While I have always been comfortable canning foods, dehydrating was a different story.  Up until this point in time, my experience in dehydrating put me in the intermediate category. I could proudly claim dried herbs and venison jerky, but that was as far as my dehydrating experience went.  But a recent Facebook post peaked my interest, claiming dehydrated strawberries tasted just like Twizzlers.  Over the following days I couldn’t stop thinking about and knew I had to try it.

My dehydrator is a smoke-colored Ronco brand, circa 1993, sold in one of those fabulous early 90s infomercials.  The infomercial even included a shout out for that fabulous spray on hair for bald spots.  Basically spray paint for your head.  My father-in-law gave me this dehydrator years ago, and with not really having much experience with it I just packed it away.

My husband and I were at our local grocery store this week, and they had strawberries on sale 2 lbs. for $5.  As soon as I saw them, I knew I would quickly be getting that dehydrator out of the closet and putting it to use!

First I washed the fruit very well.  You could use an all natural produce wash if you want, I just used water for mine.  You don’t need to dry them, since they’ll dry in the dehydrator anyway.  Just realize working with dry fruit is easier and less messier than working with wet fruit.  Cut the stems off of each strawberry and set them aside.  If you have chickens (or a rabbit that lives in your house) they love these strawberry tops!

While some recommend blanching your strawberries before dehydrating them.  Don’t waste your time.  It is totally unnecessary.  Also when you water-blanch you will lose water-soluable vitamins.

Laying the strawberries on their sides and slice them.  When slicing the strawberries, the slices should be as uniform in thickness as possible so that they dry evenly.  The slices should be 1/4″ for thin pieces or 3/8″ for thicker piece.  Lay the slices on the dehydrator trays in a single layer.  The end pieces should be laid with skin side down.  Make sure to place them far enough apart so they don’t touch or overlap.  You want to allow air circulation.  You should leave at least 1/4 inch space around the food pieces.

Some of the strawberry slices may be small and would easily fall through the tray as they shrink.  My dehydrator came with an insert that I can put underneath the fruit to prevent them from falling through.  If yours doesn’t have an insert, I would recommend checking the website of the manufacturer that made your food dehydrator and ordering mesh trays.

Allow the strawberries to dehydrate for 8-18 hours.  My dehydrator has a single heating element in the bottom, which means rotating the trays often is a must.  The strawberries are done when you squeeze them and there is very little “squish” left.  Since this was my first time dehydrating strawberries, it was a bit of trial and error for me.

If your slices aren’t perfectly even in thickness, as mine obviously weren’t, you may find that some strawberries dehydrate faster than others.  Just remove the ones that are finished and keep dehydrating the ones that are not.  Most of my strawberries were done in around 15 hours, but some of the bigger pieces had to go for around 24 hours.  I recommend tasting as you go until you get to your desired doneness.

When they are done, you will have dehydrated strawberries and feel pretty accomplished.  I was shocked how sweet they are.  And yes, they absolutely taste like Twizzlers!

When I was growing up I was blessed to not only have a Mama that grew her own food, but canned it as well.  Not only my Mama, but all the women in my family.  Many family gatherings would include a circle of women chatting about their recent crops and what they were planning on canning with them.  It was a given that once I had a household of my own, I would follow in all their footsteps.  And proudly, I have.

Once the end of summer draws near, I know it’s time to bring out the pressure canner and jars.  I couldn’t feel more in my element than I do in my kitchen with a pot of sauce simmering on the stove.

Throughout the years I’ve ventured a bit further than the basics my Mama canned, and I’ve found some new favorites of my own.  That is exactly what I want to share with you today, my top five favorite canning recipes!

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Canned Peaches

Servings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs peaches, per quart
• 5 cups white sugar
• 10 cups water

Servings Ingredients 2 lbs peaches, per quart 5 cups white sugar 10 cups water

Instructions

1. To prepare peaches: Wash peaches; dip in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drop in ice water to loosen skins. Remove skins. Cut in half; remove pits and scrape away the red fibers around the pit, which can darken during storage. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Keep syrup hot.
3. Pack peach halves, cut-side down, into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
4. Add hot syrup to within 1/2 inch of rim. Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic spatula and add additional syrup, as needed.
5. Wipe jar rims and threads. Place lids and bands on jars.
6. Hot-Packing Method: Because the syrup is hot when you pour it in, I don’t put it through a water bath. Mine is always fine and has always sealed. You can always put yours in a water bath just to be sure.
7. Water-Bath Method: Process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts.
8. Place on a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Any leftover brine can be stored in the refrigerator till the next time you can.

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Spaghetti Sauce

This spaghetti sauce recipe has been used in my family for generations.

Servings

quart

Ingredients

• 1/2 bushell tomatoes
• 2 bulbs garlic
• 4 hot peppers
• 3 lbs onions
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp italian seasoning
• 8 cans tomato paste
• 2 cups oil

Servings quart Ingredients 1/2 bushell tomatoes 2 bulbs garlic 4 hot peppers 3 lbs onions 1/2 cup salt 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 tbsp italian seasoning 8 cans tomato paste 2 cups oil

Instructions

1. Wash the tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic and onions.
2. Cut the stem part off the tomatoes and quarter them. Leave the skin on them. Place them in a big bowl or plastic tub. I use my Grandma's enamel basin.
3. Remove skin from onions and quarter the onion. Add them to the bowl with tomatoes.
4. Cut the stems off of the hot peppers, cut them in half and remove the seeds. I let the seeds in two of the peppers to add some heat to my sauce. Add them to the bowl as well.
5. Peel your garlic and set it aside.
6. Little by little, add your vegetables in a blender and puree.
7. Put pureed mixture through a food mill over top of your canning pot. The food mill will remove the skins and seeds.
8. Turn your burner on high once tomatoes, onions and peppers are in your canner. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium.
9. Add the salt, sugar, italian seasoning, tomato paste and oil into your canner and mix well.
10. Bring it to a boil and cook until thick. I cook mine for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.
11. To can, pour into jars. Place rings and lids on jars, making it fingertip-tight. Place on a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool.

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