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| 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.
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).
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.
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.
Related Topics
The ABCs of Dehydrating
Leek Powder (Coming Soon)
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