Friday, April 6, 2012

Nature's Candy: Oven Dried Strawberries

More Strawberries!  I continue to delight and obsess over strawberries.  I think I blog about them every Spring.  Ha!

I recently tried this method for Oven Dried Strawberries and I'm now in love.

Since my berries were huge, I had to slice them down a bit.
 
This was after 3 hours in a 215 degree oven.

I let them continue to dry out for another hour or so!


I might not be the best photographer, but believe me when I tell you these are worth the effort!  In fact, I liked the ones that weren't completely dried out the best.  They had a sweet juicy burst kind of like a homemade fruit gusher.

Of course, since some weren't completely dried, they should be stored in the fridge, but if you take them all the way dried, you can store them in an airtight container.  The drying process concentrates the sweet strawberry flavor making them taste better than candy.  "Nature's Candy!"  Yum.

The possibilities are endless for their use but I like to snack on them plain or eat them in salads.  These would be delicious paired with fancy syrupy balsamic vinegar (but I don't know where to find that except for in expensive Italian restaurants). 

Gosh, I love strawberries.  And you'll love the way your house smells as these dry in the oven (or in your food dehydrator if you have one)! 

These berries also made me dream of making homemade Strawberry Fruit Leather.  Here's a fun tutorial if you're interested.  Someday I will own you Blendtec and you will make my life so much better!   

6 comments:

Wesley said...

Don't wait! Move the Blendtec WAY up on your list of next purchases. You WON'T regret it!!! Your strawberries look so tasty. :)

Jenny C. said...

Thanks, these look great. Going to make them today. BTW you can buy balsamic reduction pretty cheaply, I've bought dfferent brands here's an example... http://www.amazon.com/De-Nigris-Balsamic-Glaze-Reduction/dp/B000AQHHF0

Jenny C. said...

These look great, thanks! BTW you can buy Balsamic reduction on amazon.com for about $10, there are a lot of variations too! http://www.amazon.com/De-Nigris-Balsamic-Glaze-Reduction/dp/B000AQHHF0

Just a girl said...

Have you tried this with frozen strawberries?

Just a girl said...

Have you tried this with frozen strawberries?

Mom looking for healthy snacks said...

Working on it now let you know how it turns out ☺ hopefully good I've heard good ad bad things so didn't want to use fresh strawberries since they are more expensive