How To Freeze Dry Apple Pie Filling
Jul 6, 2023
What can you substitute for freeze dried strawberries that your recipes call for? Here are several suggestions on what you can use instead when you run out of (gasp!) freeze-dried strawberries.
These are the second-best thing to freeze-dried strawberries. Nothing else comes close to the flavor of strawberries other than berries and fruits. But what are the best ones to use as replacement?
If this is the first berry that came to your mind, go for your gut instinct. They have the same bright red color, making them so tempting to eat. They work pretty well as a substitute for freeze dried strawberries because they’re almost similar in taste.
One thing to note here would be the seeds. They’re rich in nutrients, and some love the added tiny crunch. But for others, these ruin the eating experience. One thing you can do is grind the raspberries into a powder using a blender or coffee grinder. Then sift the powder through a fine mesh strainer to separate the powder from the seeds. You now have tasty freeze-dried raspberry powder in your smoothies, icings, and other recipes.
These are really tart and have a rich color that can make any meal interesting to eat. When you freeze-dry them, you get this intense sweet tartness that tingles on the tongue.
And just like the raspberry, you might have to watch out for the seeds. They may be fine when you eat fresh blackberries. But it’s a whole different story when you freeze-dry them.
Weird, yes, considering that kiwis can be green and yellow. Totally unlike the bright, come-eat-me redness of freeze-dried strawberries. Still, freeze-dried kiwis have almost the same tartness as strawberries. So they can even be a good choice for those who don’t like strawberries but love anything that’s mildly sweet and tart.
On a side note, freeze-dried kiwi is better as is. Green has a tendency to have an unappetizing brown tinge. If you need freeze-dried strawberries for a recipe that requires cooking, the next option is better for you.
Figs are delicious substitutes for freeze dried strawberries. They’re used in cakes and other baked goodies because of their flavor and texture. You’re right. They don’t come close to strawberries when as-is. But when you cook them, they release their sugary tartness, making them close to the taste of strawberries.
Since freeze-drying preserves the figs’ natural color, they make great decorations or garnish. The crunch of seeds also adds another layer of texture that makes your dish come to life.
Might be the farthest thing in your mind now because this is a vegetable. But if you’re using it in pies, cakes, quick breads, muffins, and sauces? Then this can also be a great substitute for freeze dried strawberries.
They’re effortless to prepare. Just take out the leaves (they’re poisonous), then trim off the end. After washing, slice them up into pieces, and you’re good to go. If you want added sweetness, you can soak the pieces in sugar water for a couple of days. Then, drain and let them dry thoroughly before freeze-drying them. This is optional, of course. Not recommended if you’re watching your sugar.
Freeze-dried strawberries came from strawberries, right? So this is the first thing that will come to your mind. But there’s a key difference between the two: water content. So if you’re going to use fresh strawberries when the recipe calls for freeze-dried ones? You’ll most likely end up ruining the recipe.
Like fresh strawberries, strawberry preserves have a lot of moisture in them. If you’re going to use it for a cookie, it’s not going to sit well. Cookies need less moisture to get that crunchy texture. Something that a Redditor discovered when she didn’t have freeze-dried strawberries at her disposal.
If you’re also thinking about other strawberry products like strawberry syrup, canned strawberries, or strawberry jams… you’ll get the same results as you would with strawberry preserves. They may be exploding with strawberry goodness, but they don’t have that dry, airy texture of freeze-dried strawberries.
If you’re going to use it as a topping or a garnish to a recipe, you probably could. They won’t affect the moisture content of your recipe that calls for freeze-dried strawberries. The only difference is that they have this chewy, almost kind of rubbery texture. So if you’re adding freeze-dried strawberries to your salad for that crunch, you’re not going to get it with dried strawberries.
Also, dried strawberries have more water content compared to freeze-dried ones. So you won’t be able to process them into a fine powder. Even if you add flour to it, they’ll just end up clumping together.
Frozen strawberries are good, but they also contain moisture. For baked goods, this can be an issue. If you’re making sauces, this may work, but you’re going to have to cook longer to get the moisture out and get the same concentrated flavor.
That would be berries or fruits of the same flavor category. These would be raspberries and blackberries, and they also bring color to almost anything they touch. Of course, there are other substitutes as well, like kiwi and rhubarb. But many prefer the berries previously mentioned.
If you’re going to search for substitutes, consider the moisture content. Remember that freeze-dried strawberries have 95%-99% of the water removed from them. So fresh strawberries and strawberry products like jams, and preserved and canned strawberries aren’t ideal substitutes. Frozen strawberries are also not advisable because of the water content.
If you’re looking for freeze-dried strawberries, check if Legacy, So Natural, or Honeyville can work for you.
Want to freeze-dry your own strawberries? Then subscribe to your YouTube Channel and watch out for our tutorial.
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