Dried Cranberries

[sweetpeas]

So I just had a brainstorm today, my 2 year old LOVES dried cranberries, and the big girls eat them better than they do raisins. But I've found that many brands have other ingredients so I have to watch. So at the grocery store today I saw the bags of fresh cranberries, can I just toss fresh (washed) cranberries in my dehydrator and make my own? Or is there more to it than that?

[teamommy]

Well, they are very bitter on their own. That's why they always have sugar added. Mixed in with granola and other sweeter dried fruits, they might be good. I'm not sure how you would dry them and get some sweetness. Maybe brush on some maple syrup or something like that, before drying?

I've thought about it myself.

---------- Post added at 11:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 PM ----------

I looked on some raw food sites. It looks like they take forever to try, and it was recommended to cut them first.

I also found this recipe. http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/recipes_dried.html

I might try it. I've never tried doing raisins. But I have done dried apple rings. Soooo good. But even very thin, they took several days to dry.

[sweetpeas]

Well, they are very bitter on their own. That's why they always have sugar added. Mixed in with granola and other sweeter dried fruits, they might be good. I'm not sure how you would dry them and get some sweetness. Maybe brush on some maple syrup or something like that, before drying?

I've thought about it myself.

---------- Post added at 11:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 PM ----------

I looked on some raw food sites. It looks like they take forever to try, and it was recommended to cut them first.

I also found this recipe. http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/recipes_dried.html

I might try it. I've never tried doing raisins. But I have done dried apple rings. Soooo good. But even very thin, they took several days to dry.

Thanks, now to decide if I have the energy to try it! Seems like maple syrup or honey could be used in place of the sugar/corn syrup easily enough hmmmm . . .

10-16 hours sounds about right, that's in line with what apples and peaches take in my dehydrator. We LOVE dried apples and peaches (and *I* love dried bananas but my girls aren't big banana fans, sometimes the youngest will eat them if I have them). I can never dry enough to last us the year.

[AngelaVA]

What a great idea! I won't buy them because of the sugar but my kids love them. Keep us updated on how it works.