my Ruby Snacks were inspired by these AMAZING dried strawberry rhubarb pieces sold at the local Whole Foods.
photo from nutsonline.com
i didn't know they existed until i recently spotted them in the bulk section. it was love at first sight, but there was one thing putting a a wedge in our relationship - the price. $17.99 a pound! i said screw it, these look like the most delicious fruity snack in the world, i have to try them!so i bought a small handfall, and i was correct. they were the yummiest chewy snack i've ever tasted. better than any dried fruit i've had. the sweet taste is similar to a really fresh strawberry fruit roll-up (the natural ones, not the neon colored ones), but with an amazing chewiness and texture.
on a recent shopping trip, i had to pass on the heavenly strawberry rhubarb chewies (not without sampling some, of course =). shortly after, i happened upon a bag of frozen rhubarb pieces in the freezer section. the wheels in my head got to spinning. i picked them up, along with a bag of frozen strawberries, and set out to make my own dried strawberry rhubarb.
here's what i used-
1 bag frozen strawberries
1 bag frozen sliced rhubarb pieces
(i'm sure fresh rhubarb would work even better!)
1/4-1/2 C. organic cane sugar
a dehydrator
here's what i did-
1 - let the frozen strawberries and ruhabarb thaw a few hours.
2 - pureed the strawberries with about 1/4-1/2 cup of organic cane sugar. (i didn't measure). what i ended up with was an incredibly sweet strawberry syrup.
3 - drained the rhubarb pieces and poured them in a glass bowl of the strawberry syrup, making sure each piece was submerged. let the rhubarb marinate overnight in the fridge.
4 - the next morning placed the rhubarb pieces on a teflex sheet and in the dehydrator at 135 degrees. let them dehydrate about 24 hours.
the outcome - delicious chewy homemade fruit snacks! (my ruby pieces were not as dried out or sweet as the ones in the store, but they were just as tasty!)
WHOA.
ReplyDeleteYou have blown my MIND.
I am SO making this next time I go to the store.
I might have to get more strawberries than usual at my annual strawberry picking. Which is usually about 30 pounds! (Most of them go in the freezer, I don't eat that many all by myself in a week. But they're almost gone by now already!)
=)
ReplyDeletelet me know how they turn out!
This sounds so delicious and I will be trying it this next season. We grow lots of rhubarb but are always looking for better ways to use it and I never once thought about drying it....thanks so much for the great idea.
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome mr h. =)
ReplyDeleteWe grow strawberries AND rhubarb! This is exciting! My husband and I just tried a handful of these at Whole Foods yesterday and we KNEW there had to be a way to make them cheaper! THANK YOU!!!!
ReplyDeleteCan you dehydrate them in the oven? If so how long at what temp would you think would work? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI guess you could, though I haven't tried. I would use the lowest temperature and crack the oven door, and keep an eye on them do they don't burn. Hope this helps!
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