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– raw, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free –
I caved, and for the first time ever, I tried freeze-dried strawberries. I never gave freeze-dried fruits or veggies much thought before, but I felt it was time to start doing some research to see if they fit my standards as a viable ingredient for my raw creations.
Freeze-dried fruit refers to the process of removing almost all water content from frozen fruit, much like the dehydration process. With dehydration, warm, dry air is circulated across the food, which eliminates much of the water. The moist air is then exhausted so that water continues to be removed. The temperatures are high enough to remove water but not high enough to cook the food.
Dehydrated food is usually withered, wrinkly, and hard. With the aid of small dehydrators, this is something that can easily be done at home. Dehydration removes about 90-95 percent of the moisture content. It is said that dehydration doesn’t change the fiber or iron content of the food.
However, it can break down vitamins and minerals during the preservation process and retain less of their nutritional value when compared to freeze-dried food, especially if dried at too high a temperature.
Freeze-drying (lyophilization), on the other hand, isn’t something you can do at home, as it takes high-tech machinery. Sure, there are creative ways to attempt it in your own kitchen with the use of a few pieces of equipment and dry ice, but that is more for a home science experiment than a technique that you would use regularly.
Freeze-drying works by freezing the material and then reducing the surrounding air pressure to allow the frozen water in the material to sublimate directly from the solid phase to the gas phase. Temperatures are lowered, and then heating units apply a small amount of heat…. the process goes on. I don’t want to get into it too deep here. I found this site to be helpful for a full explanation.
But what does this do to the nutritional content? According to research by the American Institute for Cancer Research, freeze-dried foods retain the vast majority of the vitamins and minerals found in the original food. However, when compared to fresh fruits and vegetables, freeze-dried foods did lack some vitamins – like Vitamin C – which breaks down very rapidly.
I can see that if a person wants to know more accurate statistics about these techniques, much more investigating is going to need to be done. I am just scratching the surface. Ever get an itch on your back, and when you ask someone to scratch it, they end up having to chase the itch? To the left, up, up… over a smidgen, dooooooown, Aaah, yes! Wait… to the left… UP UP UP…aaaaah. Well, freeze-drying is my “itch,” and I am chasing the details on it. :)
But in the meantime, I gave freeze-dried strawberries a whirl. Textually, they are a bit odd to just pop in your mouth. Do you remember Astronaut Ice Cream? It reminds me much of that. As I was pondering the steps to take in creating my raw strawberry twizzlers, I decided that strawberries in their dried form would be better than fresh. I wanted a “dry” ingredient. So, I took my freeze-dried strawberries and blitzed them in the blender until they turn to a fine powder. Caution ~ do not remove the lid and inhale deeply while your nose in the blender container. Just trust me on this. :)
I am quite excited to announce that my version, my take, on strawberry Twizzlers, which only has three ingredients versus conventional strawberry Twizzlers. So say no to: CORN SYRUP; ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, AND FOLIC ACID); SUGAR; CORNSTARCH; CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: PALM OIL; SALT; ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR; MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES; CITRIC ACID; POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE); ARTIFICIAL COLOR ( RED 40); MINERAL OIL; SOY LECITHIN; GLYCERIN.
So, will freeze-dried foods become a part of my diet? Not regularly, I will always aim for fresh, but I can see using items prepared this way from time to time. This will be a personal judgment call for each person. All I can say at this point is that this recipe for creating my version of strawberry twizzlers is much healthier than the conventional way of producing them.
Ingredients:
Hallo Amie-Sue.
Oh mein Gott, das sieht großartig aus, zu gerne würde ich jetzt ums Twizzler Glas schleichen und mir ein Twizzer stibitzen.
Ganz liebe Grüße,
Jesse Gabriel
No need to steal one Jesse…I share! :)
Dear Amie-Sue, you are incredible! Surprise after surprise. Thank you very much for all those beautiful ideas. Very best regards from Geneva Lake, Anne-Marie
Thank you so much Anne-Marie. Your comments here are always filled with so much love. I appreciate you. :) Sending you warm hugs and blessings, amie sue
Omg thank you! I have been waiting for this one…..
