Dried Red Tomatoes

[Tutter]

Those apples are great for adding a very special flavor, also, to other dishes. For example, cranberry sauce.

That's a cool idea about the pineapple juice, thank you!

 

[backintime]

Great idea about the cranberry sauce. I also love to throw bits of dehyd. apples in with my oatmeal while it cooks.

Has anybody tried dehydrating their own cranberries? Our grocery stores sell "Craisins" but they are usually around $5.00 a pound . . . OUCH.

What about blueberries? If using dehydrated blueberries in muffins, do you rehydrate them first? If not, do you add extra liquid to the recipe?

 

[Tutter]

You can dry cranberries, but they won't come out like Craisins, which are plump. Try some plain dried cranberries from a healthfood store, and if they are something you'd like, then go for it!

Sometimes I soak dried fruits, sometimes not. It depends upon the dish, and how dry, dry is. Sticky, plump dried fruits, I might not. Really low moisture fruits I do, unless they will be sitting in a batter for a while, or will boil on the stove, such as in a hot cereal.

I buy dried, wild blueberries for out-of-hand eating and ice cream topping, from the local healthfood store. I have never used them in muffins, as they are small, and I always have fresh frozen, but they are still plump-sticky, more like a Craisin, so I don't think they'd need soaking, nor extra liquid added to the batter.

If they were lower moisture, I would soak them, and use the liquid from them as part of the batter liquid. (If the batter called for 1 Cup of water, and the berries had 1/4 Cup of liquid in them after soaking, then I'd use the blueberry liquid, plus 3/4 Cup of water.)

Good luck!