How To Dehydrate Blackberries and Make Blackberry Powder

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Today, it’s all about how to dehydrate blackberries and make powder as well. I think the more we learn about dehydrating our own food the better off we will be by preserving our food one more way.

Here’s the deal, we know that blackberries are very healthy. If you grow them you are so lucky! I remember picking some in California, oh my goodness, it was a little bit of heaven. I wrote this post years ago but I’m trying to improve my images and information.

There is something so awesome about picking fresh fruit, right? Please let me know if you grow blackberries or can pick them near your home.

Kitchen Items Needed

Blackberry Health Benefits

The term RDI stands for Recommended Daily Intake in nutrition labeling on food. Here are just a few benefits of eating blackberries:

  • One cup: 62 calories
  • Vitamin A: 6% RDI
  • Vitamin C: 50% RDI
  • Calcium: 4% RDI
  • Potassium: 233 mg 6% RDI
  • Iron: 4% RDI
  • Sugar: 7 g

How To Dehydrate Blackberries

Blackberries in Jars

Step one: Turn on Your Dehydrator

Turn your dehydrator on so it’s ready when you have your trays filled. I have an Excalibur Dehydrator and it states to dehydrate blackberries at (135°F) = (57°C) degrees. Please check your brand for the correct temperature.

Excalibur Dehydrator

Sort through the blackberries and discard the damaged ones.

Fresh Blackberries

Step Two: Wash the Blackberries

Wash and drain the blackberries.

Blackberries Being Washed

Step Three: Layer the Blackberries on Dehydrator Racks

I purchased these at Costco today and picked through the blackberries to make sure none of them were overripe or blemished. These were perfect berries today. They were sweet and juicy blackberries. I washed them and then placed them on the drying racks as shown.

Fresh Blackberries ready to dehydrate

Step Four: These Took 20 Hours

Set the dehydrator temperature recommended by the manufacturer. You can see how they shrink a bit after dehydrating them. You want them to be crisp and leathery. These took about 20 hours to dry. The time will always depend on the humidity of the room you are dehydrating them in.

Blackberries Dehydrated on rack

Step Five: Condition the Blackberries

If you live where it’s HUMID: “To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days. The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation.” https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/pack_store.html

Read More of My Articles  Fruit Powder: How To Make It and Use It

I used to live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.

Blackberries Dehydrated Piled Up

How to Make Blackberry Powder

Step One: Use Your Blender

Then I used my blender to make blackberry powder. Be careful when you remove the blender lid as the powder will poof in your face, literally.

But boy does it smell fabulous! I like to use my blender to make enough powder for the month. Please remember, it’s very concentrated so you will use very little powder in your food items or recipes.

Blackberries Made Into Powder

Finished Product

It’s so fun to see all my jars of powder lined up. Life is so good when you feel you are eating healthy food, right?

Blackberry Powder In A Jar

How do I use dehydrated blackberries?

  • Add to your cold cereal.
  • Perfect for hot oatmeal.
  • A great addition to pancake batter.
  • Easy to add to your muffin mix.
  • You can buy plain yogurt and add dehydrated blackberries or powder to it.
  • Smoothies

How do I use blackberry powder?

You can use the powder as stated above for the dehydrated blackberries. But, remember it’s very concentrated so you will only use a little bit of it.

Can I dehydrate these in my oven?

Yes, you can. Set your oven to the lowest temperature on your oven. Place a chunk of foil to keep the oven door ajar. You will need to check them every 15 minutes or so because they will dry very fast.

How To Dehydrate Blackberries & Powder

5 from 4 votes
Blackberries in Jars
Blackberries Dehydrated and Powder
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 hrs
Total Time
20 hrs 15 mins
 
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 people
Author: Linda Loosli
Ingredients
  • 1-2 pounds of fresh blackberries
Instructions
  1. Turn your dehydrator on so it's ready when you have your trays filled. I have an Excalibur Dehydrator and it states to dehydrate blackberries at (135°F) = (57°C) degrees. Please check your brand for the correct temperature.

  2. Sort through the blackberries and discard any damaged ones.

  3. Wash and drain the blackberries.

  4. Layer the blackberries evenly on your dehydrator racks.

  5. You want them to be crisp and leathery. These took about 20 hours to dry. The time will always depend on the humidity of the room you are dehydrating them in.

