Need to profit from your backyard this 12 months and forestall meals waste? Listed below are some simple methods to begin drying greens that you simply didn’t even understand that you can eat!
A Information to Preserving and Drying Greens From Your Backyard
In case you observe my weblog often, you already know that my backyard obtained a justifiable share of hail this 12 months. On prime of that, we appear to have an issue with grasshoppers, flea beetles, and hornworms. It’s not been an excellent summer season for the backyard!
Regardless of these points, I’m nonetheless decided to avoid wasting as a lot meals from the backyard as I can. One among our targets can be to protect that meals in a approach that’s shelf steady. I are likely to rely an excessive amount of on the freezer for preservation and since we don’t know the way typically or for a way lengthy the facility will exit this winter (we solely know that it’s continuously from what a neighbor mentioned), it’s higher for us to stay with meals that we are able to protect in different methods which is why this 12 months’s focus is on Canning, Dehydrating, and storing issues within the Root Cellar.
Immediately I wish to share with you a few issues, what meals I’m dehydrating and drying and the way.
Greens That You Can Eat
After we develop a backyard, we are likely to develop if for the styles of meals that we all know….tomatoes, carrots, beets, and so on. And after we develop these items, we are likely to eat solely the components that we’re accustomed to, often the foundation or the flower.
After all, everyone knows to eat the leaves o issues like lettuce and spinach, however what about all these different fantastic greens that your backyard is producing? Are you actually going to let the chickens or the compost pile have all of that?
Listed below are some greens that you might want to strive drying this 12 months to profit from your backyard.
Drying Carrot Greens
The foundation of the carrot is simply a part of these little greens tastiness, you can even eat the greens! These could be eaten recent, or they are often dried and saved to eat later.
There’s a rumor that carrot tops are toxic, however they really aren’t. The one purpose you would wish to keep away from the tops is in case you are allergic to birch pollen or mugwort pollen.
Carrot greens present quite a lot of vitamins akin to Vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, fiber, and in addition potassium, iron, and Vitamin A. (Supply) They can be utilized in many various methods and are very simple to dry and protect.
Sometimes, carrot greens are greatest used as a garnish or a small add-in to a meal and never eaten in giant portions (they are often relatively bitter). However nevertheless you wish to make the most of this inexperienced is as much as you!
Begin by taking a number of of the carrot greens and tying them collectively. I simply used yarn to do that. I tied mine along with the carrots nonetheless on, after which reduce off the carrots as soon as they have been tied in a bunch.
Then wash the carrot greens in addition to you’ll be able to. It’s possible you’ll be stunned at how a lot grime comes out, even once they look clear!
Dry the carrot tops in addition to you’ll be able to on paper towels or on a clear material.
Hold the carrot tops the wrong way up in a heat, dry place the place they’ll dry undisturbed for a minimum of every week. When you have excessive humidity in your space (or use an air conditioner in your house), they could take longer. Don’t take them down till they’re utterly dry and crispy.
While you lastly do take the dried carrot tops down, use your fingers to fastidiously take away the leaves from the stems. Save the items of leaves and toss the stems to your chickens.
Retailer the dried carrot prime greens in a mason jar with a plastic screw-type lid till wanted. Be certain and label your jar so that you don’t neglect what dried inexperienced is in there!
The way to Use Carrot Greens
Listed below are among the ways in which you need to use your dried carrot greens:
- Sprinkle it over baked potatoes.
- Add into sauces for a diet increase.
- Make Carrot High Pesto (change the nuts with beans or seeds for a extra frugal model).
- Add into soups.
Drying Broccoli Leaves
I’ll admit, that is certainly one of my favourite greens to dry and to make use of! Why? The broccoli vegetation produce an abundance of giant leaves (when you’ve got a wholesome plant), and the broccoli flowers (the half we sometimes eat), is only a small a part of that plant. Broccoli leaves are simple to dry and retailer and you will get a big quantity from one plant.
Broccoli leaves include much more vitamin C and calcium than the principle a part of the broccoli that we usually eat. If broccoli is a superfood, the greens are an additional superfood!
The very best half is that they style just like broccoli however just a little milder. They can be utilized in many various methods after they’re dried (or whereas they’re recent too!) and since their taste is so gentle, they’re simple to make use of an abundance of.
You possibly can reduce and use the broccoli leaves whereas the plant remains to be rising, or you’ll be able to reduce the leaves after you might be finished with the plant for the season. Both approach is okay, simply don’t reduce too many leaves whereas the plant remains to be rising.
Begin by chopping off the recent leaves from the plant with a pointy Paring Knife. I at all times use my Rada Knives! As you accumulate the leaves, tie them along with a giant of yarn so you could have a bunch. I often tie about 10 leaves collectively. Solely choose leaves that look good and wholesome, not ones with pest harm. Additionally, steer clear from leaves that you simply might need sprayed with pesticides.
