I've got three and a half kilograms of Strawberries and I'm going to dehydrate them,
then I'm going to soak them in a balsamic sauce and then I'm going to dehydrate them again for
a second time, it's a real treat and it does take a lot of time but it's definitely worth it.
Hi Guys I'm Elissa at Moat Cottage Homesteading, the small space homesteading channel.
I'm placing my Strawberries into a colander and I'm going to wash them in warm water
then I'm placing them on to a dry tea towel to absorb the excess water
cut the ends off your Strawberries and any blemished bits as well, cut them off.
Any bits that get cut off the chickens and ducks will have a feast. Slice your Strawberries up
into quarter inch pieces, you can have them bigger it just will take longer but you will
be left with a bigger product at the end because strawberries really do shrink down
it is a bit tricky to get all the pieces the same size with Strawberries because they do
have those ends but what I do is I put all the ends on the same tray and I put the bigger bits
on other trays so that they're all uniformed for the particular tray that they're on,
place your trays on the dehydrator making sure all the trays are in alignment and that the lid
is on properly and set your temperature to 55 degrees Celsius that's 131 Fahrenheit
rearrange your trays a few times throughout the dehydrating process
so that all the trays can get dried evenly. With these round dehydrators
they do dry quicker at the bottom so it's a good idea to sort of rearrange the trays in
different ways each time you rearrange them and it really does help make a difference
You know your strawberries are ready when they're flexible,
they feel dry and they're leathery and there's no moisture in them
to make the balsamic sauce we add half a cup of water to a saucepan
half a cup of balsamic vinegar
balsamic vinegar is like wine, there are all different types and flavors and thicknesses and
you can even do balsamic vinegar tasting, which is really interesting if you ever get the chance to
do that. The balsamic vinegar I'm using is from Medina in Italy and I do like to shop locally
with most of my products, but with balsamic vinegar they just get it right over there.
Adding quarter of a cup of brown sugar lightly packed
give it a bit of a mix in and we will take it over to the stove top. On a medium-high heat I'm
going to dissolve the sugar and once the sugar's dissolved I'm going to bring it up to the boil
once it's up to a boil turn it off the heat and add in about
three or four handfuls of dehydrated Strawberries
let them soak in there for about three hours to rehydrate
make sure all your Strawberries are covered so give them a mix in
and then they can absorb all of that beautiful sauce
it's been three hours and the Strawberries are fully rehydrated
once your Strawberries have been rehydrated in the balsamic sauce, strain off the liquid
and we're going to put them back on the dehydrator trays and dehydrate them for another 12 hours
that sauce will still be good to go on salads as a dressing. I've got my dehydrator trays on a clean
tea towel and I'll just place the Strawberries back on the dehydrating trays, once your trays
are filled place them back on the dehydrator at 55 degrees Celsius 131 degrees Fahrenheit for 12
hours. Funnel your remaining Balsamic sauce into a jar and seal it and put it in the fridge you can
keep it in the fridge for quite a few months. Your Balsamic Strawberries are ready, you will
also need to keep them in a jar and store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to use them
whereas the plain dehydrated Strawberries will last in a sealed container on the shelf.
You can really get three products out of this, plain dehydrated Strawberries,
a Balsamic Sauce to go on top of your salads and your Twice Dehydrated Balsamic Strawberries.
Your Strawberries are ready when they're dry and leathery it might take between 8 and 12 hours
depending on your dehydrator. Thanks for watching I'll see you next time