Dried Spinach, Broccoli and Celery

I went Costco shopping and went out of town before I could use up the produce.  So I decided to dry what I thought would go bad before vacation.

Dried Spinach

 I didn't have much spinach left, but there are 3 or 4 trays like this.

I pressed the spinach into this jar and crushed them a little.  Add to soup or crush into a powder and you can add to anything and no one will ever know.

How to Dry Spinach: Wash and dry leaves, place on dehydrator trays and dry until brittle.  My dehydrator is a Gardenmaster made by American Harvester/Nesco.  Dry at 135 degrees.  They dried in about 1 hour.

Dried Broccoli

Two trays of broccoli.  These were just the tips.  I trimmed the dry ends and cut the large pieces into smaller pieces.

About 2 cups of dried broccoli.

How to Dry Broccoli:  Cut into desired sized pieces.  Steam broccoli until tender.  Place on dehydrator trays and dry at 135 degrees until brittle.  These took about 4 to 5 hours to dry.  Store in airtight container.

Dried Celery

I dried 2 bunches of celery hearts.  I think it was 4 trays.

I saves all the leaves I could.  This is all there was.

They became this small when dried.

This is what the leaves looked like dried.  I plan to make celery salt with the leaves.

All the dried celery became about 3/4 of a cup dried.

How to Dry Celery and Celery Leaves:  Cut celery into desired size.  Blanch celery and leaves for 1 minute.  Immediately place into ice water to stop the cooking process.  Dry at 135 degrees for about 4 hours for the celery and 1 hour for the leaves.  I drained the leaves on paper towels to remove the excess water before putting them on the dehydrator.

Dried Grapes, Plums, Squash and Habaneros

Dried Grapes AKA Raisins

This is about 10 tray of grapes in my Gardenmaster dehydrator.  I was given green and purple grapes.  The grapes that are a little lighter in color are the green grapes.  This is a tub that originally held 4 pounds of squash.

How to Dry Grapes:  Wash and remove the stems.  Place on the dehydrator tray and dry at 135 degrees.  I pour the grapes onto the trays and move them around until they become a single layer. I don't try to leave any space between the grapes.  They took about 30 hours to dry.  When done they are pliable and a little sticky.  Store in an airtight container.

Dried Plums AKA Prunes

I was given a bunch of oval shaped plums. As far as I know the oval plums are prune making plums.  I have always liked prunes, but these are better than any I have ever had before.
This is about 8 trays of plums in my Gardenmaster dehydrator.  They are in a tub that originally held 8 pounds of fruit pieces.

How to Dry Plums:  Cut plums in half and remove seeds.  Place skin side down on dehydrator trays.  I put them as close together as I could with no fruit overlapping each other.  Dry at 135 degrees.  These took about 22 hours.  They should be pliable when done.  Store in an airtight container.

Dried Squash

I dried zucchini and crookneck squash.  I only took a picture of the crookneck.  Same tub as the raisins.

How to Dry Squash:  Wash, remove ends and slice about 1/4 inch thick.  I used a mandolin, but a food process would make quick work of slicing too.  Dry at 135 degrees until brittle. These took about 4 hours.  Store in an airtight container.

Dried Habaneros

The top picture is before they are dried and the bottom picture is after they are dried.  They look the same.  I was given these hot peppers. They didn't fill one tray.  I put on disposable glove to prepare these.  These are in a jar that holds about 1 cup.

How to Dry Habaneros:  Cut open and remove the seeds and membrane if desired.  Dry at 135 degrees until brittle. These took about 2 hours.  Store in an airtight container.

Dried Pears

My niece and I ordered 160 pounds of pears.  I canned about 10 pounds of them.  With some help from a friend the other 150 pounds of pears were dehydrated.  Here is the end result of the dried pears.

All those pears became 16 pounds of dried pears.

How to dehydrate pears:  Peel and core. A melon baller works great for taking out the seeds.  Slice about
1/4 inch thick and put the slices in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice added.  This will keep them from turning brown.  Leave the slices in the lemon water for a minute or more and then place them on the dehydrator and dry until pliable.  I have a Gardenmaster dehydrator by Nesco/American Harvester.  It has a fan and an adjustable thermostat.  I set the temperature at 135 degrees.  I think they took 6 to 7 hours to dry.  They will be crisper when cooled, so if in doubt take a couple of slices out of the dehydrator and let cool or turn the dehydrator off until all are cooled and check to see if they are ready to be removed.  The wet spots will feel cold.  Put those back on the dehydrator and dry some more.