We are very blessed to have blueberries, blackberries and raspberries growing to capacity here on the farm. Their prolific growth allows me to make jams and jellies, to dry and make teas and to share with my family and friends. There is always one issue: there are always leftover berries.
Yes, freeze them. Great idea. Nothing wrong with that. But...is there something else I could do with them to make them last for (almost) ever? Make fruit roll-ups? What a great idea!
So...... All of the hard work is done. Picking in the heat, picking with the bugs, picking with the red ants biting your ankles. Make jelly, give berries away, stick extra in the freezer. Fast forward:January.
You will need; berries, corn syrup, lemon juice. Mix 1 quart of berries, 1 cup corn syrup and 4 tbs. lemon juice into the blender. Liquefy.
Put into a saucepan and bring to a boil. After reaching boiling, time for 3-4 minutes. Allow to cool before transferring onto dehydrator trays. We put ours in the refrigerator overnight.
Place tray liners or use plastic food saver type bags to line trays. 1 quart of berries will yield 2 trays on the Excalibur. Adjust as you need to on your specific unit. Dehydrate for 15- 18 hours. This is longer than just the fruit as you have added corn syrup to it and that will take extra time to dehydrate. Ours will be ready tomorrow. Without the extra sugar, color, additives and preservatives, I'm sure the report will be simple delicious...
Hmmmm...I never put corn syrup in mine. I just mush it all up...add a touch of sugar to taste, but only if needed, and dry from there. I will have to try it your way!
ReplyDeleteWe heard that sugar crystalizes and makes it funky. Only to add corn syrup or honey and to always cook it first. This is where we start, but you know me...the sky is the limit!!!
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