Six ways to use freeze-dried fruit

Most bags never make it past the car ride home. If yours does, here are six ways to use freeze-dried fruit in the kitchen.

1. Straight from the bag

Freeze-dried fruit is light and crunchy, and it won’t squish in a lunchbox. A bag weighs almost nothing, so it’s an easy snack for hikes, hunting camp, road trips and the ski hill.

2. Crushed into a powder

Put a handful in a sealed bag and crush it with a rolling pin, or pulse it in a blender. You get a bright, natural fruit powder. Stir it into:

• buttercream or cream cheese icing, for pink strawberry or purple blueberry icing with no food colouring
• whipped cream for pies and pavlova
• plain yogurt, with a spoonful of honey

3. On breakfast

Sprinkle freeze-dried strawberries, raspberries or wild blueberries over cereal, oatmeal or granola. Add them right before you eat to keep the crunch, or stir them into hot oatmeal to soften them into the bowl.

4. In baking

Fold whole or broken pieces into muffins, scones and cookie dough. They add fruit flavour without the extra juice that can make batter soggy. Freeze-dried apples and pears work well in loaves and crumbles.

5. In drinks

• Drop a few freeze-dried lemon slices into water, iced tea or a hot toddy.
• Blend any freeze-dried fruit into a smoothie for extra flavour without watering it down.
• Add a few pieces to a glass of sparkling water, where they’ll soften and colour the drink.

6. Rehydrated, or savoury

Cover freeze-dried fruit with a little water or juice and it plumps up in a few minutes, ready for sauces and pie fillings.

Our Ontario garlic scapes and sweet peppers go the savoury route. Crumble them into soups, scrambled eggs, pasta sauce or a pot of chili, the same way you’d use dried herbs.

Keep it crunchy

Close the bag tightly after each use and store it somewhere cool and dry. Moisture is the only thing that softens freeze-dried fruit.

Ready to stock up? Shop freeze-dried fruit, or read why freeze-dried tastes different from dehydrated.