Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Drying Kale

I love the nutritional benefits of kale the the actual act of eating it for me leaves a little something to be desired. I blanched and froze a bunch of it last year and while we did eat it this winter I always wrinkled my nose a little when we would have it. I am not sure if it was to mature but it is always way to fibrous for me to truly enjoy. This year I thought, "there has to be a better way!"

I got to talking to one of the farmers at our farmers market and she said to try drying it and putting it is soups and stews. Ok, here goes nothing.



First I harvested the larger outer leaves of the kale, saving the smaller inner leaves for a later harvest.
Then I brought them in and rinsed them (ok, actually I didn't rinse them but YOU should. We had just had a good rain and they were clean anyway)

Then I started to de-rib them and put the leafy part in my steamer. You need to blanch them before you dry them the same as you would if you were going to freeze them.


Once my steam baskets were full I steam blanched the kale for about 3-4 mins




I love my bamboo steamer, It works great for these types of things. Once the 3-4 mins was over I laid the steamed kale leaves on the trays of my dehydrator.


I have an Excalibur dehydrator so it really does not take long to dehydrating things. I only let it run for like 4-5 hours and it was dry as a bone.




There you have it, a "how to" on drying kale. I will do an update post when I actually make something with it.

So tell me, have you ever dried kale? Or what is your favorite kale recipe?



Home is where the heart is #1

5 comments:

  1. I have never dried kale. What do you use your dried kale in?! We'd love it if you'd share this at our Home is Where the Heart is! http://www.homesteadsimple.com/home-is-where-the-heart-is-link-it-up-wednesdays-1/
    and any other posts you'd like to share that have to do with homesteading and homemaking!

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  2. I've never dried kale, but this is the second post I've read today on drying it. I will have to try it. I love fresh kale, but the frozen always seems to leave something to be desired...

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  3. I really want one of those dehydrators. Can't wait to see what you do with the dried kale!

    I would love it if you would share this at my new Smart Solutions linky party. You can link up here:

    http://theprudentpantryblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/prudent-projects-smart-solutions-linky_13.html

    Have a great day!

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  4. Ah--I use kale to make Kale Chips--so easy and super yummy plus as a WW member super low points. If you have stoneware it works even better but any baking pan will work..lay out a sheet of parchment paper on the pan. Take the kale and wash it well, pat it dry and rip it into small chip sized pieces. Lay them out on a single layer in the pan and spritz very lightly with olive oil or spray such as Pam and salt them as you like. Place in the oven at 350 degrees and bake until they are dry and crunchy, not wet anymore..but be cautious to not bake too long that you burn them (this is why I love the stoneware)--approximately 8-12 minutes, I believe. Then serve with your meal as a chip substitute--enjoy!

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  5. I dry kale in the microwave - spread in a single layer on paper towel and nuke on high for 3-4 minutes. Works great.

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