Dehydrating Blueberries

[bodaflower]

I have a lot of blueberries and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about dehydrating them because I don't know if I'll be able to eat all of them . I looked it up on google but I couldn't find anything...I was thinking of using them in a trail mix. Thanks :)

[Veganforlife]

Nope - sorry. After I picked my 20+ pounds, I simply froze them as is. Didn't wash or anything. I will wash them before I use them.

Check this out though:

http://www.atkinsalltheway.com/cms_view_article.php?aid=13

[trinity082482]

Depending on how many you have.. to be honest with you.. blue berries are one of the longest lasting berries you can buy. I find mine last about 6-8 days.

[konmai]

where do you guys get so many? :rolleyes:

[trinity082482]

They have blueberry fetishes te he he :D

[Veganforlife]

I went to a local orchard (actually in PA) and picked 'em. There's lots of U-Pick places.

[Ireland]

They freeze beautifully.

[konmai]

lol. I LOVE blueberries, too, but I don't get that many... to even think about what to do w/ extras. :p

[trinity082482]

With extra's you can make me a tart and ship it fed-ex haha...

[aililiu]

:eek:


i wish i had your problem :p
ill take them off your hands :p

;)

[blueberries]

mmmmm! blueberries! My kind of post :D

Last year we picked 25 lbs of blueberries and froze them all (unwashed, so they are very easy to freeze! washed when I needed them). Well, we ran out before the next season so I am thinking I will be going to pick around 50 pounds this year. We froze ours in those plastic ice cream buckets that other family members gave us.

So anyway, if you have the freezer space, I would suggest freezing them as it would take alot less time and energy than dehydrating them.

[beppa66]

That's it...next time they go one sale...I'm stocking up! I think we'll freeze some & dehydrate some...(and eat some).

[konmai]

blueberries: how long does it take you guys to pick 50 lbs and how many people? I've never gone fruit picking. I'm interested! :D

[Veganforlife]

Well, it depends. First on how plentiful the blueberry bushes are. Second I guess how experienced you are. I've been picking goodness for years now! The place in PA (which I'm gonna go up to tomorrow morning and pick more) took me about an hour to pick about 10 pounds - the bushes were LOADED! And they will be even better tomorrow. They hang like grape clusters!
The place in DE where my daughter and I went, the bushes were scarce and it took us about 2.5 hours or more to pick 15 pounds. I so look forward to picking every year.

[blueberries]

ditto what Veganforlife said. If the blueberries are as loaded as they were last year here, it might take us up to 4 hours to pick 50 lbs. I hope we can pick faster this year as last year when we picked 25 lbs. our then 2 year old didnt really have the patience to stay any longer. Hopefully this year being a year old we can entertain her long enough to get 50 lbs. and maybe mom & dad can even get some blueberries this year! ;) She picks alot actually but she ends up eating them all right there :p

[rawgreenyogini]

I have trouble just picking them.....eat 20 pick 4...eat 10 pick 1....

[konmai]

fruit picking sounds wonderful! Must jot down on my must do list! weee! :D

[kristi7mark]

We did out blueberry picking here in central Florida a few months ago. They were wonderful. We ate blueberries for weeks! We froze many of them for smoothies and just for munching. But we also dehydrated a whole dehydrator full. It was quite simple actually just rinsed them and spread them on the dehydrator trays, put them in the dehyrator set between 110-115. They took about 2 days or so to dehydrate. So far I have found that blueberries take longer to dehydrate than any other fruit I have dehydrated. I simply adore dehydrated blueberries!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them on salads with fresh blueberries, something about the fresh, sweet, juicy mixed with the tangy chewy just makes me smile! I have to hide them from my family or they just eat them up...........:)

[Veganforlife]

I picked another 25 pounds of berries this morning! So I now have about 50 pounds of blues in my freezer. That oughta last me through the winter, eh?

[Zuri]

I picked another 25 pounds of berries this morning! So I now have about 50 pounds of blues in my freezer. That oughta last me through the winter, eh?

What's the name of the place you go to pick your blueberries Vegan? I live in MD and I would love to pick fruit or veggies. Any other places you'd suggest? Is it too late in the season to pick?

[juliebove]

I've not done blueberries because I don't like them. But I have done grapes and cranberries. I assume they would be similar.

One thing you're going to want to do is cut them in half if they are large, or pierce them with the tip of a sharp knife. Now it's not necessary to do this, but... If you don't do it, they will take DAYS to dehydrate. Why? There is no way for the juice to escape.

If you have dehydrating instructions, you'll likely see to blanch them first to break down the skin a bit. You won't want to do this for raw berries. That's where the piercing will help. Blanched fruit will dehydrate a lot faster than raw fruit. So plan on at least 2 days in the dehydrator, of not longer. And store the dehydrated berries in the fridge.