Dehydrate cranberries to make your Craisins or just cranberry bits for baking and snacks! It’s an easy and tasty way to preserve cranberries for long-term storage. And the cranberry powder is incredible, too!
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Like any other berry, cranberries need to have the skin broken for the most effective drying time. This is for regular cranberries. See below for a Make Your Own Craisins recipe.
Pick one method:
Pro Tip: If you are looking for cranberries to toss into bread, oatmeal, muffins, etc., the rough chop is really the fastest way to do this. A minute or two in the food processor, and you have bits of cranberry perfect to add to any project.
Storebought dried cranberries are usually softened with oils and sugars to give those sweet, soft treats we love so much. While we can’t completely replicate that at home, we can come close with this treatment.
Don’t toss that liquid!! A simple syrup that is flavored with cranberry juice is a wonderful way to sweeten tea or other drinks. The juice mix can be simmered down to make pancake syrup.
Sugar Ratio: you can make this ratio anything you’d like. While a simple syrup is 1:1, you can do 1 Cup Sugar to 1 Cup Water or flip that for less sweet craisins.
Drying time: If you are drying them to snackon, you don’t have to get these to a raisin consistency. They can be softer, though you’ll want to store them in the fridge for best results. Dry a little longer to get a storage option.
Storing: Cranberries pulled early for a softer texture will need to be stored in the fridge if not eaten in a few days.
Dried cranberries, stored in an airtight container, can last a year or more.
Cranberry powder can flavor teas, muffins, cakes, and more without adding the bulk of the dried fruit.
You can find even more uses for cranberry powder here.
Cranberry powder spread to begin conditioningIf your cranberry pieces are very hard, that is a great thing for storage. Dry cranberries reduce the risk of mold formation in long-term storage.
To soften cranberries, you can allow them to sit in a baggie with a damp paper towel to reabsorb some moisture or simmer them in a little water to reabsorb.
If the cranberries weren’t broken, they will take much longer to dry. Or give them longer. Dehydrating times are general, and are affected by your machine, how you prepped your cranberries, your home’s humidity, and so much more. Give them time!
If you plan on snacking on these within a week or two, no. Just store them in the fridge if you like them softer.
How long do dried cranberries last?Dried cranberries can last from 1-2 years if fully dried and not supplemented with sugars, assuming full dryness and proper storage is practiced.
Sugared dried cranberries can last up to a year
Learn to dehydrate cranberries to make them shelf-stable and great for baking, or do a DIY Craisin for snacking
Print PIN THIS!Prep Time:
20
minutes
minutes
Drying Time:
1
day
day
Total Time:
1
day
day
20
minutes
minutes
Servings:
1
Calories:
209
kcal
▢
Dehydrator▢
Saucepan
▢
1
pound
Fresh Cranberries
Prepare by breaking the skin by slicing, deep freezing, rough chopping, or blanch
Place on dehydrator trays
Dry at 135°F / 57°C for up to 18 hours for bits, 24+ hours for whole
Condition
Store in airtight containers
Blanch whole craisins in a simple syrup solution (1 part water, 1 part sugar) or a juice solution (1 part water:1 part juice – typically orange, but you can use any you'd like). Blanch 3-5 min. As soon as skins begin to break,
Drain
Place on dehydrator trays
Dry at 135°F / 57°C for 24-36 hours
Store in airtight containers for six months
Cook Mode
Prevent your screen from going dark
Cranberry powder:
This shouldn’t be done with the DIY craisins, but with regular dried cranberries.
Dried cranberries are tart, but they make a wonderful flavor additive to baking!
Serving:
0.25
Cup
|
Calories:
209
kcal
|
Carbohydrates:
54
g
|
Protein:
2
g
|
Fat:
1
g
|
Saturated Fat:
0.04
g
|
Polyunsaturated Fat:
0.3
g
|
Monounsaturated Fat:
0.1
g
|
Sodium:
9
mg
|
Potassium:
363
mg
|
Fiber:
16
g
|
Sugar:
19
g
|
Vitamin A:
272
IU
|
Vitamin C:
64
mg
|
Calcium:
36
mg
|
Iron:
1
mg
Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.
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