Condition the Blackberries
  1. If you live where it’s HUMID: “To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days. The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation.” https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/pack_store.html

    I used to live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.

Use The Blender To Make Powder
  1. Then I used my blender to make blackberry powder. Be careful when you remove the blender lid as the powder will poof in your face, literally.

    But boy does it smell fabulous! I like to use my blender to make enough powder for the month. Please remember, it’s very concentrated so you will use very little powder in your food items or recipes.

Oven Dehydrating
  1. You can also use your oven by propping the door open with some foil to keep it ajar and setting the temperature as low as possible. Keep checking your blackberries often if you use your oven, they will dry a whole lot faster.

Read More of My Articles  How To Dehydrate Apples

Here are the other Dehydrating Posts I have done:

Final Word

Please let me know if you dehydrate blackberries. Do you grow them in your yard? Life is so good when we can harvest fruit and vegetables from our own backyard.

Let’s teach the world to grow our own food, we can do this, I promise. If you don’t have the yard to do it, find a Farmer’s Market, then preserve your bounty.

Whether you grow it or not, you can learn to can, pressure can, and dehydrate food to eat throughout the year. Let’s be prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world, Linda

12 thoughts on “How To Dehydrate Blackberries and Make Blackberry Powder

  • January 31, 2020 at 5:06 pm
    Permalink

    If you do try to grow blackberries, be careful where you plant them–they sucker and spread like mad! I planted some quite a few years ago–a little too close to my garden. I still have them pop up through the raised beds, despite ripping them out. I do plan to replace them, but they will be where I can manage the edges with mower or weed whacker.

    I have a couple places where I have picked wild blackberries… Didn’t get any last year since that was right when my DH had his stroke, but I think the year before that someone else had also “discovered” the location (oh well, I can share!) But since the large wild patch is never pruned (the old canes really should be removed) it does make you think of Br’er Rabbit being tossed into the brier patch by Br’er Fox, while you’re in there!

    As with raspberries, I make jelly and syrup (to add to seltzer, or pour on whatever). I got a really nice popsicle maker last year–looking forward to using the juice that way too! Can’t wait to try them dehydrated–and the powder possibilities for baking…!

    Reply
    • January 31, 2020 at 10:59 pm
      Permalink

      Hi Rhonda, oh my gosh, we really do need to think about what we plant and where we plant it. Those plants sucker and grow. Love it! Wild blackberries would be awesome! Linda

      Reply
  • August 12, 2020 at 4:35 pm
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    5 stars
    Most of my life we have gone out and picked blackberries in the late summer/autumn mainly for use in a pies and bramble moose. Here in the south of England we are lucky that they are absolutely everywhere, I live in town with about 20 acres of park land a little way behind my house and there are blackberry bushes everywhere (picked about 9lbs of them this evening) and I have just purchased a dehydrator so this year I am very much looking forward to drying some of the haul and the powder idea looks brilliant, could be great to add to my breakfast smoothies.

    Reply
    • August 12, 2020 at 4:58 pm
      Permalink

      Oh my gosh, Mike!!! This is amazing, 9 pounds of fresh blackberries!! Woohoo!! The powder is awesome in smoothies!! Your neighborhood or city sounds so beautiful!!!! Linda

      Reply
  • March 13, 2023 at 4:43 pm
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    5 stars
    Oh my goodness my family dehydrated these !!! Great instructions from you. We loved them

    Reply
    • March 13, 2023 at 6:50 pm
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      Hi Alli, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend! I’m glad you loved them! Linda

      Reply
  • March 13, 2023 at 6:38 pm
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    5 stars
    I’ve always wanted to learn how to dehydrate blackberries! This looks so easy! Thank you so much for sharing!❤️

    Reply
    • March 13, 2023 at 6:52 pm
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      Hi Camille, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend! You will love dehydrating them! Linda

      Reply
  • March 13, 2023 at 6:57 pm
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    5 stars
    Yum! These are so great! What a fun snack!

    Reply
    • March 14, 2023 at 10:22 am
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      Hi Heidi, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend! They are such a great snack!! Linda

      Reply
  • March 20, 2023 at 5:29 pm
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    5 stars
    Great idea! I’d rather do this than have them go moldy! Thanks for the info!

    Reply
    • March 20, 2023 at 5:38 pm
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      Hi Stacie, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend, I love blackberries! These are great in smoothies! Linda

      Reply

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