After you have a bunch or a number of bunches, wash the leaves one of the best you’ll be able to to take away any grime or bugs from them earlier than drying. I discover that broccoli leaves are often fairly clear so a delicate rinse is admittedly all they want.
Tie these leaves up in a heat, dry place in order that they’ll dry. Just like the carrot tops, these will take a couple of week to be absolutely dry except your own home could be very humid otherwise you use air con. Simply control the broccoli leaves and take them down as soon as they’re dried.
When they’re absolutely dried and able to be saved away, use your fingers to take away the leafy half from the stem that goes down the center of the leaf. Place these dried broccoli leaf items right into a mason jar with a plastic screw-type lid till wanted. Be certain and label your jar so that you don’t neglect what dried inexperienced is in there!
If you wish to dry broccoli leaves quicker, you’ll be able to put them within the dehydrator. They solely take about 4-6 hours to dry utterly.
The way to Use Broccoli Greens
As I discussed above, broccoli greens have a reasonably gentle taste that tastes considerably like broccoli so they’re very simple so as to add into many various issues. Listed below are our favourite methods to make use of them:
Drying Collards, Cauliflower Leaves, Beet Greens, or Turnip Greens
For the above varieties of greens and leaves, I exploit the identical technique for drying as I do for the broccoli greens. If I occur to have area in my dehydrator and the leaves of the beets or turnips are very small, I’d use that as a substitute of hanging them to dry.
You need to use all of those greens dried in the identical approach that you’d use the broccoli leaves.
Drying Zucchini
Okay, I do know this isn’t a leafy inexperienced, however it’s nonetheless a inexperienced vegetable and deserves a spot on this record!
Sometimes, we shred and freeze zucchini to retailer it for future dishes, however this 12 months I’m drying my zucchini to have a shelf-stable product that we are able to use in the identical approach.
Begin by getting ready your dehydrator. When you have fruit leather-based sheets in your dehydrator, use these over the trays. If not, you’ll be able to cowl the trays with parchment paper.
Shred the zucchini and add it to the trays in an excellent layer. I put mine on fairly thick so it’s going to take some time to dry however when you’ve got quite a bit to do without delay, you are able to do this so long as the layer is even and also you dry the zucchini till it’s brittle.
Set your dehydrator on the very best setting (150 levels) and dry for a minimum of 24 hours. In case your zucchini shouldn’t be utterly dry and brittle, proceed drying as wanted.
Crumble the dried, shredded zucchini right into a mason jar with a plastic screw-type lid till wanted. Be certain and label your jar. I can fill 2 quart jars (or one half gallon) with all 6 trays of my dehydrator full (about 1 zucchini on every tray).
The way to Use Dried Zucchini
You need to use dried zucchini in the identical approach that you’d use frozen zucchini, however as a substitute of compacting the additional moisture out, you will have so as to add just a little water again in to assist “reconstitute” the zucchini. When you’ve finished that, you’ll be able to proceed so as to add it to all my favourite zucchini recipes akin to:
Drying Kale
I discover kale just a little arduous to make use of up when it’s rising within the backyard so it’s good to have a strategy to protect it to make use of later. Drying is a simple approach to do that and it helps the kale leaves from taking on a lot area in your kitchen.
We have already got a submit on Drying Kale right here on Little Home Residing. You possibly can observe it right here. I like to make use of this technique as a substitute of hanging the leaves to dry as a result of they dry in a short time (in just a few hours!) and the leaves are actually too little to hold dry.
I exploit dried kale in the identical approach that I exploit broccoli leaves:
- Add them into stir fry.
- Mix them right into a smoothie.
- Add them right into a casserole.
I develop fairly a little bit of Tatsoi and I dry that in the identical approach that I dry kale.
Dried Onion Tops
Whereas not a “leafy inexperienced” that is nonetheless one other vegetable that may be eaten and is usually discarded. When you can pull a couple of onion tops at any time through the rising course of (so long as you permit one thing there for the plant to gather daylight), it’s best to take away the tops when you find yourself able to treatment the onion for winter storage.
To do that you’ll want to reduce the onion greens off about 1-2 inches from the bulb. Place them on some form of tray in a heat space to allow them to dry (I like to make use of my Photo voltaic Drying Rack for this). I don’t wish to put any a part of the onion in my dehydrator in the home as a result of it’s very arduous to get the scent out when you’ve finished it.
As soon as the tops are utterly dry and brittle, grind them up within the meals processor or blender and also you’ve acquired an excellent onion powder that you need to use in recipes.
There could also be a number of different greens that you would be able to dry and revel in from the backyard however these are those that we dry often and know are good! You may as well dry lettuce, spinach, and different primary greens as nicely (I simply often don’t develop a lot of these so we don’t dry them).
Have you ever tried drying greens? What do you dry? What do you make with it?