Thanks for your patience Melissa hehe Enjoy and let me know what you think if you try them. Have a blessed week, amie sue
Lovely..creativie as always. You can also purchase dried fruit powders in different flavors. Raspberry might be yummy too. Defe have to try this one. Thanks for sharing!
Oh for sure Barbara… I have already been playing with some other flavors. So easy and fun to make. Enjoy! amie sue
Whats the total weight on all the ingredients roughly? I want to try them with 200mg of hash oil in each stick
I don’t know Steve. Next time I make them, I can weigh them but right now I don’t have an answer for you. amie sue
May I use dried, blended strawberries instead of freeze-dried? I like the idea and the output of your receipe, but I do not eat frozen food.
That should be just fine Malgorzata. Just be sure to get it powdered as fine as you can so you don’t have gritty tasting twizzlers. :) amie sue
Would love to subscribe
Hello Bevereley,
You can. :) On the left side menu, click on “Subscribe” and follow the few steps to do so. Then you will receive emails whenever I release a recipe. Have a glorious day, amie sue
Good Morning Amie-Sue,
I can’t wait to try this. We have given up our strawberry licorice, even the stuff in the health food stores. What a treat this will be. One question though. Do you have any idea how much strawberry powder you ended up? I have some organic strawberry powder that I purchased from Nuts.com and I was wondering if I could use that?
Happy Holidays!
p.s. too much “interrogating” may make for some anxious food. hehe
Good morning Mary,
I didn’t measure out the powder when I made it, just had the weight of it. It is easier for others to start off with the weight rather than the end powder measurement because they wouldn’t know what to start out with. Does that make sense? :) I would think that your pre-bought strawberry powder would work just fine. If you can weigh it out, just use 1.2 oz worth. If you don’t have a scale, start with maybe 1/3 cup and see how the flavor is, you can always add more to taste.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you make it. :) Have a blessed day, amie sue
i was a red licorice kid growing up – never mind the chocolates or chips give me licorice! thanks for this recipe.
I hear you Annette, I was a black licorice kiddo when given the chose, but I did like other flavors as well. I hope you try and enjoy these. amie sue
Ok, so it took me awhile but I would presume that 1.2oz. of whole freeze dried strawberries would equal 1.2oz. of strawberry powder. Duh. Thanks for the great recipes.
Can these be made without the beet juice?? I have freeze dried pomegranate….
Hi Cassie,
The beet juice give it that deep red color. I haven’t tried freeze-dried pomegranates before so you will have to experiment. Have a great day, amie sue
I’m sure they taste great, unlike those other twizzlers. The other kind don’t taste remotely like strawberries.
We all thought they tasted better… but why even compare, they taste great, made out of healthy ingredients and are fun to eat. :) Have a wonderful day, amie sue
I make Beet juice alot what a idea the Twizzlers you make wonderful pictures and recipe and all. I am going to try after getting time off. Happy New Year
Good afternoon Mari,
I like to make beet juice and freeze it in 1/4 cup measurements. That way I am good to go when inspiration hits me. I hope you try the recipe and enjoy it. Happy New Year to you too! amie sue
115 degrees? Is this then the temp for a food dehydrator?
I can’t wait to try this recipe – what a fun holiday gift too!
Yes Marcy… Dry at 115 degrees in the dehydrator. I don’t use the oven for any of my recipes. Enjoy and have fun with it! amie sue
Before I became a health nut, red licorice was my absolute favorite treat. I haven’t touched it in years. So, I was rejoicing when I saw this post. You can believe I will be trying this! Your pictures of it were very well done!
Thank you Holly… I hope it makes you happy when you taste it. Please do keep me posted when you make it. I would love to hear how it goes. Have a wonderful evening, amie sue
I made these along with the peppermint kisses to make peppermint icecream. I wasn’t so good at making the long ones they came out uneven, anyway they taste delicious.Mine came out a deep dark red and I wanted them to be the same as your picture.Can I cut back on the beet juice or increase the amount of date paste OR BOTH.like I said they taste great I just like my creations to look like yours lol.
