How to dry strawberries in a dehydrator

Perfect little sweet snacks.

Yay, it’s strawberry season! Dehydration is a fun and easy way to preserve fresh strawberries. All you need to do is slice them and arrange them on the trays - no special pre-treatment is required. The dehydration process retains the colour, intensifies the flavour and sweetness, making them almost candy like. You really can’t go wrong with these delicious little treats!

Dried strawberry makes a healthy, mess free, portable snack and can add a fabulous burst of sweetness to liven up a trail mix or muesli. They can be sprinkled on your homemade yogurt or smoothie bowl or used as decorative toppers for cakes and all sorts of sweet baking.

The key to preserving food in the Breeze Food Dehydrator is uniform slicing. Choose to slice the strawberries either crosswise or from top to bottom; the direction you slice them is less important than the thickness. 1/4″ is ideal. If you cut them too thin, they are more likely to become chips and stick to the trays. The flexibility of silicon mesh liners make removing dried fruits with high sugar content much easier.

Your finished strawberries will only be as sweet as the berries you start with, so it’s wise to select fresh strawberries at the peak of the season.

NO WASTE STRAWBERRY TEA

A fun tip. Dehydrated strawberry tops make the perfect addition to antioxidant herbal tea blends that can be enjoyed hot or cold. Simply infuse in hot water or add to green tea, black tea or dried mint.

INGREDIENTS

Fresh strawberries

METHOD

1.   Place the strawberries in a colander and rinse under cold water and then let drain for a few minutes.
2.   Turn the strawberries out onto a clean kitchen towel to dry.
3.   With a sharp knife cut off the green leafy tops and remove any rotten areas. If you are keen to make strawberry tea, reserve all the tops.

4.   Cut the strawberries in uniform slices.
5.   Arrange on the Breeze Dehydrator trays, allowing just a little space for air flow. The strawberries shrink to half the size, so it is not necessary to leave too much space between each slice.

6.   Set the dehydrator to 60°C (140°F) and the time to 8 hours to check in. It will take 8 to 10 hours to fully dry the strawberries and up to 14 hours if you want them to be crisp and chip like rather than pliable.
7.   The pieces should feel totally dry to the touch when done and will be pliable and leathery with no signs of moisture.

8.   You won't be completely sure if the strawberry pieces are fully dried until they have cooled. Turn off the dehydrator, open it, and let the strawberries cool for an hour. After the cooling period, feel the dried strawberries for moisture. Switch the dehydrator back on for more time if necessary.
9.   Store dehydrated strawberry in airtight containers in a cool, dark place.
10.  Dehydrated strawberries will last 6-12 months.

Be sure to share your dehydrated treats with us - leave us a comment, or tag a photo using #luvelelife on Instagram.

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