How to Dehydrate Celery Leaves

Here is a quick guide on  how to dehydrate Celery Leaves. Most people throw the leaves away but as I have found out recently, they are the most flavorful part of the whole plant. All parts of the celery are edible even the seeds which can be ground into a spice. 

How to Dehydrate Celery Leaves

Step 1 is to remove the leaves from the Celery and Wash them. 

Step 2: Lay them out on dehydrator tray with the mesh screen. 

Step 3: Dehydrate at below 100 degrees fahrenheit for a few hours until finished. 

Step 4: Store in an Airtight Container


They are so easy as long as you keep the temperature down to avoid destroying the Essential Oils. Celery leaves can be used to make celery salt, as a standalone spice and many many other things which I will add when I have more time. 

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How to Process Celery to Maximize Usage

How to Process the Entire Celery for Dehydration, Broth and Mystery Meal

Here is how I process celery so that I can use the entire stalk. The only part of the celery that I don't use is the cellophane packaging. No sleep today so this post is going to be really really rough sorry. There are 3 main components that you can yield from celery stalks. The first is the leaves which have the most flavor. You can use them individually as a seasoning or combine them with salt to make Celery Salt. The good part of the stalk can be dehydrated or used for anything you use celery for. The pieces most people would normally throw away can be washed and then saved for the next time you make chicken broth/stock.

Step One 

How to Dehydrate Celery Leaves

Remove the leaves from the Celery and Wash them. Lay them out on dehydrator tray with the mesh screen. Dehydrate at below 100 degrees fahrenheit for a few hours until finished. They are so easy as long as you keep the temperature down to avoid destroying the Essential Oils.

Step Two

Wash the celery stalks and cut off the undesirable parts of the Celery. Store the remnants in a freezer bag and save for when you make your next broth.

Step Three

Use the Good Celery for Whatever You Wish. You can dehydrate it or make Chicken Noodle Soup ... or many other things that I will add later.

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Coming Soon

How to Dehydrate Pineapple with a Dehydrator

How to Dehydrate Pineapple with a Dehydrator

Pineapple is another relatively simple thing to dehydrate in the dehydrator. It doesn't require much prep beyond cutting it into even rings. However you have to watch pineapple like a hawk to achieve the proper dehydration. Pineapple is the one item so far besides grapes that has the most inconsistent dehydration times. It is a good thing to dehydrate during the day so you can keep an eye on it.

The thing that makes pineapple so easy to dehydrate is that it requires zero prep (imho). You can just toss the (rinsed) rings on the trays and turn the dehydrator to your fruit setting which for me is 135 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first thing you need is a ripe pineapple. Many people don't know how to tell if a fresh pineapple is ripe but there is a simple test taught to me by a nice guy at the Aldis store. Tug on a leaf or two and if they come out of the top easily, they are ripe and ready. Then, all you need to do is core the pineapple and cut it into rings. A pineapple corer like the Statko® Stainless Steel Pineapple Slicer and Corer will make the chore a (messy) breeze I got my corer cheap at ALDIs in the summertime. I just posted that model as an example.

If you cut the pineapple (without the fancy gadget) you will need a large knife to cut off the top, bottom and skin. I usually get a wooden spoon and baton my knife through pineapple like in bushcraft. Then I turn the pineapple right side up and baton my knife down the edges to skin the pineapple. Coring the thing is the most fun and unless you are a pro with a knife, you will just go out and buy a cheap corer like me lol. But then again I am an idiot.

I failed at coring the pineapple miserable but the Back Country Chef recommends: making four cuts around the core to remove it. The remaining strips of pineapple can be sliced into thick chunks or strips.

Just a quick tip: July is the best time to buy pineapple. You can get it for really cheap. So if you are dehydrating for storage. July is the month you want to focus  your dehydrating on the pineapple, It will have the highest quality at the cheapest price during that time.

Tip #2: Make sure you put something with lips like a baking sheet or bowl underneath the pineapple because it bleeds a lot of citrus Juice. I usually hold it over a glass bowl and then drink the pineapple juice because I love it so much.

I actually don't like dehydrated pineapple (it is very chewy) all that much but my wife loves it as a snack. I do carry a lot of dehydrated pineapple when I am out doing bushcraft and hiking due to the high concentration of vitamins and natural sugars. It will give you lots and lots of energy plus it is high in vitamin C to keep your immune system strong.

So basically after you get the pineapple ringed and cored then you just need to rinse of the rings with tap water and toss them on the dehydrating trays.  Set the dehydrator to 135 degrees and you are good to go. They say it can take between 12-16 hours but I usually get it done in 6-8 so variables like the model of dehydrator, elevation, humidity really factor it in. It also seems to vary from Pineapple to Pineapple. So I would keep an eye on it after 6 hours and see how its going.

You can also buy a can on sale and then wash the sugar off of them or cut the pineapple up yourself. I haven't tried it because Pineapple at  ALDIs  costs about the same price as a can, is unprocessed and you get a lot more of it.

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The Impossible Dehydration Guide

How to Dehydrate Onions

Onions - Photo by Flagstaffotos

Dehydrating Onions

Onions are some of the simplest things to dehydrate. They are not finicky at all. However they can smell up your house so bad that it brings tears to your eyes. That is an exaggeration of course but it does smell a little bit.

On top of being easy to dehydrate, You can do so many gosh dern things with thing from making your own Onion Powder to putting them in soups and stews.

The best tip I have on dehydrating onions is to use older ones that have gotten a lot stronger and more pungent. They just taste better that way when they are dehydrated.

