| Strawberries are probably one of the most popular | | | | occasionally dehydrate food as stoves use a lot of |
| fruits and even children cannot resist them. They make | | | | electricity. If your oven can maintain constant low |
| a great addition to any fruit salad and add that | | | | temperatures you can easily dehydrate food in the |
| something extra to plain yogurt. Sadly these berries | | | | oven. |
| are only available during the warmer summer months. | | | | The most natural way of drying your strawberry slices |
| By dehydrating enough strawberries when they are in | | | | is by letting them dry in the sun. Dehydrating your |
| season however, you can enjoy this fruit for the entire | | | | strawberries is as simple as placing them in a sunny |
| year. | | | | window. Do note that you need a warm day with low |
| You Will Need: | | | | humidity and temperatures of around 100 degrees to |
| * Strawberries | | | | successfully dehydrate food using this method. They |
| * Knife | | | | must be directly in the sun for a good part of the day |
| * Cookie sheet | | | | before they will dry. |
| * Oven or dehydrator | | | | Step 4 |
| * Sunny window if you are planning on drying your | | | | Check on your strawberries from time to time. |
| strawberries in the sun | | | | Perfectly dehydrated strawberries are almost crisp but |
| Step 1 | | | | still pliable. If your strawberries turn out too crisp and |
| Make sure you get ripe, firm strawberries. Wash them | | | | hard you can always grind them down to a powder |
| by spraying them in white vinegar and then rinsing | | | | for other uses. You can also soak them in a little bit of |
| them with clean water. | | | | water later on and use them to make syrups or |
| Step 2 | | | | sauces. |
| Cut away any brown or bad spots and remove the | | | | Step 5 |
| caps. Cut your strawberries into 1/2 inch slices. Spread | | | | Store your dry strawberries in a moisture tight |
| the slices out evenly on either the dehydrator shelf or | | | | container or plastic bag. Be sure to label your container |
| on the cookie sheet. Make sure that your slices do not | | | | with the date as strawberries should be used within a |
| overlap. | | | | year. Put the container in a cool, dry place to preserve |
| Step 3 | | | | your dehydrated strawberries. |
| If you are drying your strawberry slices in a | | | | Tips |
| dehydrator place the shelf with the strawberries in the | | | | * If you are going to use your oven often for |
| dehydrator and set it to 105 degrees for about 6 to 8 | | | | dehydrating any kind of fruit, it is a good idea to line the |
| hours. Dehydrators are more energy efficient than | | | | oven racks with cheesecloth and place the fruit on top. |
| stoves and is a good buy if you dehydrate lots of | | | | This way you will not need to use several baking trays |
| food in your household. | | | | to do the job. |
| You can also dry your strawberries in the oven. By | | | | * When using your oven for dehydrating be sure to |
| placing the cookie sheet on a baking plate and | | | | leave the door slightly open so that the moisture can |
| preheating your oven to 112 degrees, you will get | | | | escape. You can even position a fan at the oven door |
| perfectly dehydrated strawberry slices in about 4 to 5 | | | | to keep your strawberries dry. |
| hours. This method will work best if you only | | | | |