This was the first year I harvested gooseberries off my bushes - usually I just let the chickens have them, however this year I wanted to learn how to dehydrate gooseberries.
I picked them when they were green, but while I was debating how many of them to dehydrate vs how many to eat up right away, they turned purple.
This is ok.
Purple gooseberries are sweeter than the green ones and work really well in desserts.
Dehydrating them at this stage should produce a really sweet fruit that might work well in a trail mix or simply as a snack.
If you're interested in learning how to dehydrate gooseberries, you'll find some great tips here!
How To Dehydrate Gooseberries
Dehydrating gooseberries is really easy – especially if you have a good dehydrator.
You can also dry them using the oven on the lowest setting you have or – better yet – lay them out on a rack in the sun.
You will want to cover them with screen or similar material to keep bugs off while they are drying.
Is Dehydrating Gooseberries Hard?
It's really not hard at all!
All fruit has the ability to be dried but some do tend to have a better flavor than others.
Just know that if you want to do it, it's not hard at all to do!
Can You Dry Gooseberries In The Microwave
Yes, you can.
Although, this isn't my favorite method by any means.
I feel that using the microwave to dehydrate food is actually a harder process than it needs to be.
It requires a little bit more prep work on your part, but will ultimately give you the end result that you're looking for.
Is It Possible To Rehydrate Gooseberries
Yep!
Almost anything that you dry can be rehydrated to an extent.
Basically, what this means is that you'll be able to get them a little plumper than how they were dried, but they won't be back to their original shape or form.
You can rehydrate gooseberries by pouring a bit of boiling water of the top of your dehydrated gooseberries and letting them sit and soak in it for several minutes.
How To Dehydrate Gooseberries Using An Electric Dehydrator
Anyway, however you do it is up to you, but if you are using a dehydrator with a thermometer, here is how you do it.
How To Dehydrate Gooseberries
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 hours
- Total Time: 10 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
- Ripe Gooseberries
Instructions
- First, rinse the gooseberries off under cold running water.
- Remove the stems and "tails."
- You do not need to pretreat gooseberries with any type of fruit preservative such as Fruit Fresh.
- Once the gooseberries are clean, drained and ready to go, lay them in a single layer on the dehydrator tray. Try to keep them from touching.
- Once the trays are all full – or you are out of gooseberries – put the lid on the dehydrator and set the thermostat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dry them at this temperature for two to three hours, but be sure to check on them about every half hour just in case they dry faster than you anticipate that they will.
- After three hours, if they are not dry, turn the thermostat down to 130 degrees Fahrenheit until the gooseberries are pliable, leathery and have no pockets of moisture.
- This can take up to ten hours.
- Allow them to remain in the dehydrator until they are cool, then place them in an airtight container. I use glass canning jars with plastic lids.
- Be sure to label them, put a date on them and store them in a cool, dark and dry place. As an alternative you can freeze dehydrated foods.
How To Use Rehydrated Gooseberries
The taste of the dried gooseberry is going to depend a lot on what the fresh one tasted like, so the taste can range from tasting similar to a sour grape to slightly sweet with the texture of a raisin.
Of course, when you rehydrate them they are great to use in pies or jams.
Or you can eat them dehydrated as a snack.
How To Dehydrate Food
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Preserve herbs in butter
Preserve herbs in salt or sugar
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