Dehydrating Frozen Fruit
March 12, 2014
Laura
Dehydrating Frozen Fruit

Warmer weather is coming my way, so it’s time to make sure I have plenty of room in my freezer. I still have peaches, strawberries, nectarines, and blueberries from this summer, and need to make some jam and cobbler for the freezer. I just ran out of all my dehydrated fruits except apples, so I decided to try dehydrating frozen fruit. It worked, and in fact, it’s quicker to dehydrate frozen verses fresh fruit, especially blueberries.

 

frozen fruit

I love home dehydrated fruits because they don’t have a sickening sweet sugar coating. Also, store bought dehydrated fruit is extremely expensive. Of course, I give dehydrated fruit to my family for snacks and use them in trail mix, but I also use them in homemade oatmeal, homemade granola bars, and even in iced tea. I throw the dehydrated fruit in with the cold water and tea bags, and strain the fruit out with the tea bags. Our favorite so far is strawberry, and next I’ll try pineapple.

Along with cleaning out my freezer, I’m also emptying jars left and right. We finished up the honey-spiced peaches, chunked pineapple, pasta sauce, peach jam, apple sauce, corn, and many other canned items. Although canned food is shelf stable for years, it’s best to rotate your stock on a yearly basis to ensure the best quality. I got a pressure canner last year for my birthday, and started really experimenting with it last spring. We moved this summer, so I lost the time to keep up.

So as my freezer gets more barren, and my collection of empty jars piles up, I’ll be dreaming of new canning recipe experiments and re-stocking my supply.

 

 

 

27 Comments

  1. Sven

    For the frozen blueberries or most others, when defrosted there is a lot of juice. I gather that you pour that off before dehydrating?

    Reply
    • LauraM

      Yes, I would pour any juice off after dehydrating. I’ve been actually steam juicing blueberries and then dehydrating the blueberries afterwards, as I got a steam juicer last fall. Also, I hadn’t seen this blog post in a long time, so I took out the part of not being able to can on a flat cook top! :)

      Reply
  2. Sheryl

    Can I dehydrate frozen apricots? If yes, do I let them thaw out or put fruit fresh on them so they won’t turn dark. Thanks

    Reply
  3. LaDonna Fuller

    I put my figs in the freezer whole last year. I would like to dehydrate them now. What is the process and temp to dehydrate using a dehydrater not oven. I hope you get this post.
    Thank you.
    La Donna

    Reply
  4. Laurie

    I actually have been pressure cooking on my glass top stove for many years, I do make sure I don’t set a hot lid on the glass though.

    Reply
  5. Audre Dickson

    I’m from UK and dehydrators are not common and expensive. Can I dehydrate in my slow cooker or oven? Fresh berries even at the height of the season aren’t cheap. The cheapest are only there for a short time. The cheapest I got last year was about £3 800g. Even going to pick your own farms are expensive. I thought using frozen as it’s much cheaper and available all year round. How can I do it in a slow cooker or oven and what temperature /setting and how long?

    Reply
    • LA

      I use my oven all the time for it. Use racks to put the fruit on and I put convection on 190 degrees. Works great BUT DO WATCH IT. Everyone’s oven is different when it comes to “temps” and how hot it is.

      Reply
    • LauraM

      Hi Audre. Typically you dehydrate fruits and vegetables at 135, and at least my oven only gets down to 170. Some other ovens might get to a lower temp. Some people report dehydrating in convection ovens have been successful, but I don’t have experience with it.

      Reply
  6. marvin e haylett

    i have lots of grapes in the frezzer can i dry them

    Reply
  7. Lori

    I am still not sure – – do I thaw the plums first – or dehydrate them from frozen???

    Reply
    • Cheryl

      She said to thaw first, then dehydrate.

      Reply
    • LauraM

      I would thaw first.

      Reply
  8. Sally

    I have fresh frozen figs in my freezer.Can I put them into my dehydrator to dry them and then how do I presserve them for storage. Thank u

    Reply
    • Kay robbins

      Will the frozen figs work after defrosting in the dehydrator?

      Reply
    • LAS

      I thaw my frozen figs – they get a little mushy. I cut the stem off and slice them in half, and dehydrate in my excalibur dehydrator medium low and slow. To use: rehydrate with a little water and use in recipes and they are great.

      Reply
  9. Crystal Vargas

    I have an escaliber dehydrator and would also like to experiment on frozen fruits. Should I put it at the lowest temperature?

    Reply
  10. Ginny Taft

    Thank you so much. I run a possum rescue and the little blighters detest canned fruit so I have been freezing as much as I can but with winter coming I hate the idea of offering frozen food. Now I can dehydrate and know they are getting the nutrients they need.
    Thank you so much

    Reply
  11. Pat

    What temp and about how long to dehydrate? What should they feel like. Plyable or crispy?

    Reply
    • Jill

      Can do at very low oven temperature 225f. Time depends on the size of the pieces and the type of fruit that you are dehydrating. Suggest to start at 2hours, then check every half hour or so.

      Reply
      • LauraM

        That temperature does more cooking, than dehydrating. There are some ovens with convection with that capability, however.

        Reply
  12. Cheryl

    I am thrilled to know you can dehydrate frozen fruit!!!! I am very new to this. But the article doesn’t have a step by step process only links to other recipes..

    Pls Pls send step by step instructions for dehydration get blueberries cherries and whole strawberries.

    Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

    Reply
    • LauraM

      Hi Cheryl! After defrosted, the fruit should be pretty limp and fine for just laying on the trays, but if it’s really thick you should cut it while still frozen into thinner pieces. Just lay it on trays and dehydrate the fruit until just pliable. Always allow your fruit to cool before determining if it’s done or not, unless it’s obvious there is still too much moisture.

      Regarding blueberries – – I’ve seen videos of people poking holes in each blueberry, which is a lot of work! I’ve tried pulsing in the processor the blueberries and dehydrating them, but I’ve not had good results, although I have had great results with cranberries in this way. For cherries, slice in half, and strawberries just slice, but not too thin.

      I would be delighted to answer any other questions you have about dehydrating. I’ve had both triumphs and disappointments, and I’m happy to share my experience. Just post on Preserved Home’s Facebook page if you have any other questions not related to this post. Thank you, and Happy New Year to you as well!

      Reply
      • Kathleen Kaiser

        I realize this is an extremely old post but for anyone that might be interested I have read the best way to dehydrate blueberries or even cranberries is to cook them first. You want to put your blueberries in some water in a saucepan and heat them just to the point where the blueberries burst. Then strain out the blueberries and put in your dehydrator.

        Reply
        • LAS

          That sounds like a GREAT way to dehydrate them! I use blueberries everyday in morning oatmeal and the dehydrated ones work SUPER GOOD and take up very little space in jars! Frees up my freezer space.

          Reply

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