Good evening Aliyah,
I applaud you for trying the recipes, that is step one. :) Don’t worry if your lines weren’t spot-on straight. It just takes a little practice with a steady hand. As far as the color of the red goes…. you could cut back on the beet juice, just add a little time until the right color is reached. Keep in mind too that the type of dates you use might effect the color, ever so slightly though. Like for instance, honey dates are lighter in color than the medjool dates that I used. Anyway, keep having fun and enjoy! Blessings, amie sue
Yea! My Strawberry’s came today!!!! I just made my date paste and juiced my beets. I am planning on doing the final prep work tomorrow and smelling the strawberry goodness flow through my home! Thank you for your wonderful creative ideas!
Shawna
Good afternoon Shawna. Ooooh I am doing the “Strawberry dance” with you! I just bought more myself… so maybe we will be making them around the same time. hehe Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy them. Have a blessed day, amie sue
Roughly how much powder would you say a 1.2 oz bag of freeze-dried strawberries yields? I have maqui berry and other fruit powders here that I could use instead.
Biev,
I just powdered some more for a recipe that I am doing today and 1.2 oz of freeze-dried fruit = 1/3 of a cup of powder. Have fun and keep me posted if you try the recipe. Many blessings, amie sue
Hi Aime-sue
Just wanted to say my family loved the first batch so much we already have the second batch dehydrating! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes.
Shawna
Good evening Shawna,
I loved hearing this. Thank you for taking time out of your day to let me know. :) I have made 3 batches for Bob too over the paste few weeks. I enjoy making them as much as he enjoys eating them. We are such a good team. hehe Have a great evening, amie sue
I should have added the water for the date paste a bit at a time. I found it worked out too runny for the end product to really hold together well but had already add my strawberry powder and beet powder ( all I had)tasted good before I dehydrated so I assume it will be nice just not as pretty as yours!
Hello Anne-Marie, if you ever run into this problem again where your dates are too wet, you can always add more to thicken things back up again. Its all a learning curve. Dates all hold different levels of moisture to begin with so a person always have to adjust accordingly.
Have a great day! amie sue
I have been waiting forEVER to make these will make today! Cant wait! :P
Let me know how it goes Lucy. Enjoy and have fun. :) amie sue
Making your delicious looking recipe right now. Just wanted to let you know that under your instructions you state that all ingredients should be “interrogated” not probably “integrated”.
Oh I don’t know Crystal… sometimes those ingredients do need a good interrogation… lol Thank you, darn spell correct. :P Enjoy! amie sue
This has been one of the funnest and most informative sights I have visited. I have spent a great deal of time here and have read most of the comments. It’s been very helpful as im just starting this raw food journey. And I want to try this recipe for sure :-)
Thank you Roxy, it blesses me that you are enjoying my site. Have a glorious weekend and keep in touch. amie sue
I am intrigued! Twizzlers are one of those things I could eat by the bucketful if I actually let myself (or my kids) eat them. I love the taste and texture, but they’re full of absolute garbage! Dye and petroleum by-products and then nasty GMO corn syrup – how ‘food’ companies are allowed to sell this stuff for human consumption is just beyond me. Always looking for new ways to use my dehydrator – will definitely have to give these a try! They look amazing! :)
I hope you enjoy them Jenn!
Has anyone tried this with an oven? I don’t have a dehydrator.
Hi, I would like to do this but don’t own a dehydrator, is there any way to do this without a dehydrator?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it Ruth so I can’t really say how it would turn out. Sorry, amie sue
Can i do this with fresh strawberries? How would I do it?
I haven’t tried it Nicki… you will have to play around with it because it will add more liquid to the over-all recipe. amie sue
Nicki, I was thinking the same thing, as I have an abundance of strawberries right now!
Maybe puree the strawberries and strain out most of the liquid and omit the beet juice/stawberry extract?
Just lovely Amie!!! Pure genius. Pinned!
Thank you Adrienne :)
Can I do this with huckleberries? I have a bunch of huckleberries, guess I would have to figure out how to freeze dry them. What would you use in place of beet juice if you don’t want the red tint?
I don’t use fresh fruit with mine so you will have to experiment. I would just add the huckleberries and skip the beet juice since that is there for the coloring. If the mixture is too try in the food processor, add a Tbsp of water at a time to get the right texture. amie sue
I was looking for a red licorice recipe for my 7 year old daughter and didn’t like what I was finding. I gave up. The very next morning this recipe popped up on my news feed! Exactly what I was searching for.
