How to Make Freeze Dried Strawberries

In this guide, I will show you how to make freeze dried strawberries. Freeze dried strawberries make a perfect healthy snack. They are great as snacks for toddlers or anyone. You can use them in pies, ice creams, cakes, or anything! They are easy to carry and take with you anywhere because they are super light. They are definitely one of my favorite go to snacks.

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HOW TO FREEZE DRY STRAWBERRIES

What Equipment Do You Need to Freeze Dry Strawberries

First things first, let’s talk about equipment. You cannot freeze dry strawberries without having the proper equipment.

Here is what you’ll need

• Freeze drier
• Freezer I think, maybe, we all have one of those.
• Sharp knife I guess a butter knife would work too, but the process will be messy.
• Cutting Board
• Parchment paper (optional) The only reason why you would want to use parchment paper is to keep your freeze drier trays clean. The strawberries come off the trays very easily, with or without the parchment paper
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum sealer jar attachment kit
• Canning jars
• Canning lids
• Oxygen absorbers
• Food grade silica gel packs

A freeze dryer is the main thing you’ll need to freeze dry strawberries. You can’t freeze dry them without it. If you do not have one, you can use my affiliate link to purchase your desired freeze drier. It will be at no added cost to you. I will simply receive a small commission from your purchase.

What Type of Strawberries is Good for Freeze Drying

You could use either fresh or frozen, but the best, or the quickest to freeze are frozen strawberries.

Frozen strawberries take less time to freeze, hence, less strain on the machine.

How to Prepare Strawberries for Freeze Drying

If you are starting with fresh strawberries, remove the tops off and toss them in your compost pile. Now you can either slice the strawberries in half, 1/4 inch slices, or leave them whole with the exception of the tops being off.

Once you are satisfied with the shape of your strawberries, Place them onto the freeze drying trays that belong to your freeze drier. Put them flat into your freezer to prevent spilling, and flash freeze them overnight, or until fully frozen through.

If you choose to freeze your strawberries whole, they will take the longest time to freeze, and to freeze dry.

You could also freeze dry your strawberries directly after slicing them without flash freezing them. However, the freeze drying process will be a bit longer than if you were to start from frozen strawberries.

How to Freeze Dry Strawberries

Always check to see if your freeze dryer needs a change of oil before you start any freeze drying process. It’s important to keep your oil pump clean to prevent it from getting damaged.

Freeze Dry Frozen Strawberries

If you are staring with frozen strawberries, you’ll need to prep your freeze dryer first before you start the freeze drying process.

To prep the freeze dryer, turn it on, and choose the start from frozen setting. Make sure the door is closed. And the pressure release valve is open. The freeze dryer will need about 30 minutes to an hour to reach the required freezing temperature before you start the freeze drying process.

Once the freeze dryer has fully frozen its food chamber, and reached the required temperature, it will display a message for you to insert your food.

Remove your frozen strawberries from the freezer. If they are not on the freeze dryer trays yet, now is the time to place them on the trays. Insert your strawberry filled trays into the freeze dryer’s food chamber, close the door and lock it tight, close the pressure release valve, and press the continue, or start button.

Freeze Dry Fresh Strawberries

If you are starting with fresh strawberries, you should not pre-freeze the freeze drier chamber. Just simply insert the strawberry filled freeze dryer trays into the freeze dryer’s food chamber, close the chamber door and lock it tight, close the pressure release valve, and press the start from fresh button.

The freeze drying process can take from 12 hours up to 36 hours. It might even require a bit more time if the strawberries are not fully frozen yet.

How Can You Tell If the Strawberries Are Fully Freeze Dried

To check if the strawberries are fully freeze dried, once the freeze drying cycle is over, open the pressure release valve and allow the pressure to escape. Once the pressure has been fully released, you can now open the food chamber.

To see if the strawberries are fully dried, take a few strawberries from the center of the tray and brake them at their center point. If they crumble easily, and do not have any sticky or leathery feeling to them, then they are fully dried on the inside.

Another way to tell is by crumbling the strawberry. Take a strawberry from the center of the tray, crush it in your hand. If it forms a powder and does not have any leathery pieces, then it is fully freeze dried.

