Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Rinse the strawberries under cool running water, drain, and pat dry. Remove the green caps and stems, then slice the berries into even 1/8–1/4-inch rounds or triangular pieces.
- Use drying racks or trays that support the slices flat without pieces falling through. For the Foodi FD401, put the deluxe reversible rack in its lower position inside the cooking pot and arrange a single layer of supported slices on it. If using both levels, lower the deluxe layer by its handles onto the rack and add another single layer. Keep slices from overlapping. If your Foodi rack will not support the pieces, use a food dehydrator with suitable trays. Save fruit that will not fit for another batch.
- Close the attached crisping lid. Select DEHYDRATE with FUNCTION, use TEMP to set 140°F, and set TIME to six hours. Press START/STOP. For a conventional dehydrator, use 140°F and follow its tray-loading instructions.
- Begin checking around six hours. Cool a sample slice before testing it. Continue drying until the pieces are shrunken, dry, and pliable, with no sticky or tacky centers. Allow about six to twelve hours, or longer if needed; check the fruit rather than stopping solely because the timer ends.
- Let the dried strawberries cool completely before packing. For immediate snacking, refrigerate them in an airtight container and use within three to four days.
- For storage, condition the cooled fruit as described below, then pack it airtight. Freeze if keeping it longer. Keep each finished batch separate from fresh or partly dried fruit.
Notes
One batch starts with one pound of fresh strawberries and yields approximately 1 1/2 cups dried fruit; size, cuts, and dryness change the actual volume. No sweetener, oil, or dip is added.
Keep slices 1/8–1/4 inch thick, in one layer without overlap on a drying surface that supports them. If pieces fall through the Foodi rack, use a food dehydrator with suitable stainless-steel trays; do not balance them across wide gaps. For the Foodi FD401, use the reversible rack in its lower position and the deluxe layer if using two levels. Close the attached crisping lid, select DEHYDRATE, set TEMP 140°F and TIME to six hours, then START/STOP. Keep waiting fresh slices covered in the refrigerator.
Begin checking around six hours; actual drying generally takes 6–12 hours or longer. Test a cooled piece: it should be dry and pliable, without sticky or tacky centers. Continue drying as needed at 140°F. Foodi time adjusts in 15-minute increments up to 12 hours per cycle. Ten-minute preparation plus the six-hour drying estimate gives six hours and ten minutes before cooling. Extra batches and storage conditioning add time.
At 2× use two pounds for two batches, approximately three cups dried fruit with variable actual yield. Keep slice thickness and 140°F unchanged. Add rack space or batches; the total elapsed time depends on how much fruit fits in a single layer.
For immediate snacking, cool completely, refrigerate airtight, and use within three to four days. For storage, loosely fill a clean glass jar about two-thirds full with cooled dry fruit, seal, and shake or stir daily for two to four days. If condensation appears, dry further, cool, and condition again. Discard moldy fruit. Pack conditioned fruit airtight; keep only a short-use amount cool and dark, and freeze the rest for longer storage.
Full GAPS plain dried-fruit preparation after introduction; can fit More-Plant GAPS. No dairy, eggs, or nuts in the recipe itself. Stage 6 uses dried fruit in suitable introduced baking; this is a Full GAPS snack. Dehydrated slices are chewy and pliable; freeze-dried berry powder is a different ingredient.