Dried cranberries
Posted: March 28, 2009 Filed under: gluten free, Snacks, Stage 1, Stevia, Travel Foods, Vegan 3 Comments »
Forgive me. I said that the carrot cranberry muffin recipe was up next, but you can’t really make them unless you have dried cranberries on hand. Drying your own is really the only option, as the majority of dried cranberries for purchase are loaded with sugar.
I always get bags of cranberries during thanksgiving, and put them in right in the freezer since they freeze so well. Sometimes I forget about about them and I am pleasantly surprised when I clean out my freezer and find them again.
1 bag of cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon of stevia (more if needed for your taste)
Rinse and sort cranberries. Discard brown or shriveled ones. Cut each berry in half (a daunting but necessary process! You can wear latex gloves to protect hands). Spread cut cranberries in a single layer on parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with teaspoon of stevia. Taste, and add more if needed.
Put your oven on the absolute lowest setting. Dry cranberries for about three hours. They should be chewy, not crunchy. If you have a dehydrator, this would be a better choice.
Makes about two cups
*I also tried agave as the sweetener. That batch was more sour than the one with stevia. Stevia’s strong sweetening power was best to counteract the extreme tartness of the cranberries.
*Some folks like to prepare their berries by boiling them first in water until they pop. I try not to cook my fruits to death, so this is not my favorite method. Use the prep method you feel more comfortable with.
Just wondering why it is necessary to cut the cranberries in half?
Thanks
Because the sweetener won’t get inside the berry. When you eat it, it will be sweet at first, then too tart to handle.
Great recipe! I’m on a yeast/wheat/sugar/gluten free diet because I have major candida overgrowth. My skin even has the dreaded whitish discolored stains. I love Craisins but I know they’re too high in sugar and I just need to sprinkle a few in my candida-approved-diet trail mix so I will give this a try!