Dried strawberries: how to properly dry strawberries for the winter at home

Preparing berries for drying

First of all, the collected strawberries need to be washed carefully in cool water. Then it is transferred to paper towels and allowed to dry thoroughly.

The next step is to separate the sepals from the berries.

The video from the “How to Do It” channel will tell you in detail how to quickly peel the stems from strawberries.

The peeled berries are cut into even slices. To ensure that the slices are of the same thickness, you can use a special device for slicing cheese.

Methods for drying strawberries

On air

Lay several layers of old newspapers on a flat surface, and cover them with a sheet of thick paper on top. For this purpose, for example, whatman paper is suitable.Place strawberry slices on top of the paper, not forgetting to leave a little space between the petals. You should not place strawberries on newspaper sheets, as stationery paint can easily be absorbed into the product.

Strawberry juice, released from the berries, will be absorbed into whatman paper and then soak into the newspapers. Therefore, the layers of newspapers are replaced with new ones every 4–6 hours, and the berries themselves are mixed.

After four days, the strawberries are completely dry.

In the oven

To make strawberry chips in the oven, place the sliced ​​berries on trays lined with sheets of wax paper. In this form, the baking sheets are sent to the oven, heated to a temperature of no more than 60 degrees. After 1.5 hours, take out the trays, turn the berries over and let them cool completely. After this, drying is continued in the same mode. Total cooking time is 8 – 10 hours.

Remember to keep the door ajar while drying in the oven. This is necessary so that the humid air is replaced by dry air, and drying occurs faster.

If the open oven door creates discomfort, then you can use a more convenient electric dryer for vegetables and fruits.

In an electric dryer

Sliced ​​strawberries are best placed on trays lined with nylon mesh. You can make such a mesh yourself by cutting it along the contour of your drying containers. It will be much more convenient to remove the finished berries from the mesh than to peel off the stuck pieces from the plastic dryer rack.

The berries are laid out tightly, but not overlapping. The temperature regime is set within 55 - 60 degrees. During the entire drying period, the trays are swapped several times for more uniform drying.

Watch the video from the channel “Ezidri Master” - Drying strawberries in the Ezidri dryer

In the microwave

Pieces of berries are placed on a flat plate lined with a paper napkin. The top of the slices is also covered with a thin sheet of paper. In this form, the strawberries are placed in the oven. The power on the unit is set to 600 W and the cooking time is set to 3 minutes.

After the specified time, the top napkin is removed and drying continues in the same mode for another 3 minutes.

After this, the slices are mixed and, if necessary, the drying process is continued. In this case, you will need to monitor readiness every 60 seconds.

How to dry strawberry tails

Strawberry tails should not be thrown away. They make delicious vitamin tea. All of the methods described above are suitable for drying this product. You can also dry the sepals simply on a sheet of paper in a dark and well-ventilated room.

How to dry strawberry marshmallows

Strawberry marshmallow is prepared using an oven or electric dryer. To do this, crushed strawberries with sugar are placed on a baking sheet or in special trays greased with vegetable oil or lard. The marshmallow should be dried at a temperature of 55 - 60 degrees.

A video from the “Ezidri Master” channel will tell you more about how to make strawberry marshmallow.

How and how long to store dried strawberries

Dry strawberry chips can be made into powder using a coffee grinder. Store the powder and dry strawberry pieces in tightly sealed glass jars in a dark, dry place. Shelf life – 2 years.

Pastila is best stored in the refrigerator or freezer.