Megan

Hello! Hello!

As we get on the road to Omaha, NE for a “mini” weekend getaway, I grab my 3 Ziploc baggies of my new and improved oven dried strawberry real fruit snacks! …sigh of relief that there are no fruit snacks in our car!!

I wanted to send you a post based on popular demand, and my most popular pin on pinterest is about oven dried strawberries. I just wanted to take it a step further and give you something kids and adults could enjoy.

Drying fruits is something I have wanted to start doing. They taste great and are good for you. For the past 3 years I have been maintaining a constant supply of fruit snacks for “hail mary” interventions with our kids. One kid whining…here have some fruit snacks, another kid stomping his feet for the iPad…here have some fruit snacks, the third child sitting quietly reading a book…here have some fruit snacks and it goes on and on and on. However, while deep down I know fruit snacks are not the best choice I figure hey, they are not the worst choice either. Yet, I want to do better!! Fruit snacks give you a misconception due to the word fruit in there, while actually they are almost the equivalent of gummy bears!

Not to exhaust you with strawberries, but when I was thinking about what fruit I wanted to dehydrate all I could think of was my love for Special K Red Berries! Yes, please! So I am going to give you a step by step process on dehydrating fresh ripe strawberries.

First, you need to thoroughly wash your strawberries. I like to do this by putting them all in a Tupperware bowl full of cold water and adding a few sprays of fruit wash. I change out the water 2-3 times and agitate the strawberries to remove visible debris. Then lay the strawberries out on a few paper towels and dry them thoroughly.

Lightly oil a baking sheet with vegetable oil and use a paper towel to distribute it evenly. Now it is time to slice the strawberries into ¼ inch slices. It is important to try to slice your strawberries about the same so they will dry at about the same rate. Lay the slices down on the baking sheet making sure none of the slices touch each other.

You want to bake the strawberries at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for about 8-12 hours. It took about 9 hours for my strawberries to dry in the oven. Most ovens do not heat at that low of a temperature. The lowest setting on my oven is 170 degrees so I cracked the door open about 6 inches and had a fan on nearby to keep the air circulating. Every 2 hours, flip the strawberries with a thin metal spatula.

When your strawberries are done, they will be thin and crispy and no moisture will be visible. Allow the strawberries to cool for 30 minutes. Then transfer the strawberries to a freezer Ziploc bag and freeze for 48 hours to pasteurize the strawberries to prevent any survival of insects or mold.
The last step in the process is known as conditioning your strawberries. This will remove any excess moisture. It involves placing your strawberries in a sealed glass jar for 1 week that is no more than 2/3 full of dried strawberries. All you need to do is shake the jar a couple of times every day. Wait to open the jar until the end of the 7 days. Then ta da! You are done!

Love,

3 Scoops of Sugar