[New shoot]

We are awash with strawberries, so the 1st batch of strawberry slices of 2014 are in the dehydrator.  The house smells wonderful and I have that glow of satisfaction that squirrelling always gives me

Homemade dried strawberry slices are a great winter treat for cereal or just munching out of the jar 

[mumofstig]

MMMMmmmmmm dried strawberry slices 

Lucky you 

[Annen]

Ooh! I'm looking forward to that, my strawbs are just going yellow. It will be another week here, I guess.

[tosca100]

Mmm they sound lovely NewShoot. Our strawberries are finished but I quite like dried mulberries (the only way they have flavour) so I might get some from the roadside.

[Beetroot Queen]

How long do you do them for we have another 4lb in the fridge but my dehydrator is in the roof as I just cant work out when stuff is ready. The toms I did last time looked done but within a week they were mouldy. Gave up after that.

[New shoot]

With strawberries I do fairly thick slices as they dry to nothing otherwise - 3 or 4 per fruit.  My dehydrator has a temperature control so they get 55 degrees until they are totally dry and crisp. I do tomatoes the same way, so the slices are completely dry.  I'm expecting the strawberries to take a few hours yet, so they will have been in there 8-12 hours by the end.

Some stuff is ready when it feels leathery and there is no wetness inside  - apples and pears spring to mind.  It depends on the water and sugar content of the produce.

Have another go    Dried fruit would be a great sweetie alternative for Florence   

[Aunty]

I eat all of mine before I get them home 

Must grow more as I have just bought a dehydrator.

[Beetroot Queen]

Found a fab site that said to check put them in jam jars 2/3 full and shake every day for a week any moisture on the jar means they are not finished and need to go back.  strawberries now in dehydrator for another go.

[New shoot]

I eat all of mine before I get them home 

Must grow more as I have just bought a dehydrator.

You must   

Home dried fruit is lovely.  Even supermarket apples and pears are transformed and are way better than the ready dried stuff you can buy.  Just think of the cakes you could make   

strawberries now in dehydrator for another go.

Well done you    Dehydrated fruit and veg is very forgiving.  It can always go back in to have a little more drying time 

[Annen]

Home dried fruit is lovely.  Even supermarket apples and pears are transformed and are way better than the ready dried stuff you can buy.  Just think of the cakes you could make 

I'm the only one in our house who eats apples and sometimes a couple of unloved ones get left for weeks.  Now I slice them, dip them in lemon juice and dry them, they get nibbled on in no time

[New shoot]

Last year I did apple slices and also cubes with our homegrown crop. The cubes took longer to dry, but OH ate his way through jars and jars of them on porridge   I had to top up supplies with supermarket fruit 

I'm not a massive fan of pears usually, but we got given a bag full and I dried them in slices.  I couldn't leave them alone, so now grab big bags of cheap ones if I see them in the autumn

OH's wish list for porridge toppings goes as follows :

Strawberry slices
Raspberries - these take ages (nearly 24 hours) but you get loads in the dehydrator standing up on the stalk ends and they are really good
Apple
Pear
Plums - again these take ages, but they are really rich tasting compared to supermarket prunes 

[Beetroot Queen]

My strawberries smell great, hoping for some great results. I also did a tray of pineapple and a handfull of blueberries. Watch this space.

[New shoot]

How did it go?

If you fnd the blueberries are taking ages, try carefully piercing the skin with the tip of a sharp knife.  I learned this trick for whole chillies and halved the drying time 

[Annen]

Ooh! I'm looking forward to that, my strawbs are just going yellow. It will be another week here, I guess.

A week did I say?

[Madame Cholet]

Apples are great I have had one a day since Sept even cookers are edible when dried. They are all ones that other people have given me during the glut. Cant wait for a couple of years till all my fruit becomes so prolific I can dry it.

Good with gluts of cheap bananas too.