Dehydrated Strawberries

Looking to add a bit of pizazz to your emergency food stores? Dehydrated strawberries may do just the trick. This all-natural super food is a sweet treat that can be dried and stored for many years, not to mention the fact that your whole family will love them. Easy to prepare and include in a plethora of different recipes, dehydrated or freeze-dried strawberries provide a huge array of health benefits that are bound to help keep your family’s bodies healthy and their taste buds satisfied.

Why Choose Dried Strawberries?

It is simple really, strawberries -- freeze-dried or otherwise -- are not only an excellent source of various nutrients, they just plain taste good. Just by eating one cup of strawberries, the benefits you are in line to receive include:

• An increase in your dietary fiber intake -- which helps promote healthy digestion, aids in the reduction of cholesterol levels.
  
• You will also experience an increase in heart healthy nutrients including foliate, potassium and vitamin C.
  
• Eating strawberries can help decrease your risk of developing certain types of cancer.
  
• Regular consumption can aid in creating healthy teeth and gums in both children and adults.
  
• Eating dried strawberries while pregnant will help reduce the risk of certain birth defects, such as spina bifida.
  

Where Can I Find Dried Strawberries?

As with any other type of dehydrated food or other types of food meant for long-term storage, dehydrated strawberries are easy to find with a simple online search. We do, however urge you to remember that not all sellers are equal, so be sure to shop around a bit before making any final purchases as you may find that certain retailers offer better deals than others, especially if you are planning to buy in bulk. If a detailed online search is a concept that makes your head spin, you will find below two of our favorite dried food retailers that we put our trust in – so we are sure you can too.

The Ready Store

The Ready Store, which boasts its newly claimed title of 2012’s best overall emergency preparedness store by ‘Top Ten Reviews’, carries a wide variety of long-term storable produce, including dehydrated strawberries. The store offers several reputable brands and manufacturers including Saratoga Farms and Mountain House. Product sizes range from a small 6 serving pouch up to a large #10 can, with prices on these products averaging anywhere from $8-$30.

Be Prepared

The ‘Be Prepared’ website is another reputable seller of emergency foods and goods. This company offers both sliced and whole freeze-dried strawberries from the Provident Pantry brand. Both available items come in seven-ounce cans that contain approximately 14 servings and range in cost from $15-$19.

Never Used Dehydrated Strawberries Before?

Try not to panic. It is very simple and acceptable to substitute dehydrated strawberries in any recipe that normally calls for fresh or frozen. All you will need to do is rehydrate your dried fruit as instructed on your packaging and then utilize them however your recipe requires. Once rehydrated, dried fruit regains almost all of its original taste and texture so; it is most likely that no one will ever know the difference – unless you let the secret out of the bag.

Quick Dried Strawberry Recipe Idea

If you have never attempted to master a recipe that calls for dehydrated strawberries, here is a simple – but yummy – idea to get you started.

White Chocolate Bark Remix

Ingredients:

• Good quality white chocolate – 16oz, chopped
  
• 15-20 fresh picked mint leaves.
  
• ¼ of a cup almonds, dried, chopped
  
• 30 or more slices of dried strawberries. 

Step One

Lay down a large piece of wax paper over a cookie sheet and layer on the different dry ingredients so that they cover the majority of the surface of the pan.

Step Two

Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Once the chocolate melts completely, remove from heat.

Step Three

Pour your melted chocolate over the other ingredients until everything is completely covered.

Step Four

Place pan in refrigerator for two to three hours or until the chocolate has thoroughly hardened.

Step Five

Break hardened concoction into large chunks. Store in an airtight container.

Usable in any way that you would normally use them in their original form, dehydrated strawberries make an excellent addition to any emergency food pantry. A sweet treat with a long shelf life, these delectable berries are easy to find, purchase and use no matter what your skill level when it comes to using freeze-dried foods.

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