My question is if the beet juice is used only as a colorant can I use powdered beet root instead?
Thanks for this great recipe. I can not wait to try it.
Hello Denise. I love it when things that like happen. :) The beet juice is used for coloring and you could use the powder form. You might need to add a Tbsp of water or 2 if your dates are dry, specially since you are omitting the liquid of the beet juice. Enjoy and keep me posted. :) amie sue
Oooh, can’t wait to try this recipe. Halloween is coming and we don’t eat processed foods. My just turned 9 year old daughter has never had twizzlers. So she will be beyond excited to try this “candy”.
Indeed Nancy… this recipe will be perfect for that! They are easy and fun to make! amie sue
These are in the dehydrator! Although I wish my star tip was bigger. If I make these again, will have to get the next size up. My hand was also not as steady as yours, so my twizzlers are not the straightest. This recipe yielded 3 Excalibur trays worth of twizzlers. I did 2 trays in rows of 2 (since my hand was more wobbly), and then did “mini” twizzlers for the 3rd tray. As I was making these, I was thinking that chocolate twizzlers might also work, with substituting raw cacao powder for the strawberries. Would definitely be worth a try! Also, didn’t feel like messing with the juicer, but I had locally made, unsweetened beet kvaas on hand and dehydrating at 105 rather than 115 (might keep those probiotics alive). Tasting the paste, it was still delicious with the kvaas.
Good morning Nancy.
I understand having a shaky hand. With a little practice you will get it but regardless, they will still taste wonderful. If you get bummed about them not being as straight as you want you can always cut them into what I call, nibblers. I do this just to change things up. I cut them about 1/2 – 1″ long, like bite-size pieces… that way nobody knows any different. :)
Have fun experimenting with different flavors. Blessings and thank you for commenting. It was so nice to hear from you. amie sue
i just finished these and I was so excited, but they honestly just taste like beets. Next time I’ll add the juice of an apple, I don’t care if they’re red!
Your pallet might be more sensitive to the beet taste… I have made this 10x over and we never sense the taste. Have a great weekend, amie sue
Are these twizzlers like hard or chewy?
They are chewy in texture. amie sue
Dear Ami-Sue,
These twizzlers are amazing in taste,texture,and health. But did you come up with this recipe, or did you find this on pinterist?
This is my recipe Kinlee. Glad you enjoyed them. Blessings, amie sue
What star tip did you use?
I am not sure of the size Liu. I have since lost the tip! I have been on the search and should I find it, I will let you know. Have a great weekend, amie sue
Hi
I would love to try this recipe but I don’t have a dehydrator. Can I use the oven ?
If so how long and what temp?
I haven’t tried baking them myself Den so I can’t really say for sure. You will have to experiment. Have a great weekend, amie sue
The closest I could get was freeze dried raspberry so I went with it. I thought they turned out great- texture and flavor were on point. Of course, mine did not turn out anywhere as pretty as yours – but that just gives me an excuse to try my hand at them again. I sent the twizzlers with some grawnola to my friend for his birthday (from California to Toronto). I’m excited to hear how he (reformed gummy aficionado) liked them and how they fared the journey.
Many thanks for the recipe!
Best, Jessica
Thank you Jessica for sharing your experience with me. The piping part comes with a little practice so I am confident you will nail that next time. Thrilled to hear that the flavor and texture came out. Good job! Keep me posted on how they faired the journey. :) Many blessings, amie sue
This sounds so fun, my 4 year old would love to make this with me! Could you use carrot juice instead of beet juice if we don’t care about the color of the finished product?
Good evening Caroline,
Oh your little one will enjoy these! If you are not concerned about the color, then no need to even add the carrot juice. I would love to hear how it goes! Many blessings and have a great weekend, amie sue
A previous commenter said something about adding too much liquid and it not holding it’s shape. I was wondering if this could be used to make fruit leather?
Sure can Monique.
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Do you think this might work with cacao powder? Used to love chocolate licorice at Disneyland, and am thinking it might be worth a try.
