatic herbs from my garden, to use them throughout the year.
I also preserve in this way the aromatic herbs from my garden, to use them throughout the year.
