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I like making dried strawberries as candy snacks for my kids, but my knife skills aren't fantastic so the thickness when I hand slice is not consistent, also as I'm doing it it feels like something there should be a better solution for.

I tried a mandolin, which does produce a couple of even slices out of each strawberry, but the strawberry tends to fall apart before I'm finished with it. I tried freezing the strawberries for a short period of time before using the mandolin, but it didn't make an appreciable difference, and after leaving the strawberries in the freezer for more than an hour, they were too hard to slice.

Any advice on how to efficiently the process a large batch of strawberries into consistent even then slices?

Thanks in advance!!!

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  • Thanks Stephanie! I'm slicing crosswise, creating varying sizes circles (roughly). I've been holding by the bottom of the strawberry, tip up, and the first few slices do create those nice round slices, but over time and by the end of each strawberry, I'm left with a mushy bottom of the strawberry.
    – Shamir Colloff
    Sep 11, 2018 at 5:33
  • You don't have to slice them to dehydrate them, why not cut them into even chunks and dehydrate those instead? Less work.
    – GdD
    Sep 11, 2018 at 7:09
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    Where are you getting your strawberries from? Grocery store strawberries are often picked when they're not fully ripe, so the inside is still firm when the outside is soft ... this makes it really difficult to slice in a mandolin, especially if you're slicing from the side (vs. slicing starting at the root or tip end). Also, coring the strawberry (vs. just plucking off the greens) might help remove the worst of the hard stuff
    – Joe
    Sep 11, 2018 at 14:34
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    @Joe - sometimes I get them from a roadside stand, if I am in an area which has good fruit! but sometimes I settle for my local co-op :) Thanks for the feedback re coring v slicing off the green part.
    – Shamir Colloff
    Sep 11, 2018 at 16:54
  • @GdD - my understanding is that I need to create a "consistent thickness" for the dehydrator to work well - so chunks would leave some more moist parts and some dry parts (not a great eating experience - and potentially leaving more water to cause mold over time). Does that make sense?
    – Shamir Colloff
    Sep 11, 2018 at 16:56

2 Answers 2

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Use an egg slicer to cut your strawberries. Google "buy egg slicer" for a vast selection to choose from

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    I have some doubts as to whether this will work on soft strawberries, if they won't stand up to a mandolin (watch those fingers!) then an egg slicer is likely to just squash them. Try the freezing trick with this method.
    – GdD
    Sep 11, 2018 at 7:11
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    @GdD : You have more in contact than with just the outside edge-on like you do as you get partway through a strawberry. And there are egg slicers that have more of a blade (often serrated) to them that are intended for more than eggs. (vs. the ones that just have a wire in them, and can only cut really soft things)
    – Joe
    Sep 11, 2018 at 14:30
  • @Joe - thank you! I was about to buy the wire only one, but after reading your comment, I ended up getting a "multi-purpose" one, for just a few bucks more (smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000T7C32C)
    – Shamir Colloff
    Sep 11, 2018 at 16:53
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The best way to slice anything really thin is a mandoline. Mandoline However, as strawberries are soft and you want thin slices, you want to buy one where you can replace the blade and adjust the thickness as you need the blade to be ultra-sharp (not going to post gruesome pictures of sliced-off fingertips, so be careful!)

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    You might have missed the "I tried a mandolin, which does produce a couple of even slices out of each strawberry, but the strawberry tends to fall apart before I'm finished with it" part of the question.
    – Joe
    Sep 11, 2018 at 14:31
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    Did you use a new blade on the mandoline? If yes, deleting answer after you've left a comment that you've read this.
    – Fabby
    Sep 11, 2018 at 22:12
  • @Fabby - I am using the OxO Mandoline - which does not come with a replaceable blade - but this is basically the first project I have used it for - so I don't think it's a blade sharpness issue - i think it's just about the structure of a strawberry :) Thanks!!!
    – Shamir Colloff
    Sep 12, 2018 at 17:15
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    I've sliced everything from strawberries to wood (yeah, don't ask!) with mine, but I have the adjustable one (thickness can change) and 2 blades: one ultra-sharp for soft things (go slow) and one less sharp broader one for hard things like carrots. As I've got upvotes already, not deleting, but I've upvoted the other answer already! ;-) @ShamirColloff
    – Fabby
    Sep 12, 2018 at 23:34

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