Dehydrating Raspberries and Make Raspberry Powder
Today, it’s all about how to dehydrate raspberries and make powder too! Here’s the deal, we love fresh fruit and vegetables, right? There is nothing better than gathering fruits and vegetables from our yard.
I used to have fruit trees, but I don’t have any right now. My yard is really small, but I do have a great garden. The bonus is, I can grow food 365 days a year. I’m still working on growing tomatoes year-round, that’s a bit trickier where I live.
If we can learn how to dehydrate food, we can preserve our bounty one more way. I wish I could say I grew these raspberries, no I purchased them at Costco.
But I was anxious to show you how to dehydrate raspberries before they come into season so you are ready when they arrive. In Utah, that’s around June or July.
This is one fruit that is super easy to dehydrate. Wash, drain, and start dehydrating them. So, Let’s get started.
Kitchen Items Needed
- Colander
- Excalibur Dehydrator or Nesco Dehydrator
- Mason quart-size jars
- FoodSaver
- FoodSaver Jar Sealer with Accessory Hose
Raspberry Health Benefits
The term RDI stands for Recommended Daily Intake in nutrition labeling on food. Here are just a few benefits of eating raspberries.
- One cup: equals 64 calories
- Protein: 1.5 grams
- Vitamin C: 54% RDI
- Vitamin K: 12% RDI
- Iron: 5% RDI
- Potassium: 5% RDI
- Fiber: 8 grams
How To Dehydrate Raspberries
Step One
The first step is to look through the berries and discard any that look questionable. It’s best to use fresh, and not overripe raspberries.
Step Two
Rinse the raspberries under cool water using a colander. Let them drain.
Step Three
Place the raspberries evenly over the dehydrator racks.
Step Four
Place the racks one by one in your dehydrator. Oh, my goodness, how I love seeing those racks inside my Excalibur Dehydrator. Any dehydrator will work, it’s just the one that I have right now.
I’ve had this dehydrator for about 8 years now. My friend has a Nesco Dehydrator (loves it), and I have one similar to this Excalibur Dehydrator.
Finished Product
Here they are, I wish you could smell my house, it smells so yummy! But, then I love raspberries! These took about 20 hours, the dehydrating time will always depend on the humidity of the room you are drying your food.
How To Condition Your Fruit or Vegetables
If you live where it is HUMID: “To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days. The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation.” https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/pack_store.html
I live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.
Making Raspberry Powder
I will store some of the raspberries that I dehydrated in mason jars using my FoodSaver. I do not use oxygen absorbers.
As a Master Canner and Preserver, I learned that the shelf-life is best up to one year. I don’t use the FoodSaver on my powder.
It may ruin the accessory tube. I only use my blender to make enough powder for a month. It’s really concentrated so you will use very little when you begin using it.
Here you can see I’m using my FoodSaver with the lid sealer attached. Here is what you need to seal the jars: Jar Sealer Wide and Regular Width w/ accessory hose.
I love seeing all my jars of powders lined up. Please let me know which powders you like to make.
How To Dehydrate Raspberries and Make Powder
- 1-3 pounds fresh raspberries
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Gently rinse the fresh raspberries in a colander/strainer and let drain. Spread the raspberries on the dehydrating racks evenly and preferably not touching. I have an Excalibur Dehydrator that recommends setting the dehydrator to 135 degrees. The drying time will depend on the humidity of the room where you are dehydrating your raspberries. These took about 20 hours. These were really large raspberries.
After they are totally dry you can preserve your raspberries in mason jars using a FoodSaver. I typically wait about 2 weeks before I seal my dehydrated food in the jars. If you decide to make some raspberry powder, you can use your blender to make some of the dehydrated raspberries into a yummy powder. Keep in mind this will be very concentrated so you will use much less in a smoothie or muffins, etc. I only make powder for a month at a time. Please do not use your FoodSaver to seal the powder it will ruin your unit.
How do I use dehydrated raspberries?
- Add to your morning cold cereal.
- They work great in hot oatmeal.
- The perfect addition to muffin batter.
- Delicious if added to pancake batter.
- They make perfect snacks right from the jar.
- Delicious when added to your morning smoothie.
How can I use raspberry powder?
You can add the powder to all of the items above, but remember it’s very concentrated. It’s so fun to make, my friends!
Can I dehydrate raspberries in my oven?
Yes, you can. Set your oven to the lowest temperature possible. Place your raspberries on a cookie sheet. Take a chunk of foil to keep the door ajar. Please check them at least every 15 minutes or so because they will dehydrate faster.
Here are the other Dehydrating Posts I have done:
- Dehydrating Apples
- Dehydrating Bananas
- Dehydrating Blackberries and Powder
- Dehydrating Blueberries and Powder
- Dehydrating Cilantro
- Dehydrating Cucumbers and Powder
- Dehydrating Ginger and Powder
- Dehydrating Green Onions and Powder
- Dehydrating Kale and Kale Powder
- Dehydrating Kiwi
- Dehydrating Lemons and Powder
- Dehydrating Marshmallows
- Dehydrating Peppermint Marshmallows and Powder
- Dehydrating Mushrooms and Mushroom Powder
- Dehydrating Onions and Powder
- Dehydrating Pears
- Dehydrating Pineapple
- Dehydrating Raspberries and Powder
- Dehydrating Spinach and Powder
- Dehydrating Strawberries
- Dehydrating Tomatoes and Powder
- Dehydrating Watermelon
Final Word
Here is one more way to be prepared for the unexpected. Let’s learn to dehydrate all different types of food. If we can grow our own food, that would be so awesome!
Please let me know if you dehydrate raspberries, I love to hear from you. May God bless this world, Linda
I love this series on dehydrating fruits and veggies. In the past 2 weeks I have dehydrated oranges, cilantro, white onions and green onions. When you cook a lot its so nice to know you have these on hand and don’t have to run to the store if you don’t have an onion. I even bought a book on dehydrating and added an Excaliber dehydrator to my birthday list.
Hi M, oh I’m so glad you like this series on dehydrating! I hope you get your birthday wish! It will save you money in the long run! Linda
Try adding whole dehydrated berries to your water for a refreshing twist.
Hi Leanne, now that sounds yummy! Linda
Never thought of dehydrating raspberries! I have lots of them, plus black raspberries (of course the chickens get the lower ones, but it’s fun to see them jumping to pick them). The berries still taste good frozen but tend to be mushy, so this method may be preferable. AND–I picked up an Excalibur at the dump!!
I would think this ought to work for blackberries as well? Might take a little longer to dry since they are not hollow like raspberries.
Another idea for raspberries and blackberries–juice them as if for jelly, but just can or freeze the juice–then add it to seltzer or sparkling water. I haven’t done it (yet) but I’d bet the pulp would make either powder or fruit leather, with or without the seeds. (Up to now the chickens have had it!)
Hi Rhonda, you found an Excalibur at the dump???? Score!! I have a blackberry dehydrating and powder post coming up on the 31st. Stay tuned! It’s so fun to preserve food with a dehydrator!! You are going to love using yours! Linda