Dehydrating broccoli
Most recipes tell you that broccoli will hold its beautiful green color better if you steam the spears for six to eight minutes first. However, that's not how I do mine. I prefer to dehydrate it while it is still at its peak freshness by simply laying it out on my dehydrator trays and dehydrating it. I do nothing more or less than that and it keeps its lovely green color just the same.
How to dehydrate broccoli
First, make sure that the broccoli is washed well. Then separate the florets and chop up the tender part of the stalks.
The florets need to be broken apart so that they'll dehydrate well. Plus, so that your dehydrating trays will close properly.
Place the florets and the stalk pieces onto the trays, leaving spaces in between them.
Set the dehydrator at 140 degrees F and dry for about eight hours. Some pieces may be ready before eight hours. I always check the trays about midway through and I turn the pieces of broccoli over during that time. Whatever is already fully dehydrated at that time can be taken off the trays and placed inside an airtight container.
When all of your broccoli has finished dehydrating, store it in airtight containers.
Why dehydrate broccoli?
Personally, I like dehydrating broccoli so that I will have it for making different meals during the winter. It's great for using in rice dishes, casseroles, and cream of broccoli soup.
Plus, dehydrating my broccoli helps me to save on freezer space simply because dehydrating reduces its weight while it still retains all of its nutritional value.
Now, for those of you who want to know why I chose not to blanch or steam my broccoli first before dehydrating it. There are actually three reasons why I don't steam or blanch broccoli before I dehydrate it. I've found through personal experience that blanching the broccoli florets before drying tends to make them mushy-like (which also makes it messier) and instead of speeding up the dehydrating process, it actually takes longer to dry, plus it changes the overall texture of the broccoli once I rehydrate it to use.
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