Dried strawberries are good for making aromatic tea, homemade baking and as an additive to porridges. If it is not possible to pick wild berries with your own hands, you can replace them with garden strawberries, choosing the least watery varieties. The dry product yield is approximately 1:10, i.e. to obtain 50 g of dried berries you will need half a kilo of fresh ones.
Technology of drying berries in the oven
1. Washing. You can only wash relatively large garden strawberries or wild strawberries, since the delicate wild berry, when placed in water, quickly absorbs moisture and turns into a mess. After washing, strawberries are laid out on cotton cloth to quickly drain water. The sepals are torn off.
2. Grinding. Small strawberries are dried whole, and larger specimens are cut into thin slices and placed on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
3. Drying. The drying process is preceded by drying the berries in the oven at a temperature of about 30 degrees for 1.5-2 hours.To save time and energy, it is advisable to dry and dry the maximum amount of raw materials, using all available levels in the oven.
4. Drying. How long to dry strawberries depends on the moisture content of the berries and the heating temperature. The oven temperature is set to 50-60 degrees and the raw materials are kept in this mode for about 5-6 hours, focusing on the humidity and color of the berries. During the drying process, the berries acquire a dark burgundy color.
After cooling, the dried product is transferred to dry glass jars, which protect the berries from excessive drying or, conversely, moisture, and also prevent the sweet forest aroma from evaporating. You can also use thick paper bags.