The idea is that if the strawberries are pliable, leathery, do not brake easily, and do not become powdery once crushed, then this is an indication that they need more time.

Check all the trays to insure that all the trays are fully freeze dried.

How to Add More Time to the Freeze Drying Process

To add more time to the freeze drying process. Simply close the food chamber and lock it, and close the pressure release valve. Choose how much time you want to add by pressing on the up or down arrow around the place where it indicates the drying time. Then press start, or add more time button.

The freeze dryer should now freeze dry your food for the time you chose.

HOW TO STORE FREEZE DRIED STRAWBERRIES

There are two ways to store them. Long term, or short term.

Short Term Storage

If you are planning on accessing your freeze dried goods often, then the best way to store them is in canning jars.

Canning jars can be vacuum sealed which makes the freeze dried food last a bit longer.

First, to store the food in a canning jar, you might need a canning funnel to make the job a bit less messy.

Place an oxygen absorber at the bottom of the jar. You might need more than one, depending on how much oxygen each oxygen absorber can absorb. Place a silica gel packet in the jar. The silica gel will absorb any humidity in the air and stop your freeze dried strawberries from getting moist and going rancid. Add the freeze dried strawberries into the jar leaving 1 inch head space.

How to Vacuum Seal Canning Jars

Now it’s time to vacuum seal. To ensure that your freeze dried strawberries will last you for about a year or 2, you should take the extra step and vacuum seal them.

To vacuum seal the strawberry filled jar, place the lid part over the jar without the ring. Place the vacuum sealer’s attachment that is appropriate for the jar you are using over the lid. Make sure it is fitting tight over it. Follow the directions on your vacuum sealer.

My vacuum sealer comes with a tube that attaches to the top that connects to the jar. I then press a button on the inside of the vacuum sealer, and it does the job.

Carefully remove the attachment off the jar. To know if a jar is vacuum sealed, you should be able to see an indentation in the middle of the jar. If the middle is sticking slightly out, then it is probably not vacuum sealed. You can also always try to gently lift the lid without applying too much pressure. If it lifts easily, then it is probably not vacuum sealed, and it needs to be.

What Happens if Freeze Dried Food Was Left Out in the Open for Too Long

Leaving your freeze dried strawberries out in the open for too long will cause them to absorb the humidity that’s in the air. Once they absorb the humidity, if you press on them, they would then compress and not get crushed.

Humidity can cause your freeze dried goods to go rancid quickly. So it is best to store your freeze dried strawberries properly as soon as you get them out of the freeze drier.

Long Term Storage

For long term storage, you will need to use Mylar bags instead of canning jars. Canning jars can be slightly pores allowing air to escape in and out at a very miniscule rate. It is not something to be concerned about unless you are trying to store your freeze dried strawberries for 25 years.

Generally speaking, you can store them for 25 years if you use, Mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and silica gels at the correct rate. However, always follow food safety guidelines to insure that you are storing your food safely.

Using Mylar Bags to Store Freeze Dried Strawberries

You will need to place your freeze dried strawberries into the Mylar bags as soon as they come out of the freeze drier. Place as many oxygen absorbers, and as many silica gels needed for the size bag that you are using.

Take into consideration that strawberries can have a lot of space in between them. Meaning you will probably need a bit more oxygen absorbers and silica gels to take care of that excess air problem.

Make sure to leave a good amount of space at the top of the bag to allow you to seal it properly. Once you are satisfied with your strawberry bag, and you have filled it with all the appropriate things, you can then seal it.

To seal it you will need a heat sealer. Leave about an inch or two at the top of the bag. Push any food, silica gel packets, or oxygen absorbers away from the point where you want the bag to make contact with the heat sealer.

Place the point of the bag where you want to seal it at, over the heating element of the sealing machine while making sure that the bag has no wrinkles in that spot what so ever. Press on the bag with the top part. Usually, the machine should indicate that it is done sealing. You might need to press a couple times before the bag is fully sealed depending on how hot your machine could get.

Once you are done sealing the bag, check to see if it has any air holes, or anything of the sort. If it does, you might need to seal it again, or replace the bag and repeat the whole process.

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