How to dehydrate broccoli for storage

Stock your pantry with preserved greens.

Dehydrating is a great way to preserve your gardens summer harvest of broccoli. By dehydrating it, you can have broccoli whenever we want, without going shopping or buying out of season. The process is easy, and you are left with dried produce that takes up very little room and can be stored for months.

To prepare broccoli for dehydrating it needs a simple steam or blanch pre-treatment first. The process will turn the florets a lovely bright green colour, stop enzymatic reactions, slow down decomposition and speed the drying time.

Once you've segmented your broccoli, don't throw away those stems. You can actually slice and dehydrate every part, even the outer leaves! All sorts of nutritious dried vegetables can be combined and ground in the Vibe Blender System to make a super greens smoothie powder. The method coming soon.   

TO REHYDRATE

Dehydrated broccoli can be rehydrated and used in everyday cooking or hiking meals. To rehydrate broccoli, soak in hot water for 15- 30 minutes or soak in water in the fridge overnight. Dehydrated broccoli can be added in soups and casseroles without rehydrating first. 

DEHYDRATING FROZEN BROCCOLI

Frozen broccoli has already been pre-treated and is ready to place on the dehydrator trays as soon as it has defrosted. 

WATCH HOW HERE 

INGREDIENTS

Fresh broccoli

METHOD 

1.   Separate the heads from the stalks.
2.   Cut into small uniform florets and slice the stems into rounds or small cubes.
3.   Thoroughly wash the chopped broccoli. If your produce is prone to insects and hidden grubs it is recommended to soak the florets in salted water for 5 minutes before dehydrating. Chopped broccoli tends to float so use a plate to help submerge the segments.

4.   Blanch or steam the broccoli for approx. 2 minutes – in batches.
5.   Run under cold tap water or dip in iced water too cool.
6.   Place the broccoli in a colander or sieve and shake out as much water as possible. You can even use a salad spinner to remove the moisture. Starting with thoroughly dry produce will help speed the drying time.

7.   Arrange the broccoli florets, stems and leaves on the Breeze dehydrator trays, making sure they are not too close together and allow good air flow.
8.   Set the temperature to 75 C and the time to 8 hours.
9.   Remove segments that are dried.
10.  Increase the time by 2-hour increments until they are completely dried.
11.  The broccoli is done when it is brittle. Drying time for broccoli is between 8-14 hours depending on the segment size, the humidity of your house and the moisture in the vegetable.

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