Dehydrating Alliums

[12540dumont]

This year, I harvested 9 five gallon buckets of leeks, 4x. That's from four 50' rows.

So, that's a few too many leeks from my CSA. So, I cut the tops of in the field, and put the tops in the compost. I brought them into the barn kitchen, where I can slop mud around, and carefully removed the bulbils and set them aside. I then chopped the roots off and put them in stainless steel prep pans.

I took them into the real kitchen, and gave them a scrub with baking soda and a sink full of fresh water. I then put the slicer attachment on the food processor, and pushed them through. This took a couple of days, because one bucket filled the dehydrator. In between I refrigerated the leeks. I put the dehydrator on the medium setting (I have an Excaliber). Medium is straight up and down on the knob. They dehydrate in about 2-3 hours and you're ready for the next batch.

I don't fill the top tray.

I use this same process for onions and garlic, except that I don't wash them. I just peel them and run them through the food processor with a chopping blade.

Dehydrated leeks, onions and garlic can be put through the food processor again to be turned into powder if you so desire. (I use the powder in my soup mix/stock).

Dried, leeks, onions, garlic lasts for about a year in a canning jar. About 2 years if you freeze the jars. (I never have them that long!) I use them in soups, stews, beans, in breads or pizza dough. I mix them with peppers and herbs for my own spice mix.

I send pint jars out to my CSA...who love these things. One family liked them so much, they dehydrated my leeks in their oven.

Alliums are one of the easiest and most useful crops to dry.

[raymondo]

I've heard good things about dried onions. I hadn't thought about drying leeks. As for garlic, I always use up whatever I grow, apart from next year's seed garlic.

[mnjrutherford]

I've dried my garlic and lots of other stuff. No fancy equipment, just a fan and the cooling racks I normally use for baked goods. The job goes pretty fast too! Tomatoes can be thoroughly dried within 4 days. Slice thin, rotate the trays at least once a day. I've also dehydrated carrots and peppers this way.

[s2man]

Them's a lot of leeks. Congrat's on not letting them go to waste.

DD and I harvested 50lbs of onions today, from 3lbs of sets we put out in the spring. Most of them will be chopped in the food processor and dehydrated because they are white onions and do not keep well.

We buy dehydrated leeks from Atlantic Spice in bulk. But I plan to fix that next year when I grow my own. I'm about to order some Babbington Top Setting Leek from Peace Seeds for this fall...

I've never dehydrated garlic since it keeps so well. But I would if I wanted to make garlic powder.

[12540dumont]

I mixed leeks, garlic and peppers together and threw them in the food processor.

It's my own version of spice powder. Leo's taken to adding it to eggs.

[s2man]

DW has made some dehydrated soup mixes with onions, potatoes, carrots, etc..

We also dehydrate most of our peppers. (Note to self: get to work on that solar dehydrator...)

[ferdzy]

I just spent a week with my Dad and his partner and oy, their diet. I think I am going to make a bunch of dehydrated soup mixes for them for Christmas. At least I know they eat dry soup mixes... :/

[steev]

"Oy"? "Christmas"? Mazeltov! This is how landraces are developed! I hope you had a pleasant Summer Solstice; the Green Man be with you and all of yours!

[12540dumont]

I missed it? Ferdzy my dear friend...I'll send you some I started. Give 'er a try. It'll come with the peas. Oy!