Dried strawberries: recipes and storage rules

The variety of berries so happy in the summer, that I want to keep their aroma and taste for a long time. Someone brews them, preserves them, freezes berries, prepares fruit pastilles or candied fruits. However, the berries can be dried.To do this at home is very easy.

Dried strawberries are an excellent vitamin preparation for the winter. These berries can be consumed independently, you can add them to tea or compotes or in a variety of pastries. Separately, it is worth mentioning that in dried form, the berry retains many useful properties. Dried strawberries contain numerous vitamins, minerals and other beneficial substances.

First you need to choose high-quality berries and prepare them for the further process. For drying fit only ripe copies without a single flaw. Try to choose such varieties that the berry was sweet and dense. Soft and watery varieties already lose their shape during washing and become completely unsuitable for drying.

Ripe berries gently rinse with running water and remove the leaves. Then lay out one layer on paper towels so that the strawberries are a little dry. Then we cut each berry into thin plates 5 mm thick. Try to keep the plates of the same thickness. You can cut it both along and across. After the berries are prepared, you can proceed to the drying process.

Prepared strawberries can be dried simply in the open air. Perhaps this is the easiest and proven method of drying. It is quite possible to use the method of our grandmothers: you need to stitch each plate on a thread and hang it to dry. It is advisable to dry on the street, if there is such an opportunity. As a rule, in this way the berries are dried for 3-4 days.

And you can also dry the strawberries in the air and in another way. To do this, you need a flat surface that needs to be covered with several layers of newspapers. It is better to put white heavy paper on top of the newspapers. This is necessary so that the paint from the newspapers is not absorbed into the pieces of berries. Put the strawberry plates in one layer. If you use this recipe, remember that periodically the plates need to be turned over so that the strawberries dry evenly on both sides. After 3-4 days the berries will be ready.

If you want to speed up the process, you can dry the berries in the oven. Strawberries cut into plates should be laid in a single layer on a baking sheet, which must first be covered with baking paper. To dry the fruit you need at a temperature of 50 60 ° C. At higher temperatures, they will begin to fry. Therefore, if you have a gas oven, it is recommended to constantly monitor the temperature.

After an hour and a half, we take the berries out of the oven, turn them over and let them cool completely. After that, put the baking sheet in the oven and dry the strawberry plates on the other side for another hour and a half. For better drying, the oven door should be slightly opened.

In our time, you can use a more modern and fast way. For example, dry the berries in an electric dryer. Put the prepared pieces in one layer on special pallets of the apparatus. Set the temperature to 55 ° C and turn on the electric drier.

If the house does not have electric dryers for berries and vegetables, then it is quite possible to use a conventional microwave oven. Put the prepared pieces on a flat dish. It is recommended to precoat the dish with baking paper or thick paper napkin. Top berries, too, cover with thin paper. We set the power to 600 W and turn on the timer for exactly 3 minutes. After that, open the door and remove the top paper.

Continue drying for another 3 minutes. Next, you need to turn the berries and, if necessary, continue to dry them. If the berries need further drying, then you need to mix them every minute and do not dry the plates for more than a minute.

It is possible to use the convection oven for drying strawberries.Prepared pieces need to lay on the pallet and set the temperature to 45 ° C. During the drying process, slightly open the lid so that excess moisture evaporates. The drying process in this unit will take a maximum of two hours. After an hour of drying, the temperature should be increased to 60 ° C. At the same time during the process of strawberries do not need to turn.

Small strawberries can be dried completely. Peeled and washed berries must first be slightly dried in the sun. It is advisable to dry them in the sun during the day. After they can be placed in the oven and dried at a temperature not exceeding 50 ° C. A well-dried berry is reduced in size and does not stick to hands at all.

Dried strawberries must be properly stored, otherwise it may become moldy. The ideal storage place is a glass container with a tight lid. In this form, the berries can be stored for up to two years.

Dried strawberry slices can be crushed in a coffee grinder and add this powder to baking. As a result, cupcakes or cakes will be a pleasant pink color and will acquire an unusual flavor. Very good strawberry powder is combined with the classic charlotte. Infusion of dried strawberries are used during seasonal colds. This drink strengthens the immune system and has a positive effect on health.

How to dry strawberries, see the next video.