How to Dehydrate Onions in a Dehydrator

The first thing you want to do is wash your onions in cold running water to make them clean and help avoid the tears that sometimes come when you mutilate these innocent vegetables with a knife.

After you have washed the onions you will want to peel them and throw away the skins. Then you want to cut off the ends and save them for the next time you make soup broth (if you want).

Then cut them into about 1/2 inch slices or rings. If you are making onion powder with a mortar and pestle system instead of a spice grinder, you might want to cut them a little smaller. Small or really thin raw onion rings dehydrate down into tiny spiderweb like pieces that pulverize easily are great for making onion powder.

Next you will want to arrange the onions onto dehydrating trays. You don't have to worry too much about onions overlapping but I wouldn't pile them up too much either.

Lastly, You need to turn on your Dehydrator to about 125 to 135 degrees. I prefer 135 myself but it varies between dehydrators. Drying should take about four to twelve hours but I average around six. And lastly: Don't forget to rotate your trays every couple hours.

Oven Onion Dehydration

A Couple Words of Caution with Dehydrating Onions.

1. Onions can be poisonous to your pets so you might keep your dehydrator away from Fido or Mittens to avoid damaging their central nervous system.

2. I would also avoid dehydrating anything else (other than garlic) when you are dehydrating onions or you might have onion flavored apples etc.

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Dug's Dehydration Guide

How to Dehydrate Leeks

Fresh Leaks - Photo Credit Quadell

How to Dehydrate Leeks

The first thing that you are probably asking yourself is...What the Heck is a Leek and why would I want to dehydrate it. The basic answer that it is a giant green onion with a similar but distinct flavor.

It belongs in the same genus (alum) as garlic and onions. It's also relatives of the Elephant Garlic and the Kurrat. Okay now that we have had a brief introduction to the Leek, lets get to dehydrating them.

The first thing that you should do is cut off the roots and leafy greens outside. You can save the leafy greens by cutting them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices to use for broth making. If you don't need to make broth immediately, I would go ahead and freeze the pieces. I haven't tried freezing them just yet but I will tonight and post the results later in the labs. I will update my progress here when the experiment is complete 

Then you should peel off the first layer to get rid of any lingering dirt. Then you will want to line the dehydrator trays with the chopped leaks and dehydrate at around 135 degrees (F). 

Depending on your dehydrator and humidity levels they should be finished drying in 3 to 6 hours. Then cool the dried leeks completely and then store them in air tight containers. Dehydrated leeks  re-hydrate very quickly and don’t require soaking so they are very easy to use for soups and stews.  Just throw in a bunch of leeks to whatever dish that you think could use a little leek flavor.  

Tip: Wet leaks don't like to separate into pieces very well. But they are like onions and they are not very finicky when it comes to dehydration. Just toss them on the sheets haphazardly doing your best to separate them out. As long as they don't pile up too high or overlap too much they will be fine. If you let them dehydrate about an hour, the pieces are much easier to separate. I also recommend rotating the trays about every 2 hours if you can. If you are feeling lazy (like I do sometimes) you can just spin each tray a quarter turn in opposing directions. 

And there you that is everything that I know (so far) about dehydrating leeks.

A Bit More Information on the Leek

Leeks have a mild onion-like taste. In its raw state, the vegetable is crunchy and firm. The edible portions of the leek are the white base of the leaves (above the roots and stem base), the light green parts, and to a lesser extent the dark green parts of the leaves. One of the most popular uses is for adding flavor to stock. - Thanks Wikipedia. You can read more about the Leek on Wikipedia by clicking here. 

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The ABCs of Dehydrating
Leek Powder (Coming Soon)

How to Dehydrate Mint in a Dehydrator

Mint Leaves

Dried Peppermint is a common ingredient in tea mixtures. In fact, You can make a simple but tasty tea made of just Fresh or Dried Peppermint leaves steeped in hot water with a little sweetener. Mint will taste the best right before flowering.

Mint leaves from the grocery start going bad almost immediately so my fiance and I  like to have a fresh batch of tea and then we dehydrate the rest. Although we will be experimenting with freezing it soon and we will post the results. 

Wash the mint stems in cold water because warm or hot water can wash away the oils of mint. Without the essential oils the leaf will just taste like a weed with no flavor.

Then separate out any dead or sickly leaves. Drain and then dab them dry. Then set your dehydrator to its lowest setting which needs to be below below 100 degrees (F). I have had my best results around 65-85 degrees (F).

Sorry my dehydrator doesn't have an exact thermostat. It only has the marquee temperatures marked on it. But I'd say it will dehydrate the best within that range.

Make sure the leaves are completely dry and brittle, or they may mold after you place them in storage. Do not store in paper bags or containers, as they absorb the herbs oils.

When the leaves are dry and brittle, remove them from the stems and store in an airtight container, in a location that's out of the light.

You can also use the traditional paper bag method hanging them in a paper bag by the stems in a warm but well-ventilated area. The paper bag catches any leaves that fall off. Air drying is more difficult in humid areas and you might need in a dehydrator. 

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This is my Guide to Dehydrating almost anything but it is a work in progres. I am hoping to compile everything that I know or find out about dehydrating into a comprehensive resource that everyone can use. I am hoping to make into the best, all-inclusive resource for my fellow Dehydrators on the web. But I will be happy if it is just useful to someone (other than me) lol.

B

Blueberries (Frozen)

C

Celery Leaves

L

Leeks

M

Mint


O


Onions


P

Pineapple

Dehydrating Basil is Impossible?

Everytime I try to dehydrate Basil, it turns black and tastes nasty...I am not using high heat at all. Does anyone have any suggestions?

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