How To Dehydrate Blackberries & Make Blackberry Powder

Today, it’s all about how to dehydrate blackberries and make powder as well. I think the more we learn about dehydrating our own food the better off we’ll be by preserving our food one more way.

Here’s the deal, we know that blackberries are very healthy. If you grow them you are so lucky! I remember picking some in California, oh my goodness, it was a little bit of heaven. I wrote this post years ago but I’m trying to improve my images and information.

There is something so awesome about picking fresh fruit, right? Please let me know if you grow blackberries or can pick them near your home.

Kitchen Items Needed

• Colander
• Excalibur Dehydrator or Nesco Dehydrator
• FoodSaver
• FoodSaver Lid Sealer w/Accessory Hose
• Mason jars – quart-size

Blackberry Health Benefits

The term RDI stands for Recommended Daily Intake in nutrition labeling on food. Here are just a few benefits of eating blackberries:

• One cup: 62 calories
• Vitamin A: 6% RDI
• Vitamin C: 50% RDI
• Calcium: 4% RDI
• Potassium: 233 mg 6% RDI
• Iron: 4% RDI
• Sugar: 7 g
• They contain high levels of antioxidants we all need.
• Blackberries also have other vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B1, B2, E, and K, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc.
• They can help with digestion and weight maintenance with the healthy fibers they contain.

How To Dehydrate Blackberries

Step one: Turn on Your Dehydrator

Turn your dehydrator on so it’s ready when you have your dehydrator trays filled. I have an Excalibur Dehydrator and it states to dehydrate blackberries at (135°F) = (57°C) degrees. Please check your brand for the correct temperature and estimated dehydration time.

While it’s heating up, sort through the blackberries and discard the damaged ones.

Step Two: Wash the Blackberries

Wash and drain the blackberries. Sometimes they come with some dirt and other debris.

Step Three: Layer the Blackberries on Dehydrator Racks

I purchased these blackberries at Costco today and picked through them to make sure none of them were overripe or blemished. These were perfect berries today. They were sweet and juicy blackberries with lots of fresh flavor. I washed them and then placed them on the drying racks as shown.

Step Four: The Dehydration Process – These Took 20 Hours

Set the dehydrator temperature recommended by the manufacturer. You can see how they shrink a bit as part of the dehydration process. You want the dried blackberries to be crisp and leathery. The key is to strive for consistency of texture. These took about 20 hours to dry. The time will always depend on the humidity of the room you are dehydrating them in and the temperature setting on the unit.

Step Five: Condition the Blackberries

If you live where it’s HUMID there is an additional step: “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 used to live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days are even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit to vacuum seal them for long-term storage.

How to Make Blackberry Powder

Step One: Use Your Blender

Then I used my blender to make blackberry powder. Be careful when you remove the blender lid as the powder will poof in your face, literally. I’ve heard that others use their coffee grinder to make the powder.

But boy does it smell fabulous! I like to use my blender to make enough powder for the month. Please remember, it’s very concentrated so you’ll use very little powder in your food items or recipes.

Finished Product

It’s so fun to see all my jars of powder lined up. Life is so good when you feel you are eating healthy food, right?

How do I use dehydrated blackberries?

• Add to your cold cereal and granola.
• Perfect for hot oatmeal.
• A great addition to the batter for delicious pancakes.
• Easy to add to your mixes mix for tasty muffins and cupcakes.
• You can buy plain yogurt and add dehydrated blackberries or powder to it.
• Smoothies
• You can rehydrate them and make blackberry puree.
• Add them as a mixture or topping to your favorite ice cream.
• They are great as the base for jam and jelly you use for those awesome sandwiches with peanut butter.

How do I use blackberry powder?

You can use the powder as stated above for the dehydrated blackberries. But, remember it’s very concentrated so you will only use a little bit of it.

Can I dehydrate these in my oven?

Yes, you can. Set your oven to the lowest temperature on your oven. Place a chunk of foil to keep the oven door ajar. You will need to check them fairly often because they tend to dry very fast.

How To Dehydrate Blackberries & Powder

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 Grapes
• 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

Please let me know if you dehydrate blackberries. Do you grow them in your yard? Life is so good when we can harvest fruit and vegetables from our own backyard.

Let’s teach the world to grow our own food, we can do this, I promise. If you don’t have the yard to do it, find a Farmer’s Market, then preserve your bounty.

Whether you grow it or not, you can learn to water bath can, pressure can, and dehydrate food to eat throughout the year. Let’s be prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world, Linda