The other day I was making a preparation for the winter - dried strawberries. A very good way to preserve berries for several months. Strawberries remain fragrant, tasty, perfect for pies, compotes, tea, and just like that they are very tasty.
Preparation:
If you have a special electric dryer, then I think you have no problems with drying berries for the winter. My article is dedicated to those who do not have such a dryer. I will tell you how this can be done in the most ordinary oven, I have been using this method for 5-6 years for sure, and everything always works out.
So, we sort out the berries, remove the stalks. If the berries are rotten, then it is better not to use them at all, well, or if only the edge is rotten, then we cut them off. The most important thing - berries cannot be washed! Excess moisture will ruin everything: the berries will not dry out as they should, and during storage they may even ferment or rot, become moldy, etc. In general, all efforts will be in vain.
Therefore, the main thing here is to pick the berries correctly: for drying we take strawberries that do not touch the ground, but simply hang on a branch - they are the cleanest. As a last resort, the contaminated edge can be cut off. Usually dried berries are then subjected to strong heat treatment (compote, pie filling, etc.), so there are no health risks.
We cut the berries into plates, or cut into 4-6 slices, depending on the size of the strawberry. We put it on a baking sheet covered with parchment, at a distance from each other so that the strawberries do not touch.
Dry in the oven at 40 degrees for 2-3 hours. Then we turn the berries over and dry for about 2 more hours, raising the temperature to 60 degrees. The exact drying time depends on the size and variety of the strawberry.
How to determine that the strawberries are ready and can be taken out of the oven: the berries will become bright burgundy, and the seeds will be shiny.
I advise you to store strawberries in glass jars, which are tightly closed, as bugs and other "animals" can start. We transfer the dried strawberries to jars only after they have completely cooled down. Bon Appetit!
Read also: Cherry, mashed with sugar, for the winter. Without cooking
Whip up a pie with berries. It turns out softer and juicier than charlotte
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