Oh yes… It will work. Because raw cacao is so bitter, I might add in a squirt of NuNaturals liquid stevia just to brighten the sweet flavor. Plus add a dash of Himalayan pink salt. Keep me posted if you give it a try. Blessings! amie sue
I have mine in the dehydrator right now! I thought it would be harder to make then it was. So I’m impressed already. 22 hours to go!
Awesome Ursa, are they done by now? How are they? Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings, amie sue
Question: are the twizzlers supposed to be hard when they are done? Mine have dyhadrated over 24 hours and are still soft. Please let me know. Gr
Hello Elza,
No they don’t dry hard. They are flexible, chewy, and dry to the touch. Just like a twizzler… well close to it. :) amie sue
Hi Amie Sue!
I hope you are well and are having a lovely day! :)
I made these and brought them to work today and they were highly appreciated by most people! I could trace a hint of beet in the batter but that went away during the dehydration. They took a very long time to dry, at least 36 hours in the dehydrator. I have noticed that it takes longer to dry food in the Sedona dehydrator at home, compared to the small Excalibur I have at our summer house. The Sedona has its perks though, it is more quiet that the Excalibur so I don’t mind that it takes a little longer.
I also made the chocolatey Tootsie rollz but altered the recipe slightly since I am a big baby when it comes to strong flavors! :D I used 0,5 cup cacao powder, 2 Tbsp Lucuma and 1 Tbsp Carob and they turned out so well. My favorite ones so far. I will definitely try the Butterscotch version and also try my own version with passion fruit powder. Thank you so much for posting these ‘candy’ recipes. I love it!!!! :)
Hello Veronica,
I am having a great day, thank you. I started it off with some weeding outside. I try to daily get out in nature and oddly enough, I enjoy weeding. hehe I am happy to see that you have been busy trying out recipes. :) I tried the Sedona dehydrator when it first came out because I wanted another dehydrator. I already had an Excalibur. I ended up returning the Sedona and got myself another Excalibur. So I understand the pro’s and con’s.
As usual, please keep in touch. I love hearing from you. Have a glorious day! amie sue :)
Hi. Could we use frozen non dried strawberries instead (blended)
Thanks!
Using fresh fruit (frozen or not) won’t work the same. There is too much moisture in it. I have spent a lot of time working on this recipe and similar ones and the dried powder works the best. Have a great evening, amie sue
Hi there! I have a question…could i possibly after the recipe is done instead of putting it in a dehydrator put it in a freeze dryer? Do you think it would come out too hard to eat? Are they soft when you take them out of the dehydrator? thanks so much
Good afternoon Tessaksamit27,
They won’t work without drying them. Dates do not freeze solid in the freezer so that’s not the issue, but once taken out and at room temp, they won’t hold up. I suppose if it’s a snack you want to eat straight from the freezer you could do that but it won’t be like the recipe I designed here. I hope that helps, let me know. :) Blessings, amie sue
Thanks Amie:)
But I was not talking about freezing them in a fridge, I am asking what if I freeze-dried this recipe rather than dehydrate them at the end.
Well shoot, I totally misunderstood. haha Sorry about that. Gosh, I really don’t know the answer to that. I don’t own a freeze dryer so I am not sure how it would turn out. What type of unit do you have? All I can recommend is to just test out a small batch and see how it goes. I would love to know myself. :)
Thanks Annie,
I will let you know once i get it. Was just wondering if you ever tried it. Thanks for the reply:)
You bet, just sorry that I didn’t know the answer. Blessings, amie sue
No problem we are all learning:( Anyway how hard/soft does it come out from a dehydrator?
They come out firm and chewy :)
Thanks so much!
Time to update this article: you CAN freeze-dry at home; I just purchased a Harvest Right Freeze dryer. It looks like if a front loading washing machine and a mini fridge had a baby! It’s more the size of a larger model mini fridge, though.
Yep, you can now freeze-dry at home, and it’s a beautiful thing. I have had my Harvest Right (size medium) for over 3 years now. It’s amazing what you can do with it, but it comes with a hefty price tag, a true investment. I saved up for mine and got a slight discount. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. :) blessings and happy holidays, amie sue
This looks so good! What a great way to enjoy a treat while sticking to the good stuff!
Thanks, Suzanne. They are well-loved by all who have tried them. Let me know if you give them a try. blessings, amie sue