Make Dried Fruit Creations

Serve dried cherries and blueberries as a snack the next time children come to your door for a treat or snack. At the next holiday, birthday, even or any other seasonal party, show children and families how to substitute healthier ingredients for snacks normally served at parties or events.



Make your own sun-dried tomatoes and mix them with dehydrated berries and cherries for a unique snack instead of serving just candy treats. You can mix dried vegetables and fruits for unique-tasting treats, for example dehydrated cherries, blueberries, and sun-dried tomatoes in a snack. Flavors won't get tired of mixing savory tomatoes with sweet dried berries in their natural form. Don't add sugar to your dried fruit. Use the natural sugars that increase in taste when the fruit or vegetables are dried.

The quickest way to dry fruits and vegetables is to cut them in very thin slices and put them on parchment paper on a cookie tray in your oven. Then heat the oven to 145 degrees F. and blanch or dip the fruit first before you put it in the oven. You close the oven door partly, propping the oven door open with a wooden spoon so steam escapes.

Then you keep the fruit in the 145 F. degree oven for four to 12 hours. After four hours, test the fruit to make sure it's pliable when cooled. Then put the fruit in an open pot or stainless steel bowl and stir the dried fruit once a day for 10 to 14 days. For instruction on this method see the article, "How to Oven Dry Fruit," by Sarra Jackson.