# Dehydrating Spinach



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Has anyone dehydrated spinach? I've got the dehydrator, and I buy huge bags of spinach from Costco. Currently I just put the raw spinach in a bag in the freezer, and bang on it to break it up when I want to add it to soups, tomato sauce, stew, etc. It's our favorite and most versatile vegetable, and I'd love to dehydrate it.

So, does it dry well. Does it vac-seal well? Does it keep well for a long time?

Thanks!


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

This is what Deanna DeLong says about all greens, including spinach, in "How To Dry Foods":

Quality when dried - Very poor when rehydrated, compared to fresh.
How to use - Powder dried greens in a blender or crumble & use in creamed vegetable soups or other soups & stews. If crumbled, remove the sharp needle-like veins & residual stems which will be tough & woody when rehydrated. Lemon juice or vinegar freshens the flavor.

Spinach is 91% water & has to be washed & steam blanched before drying. It doesn't seem there would be much left after all the trouble. :shrug:


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks, Bonnie! I might still try a sample batch, dehydrating it (without blanching) and see how it does crumbled into soup. I know it's a fragile plant, but there must be a good way to preserve it!


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

Mof4 - please post back with how well this works for you.

I've dehydrated collards and I use them in my husbands smoothies (shh) and in soups and casseroles. They may not look good enough to eat plain but they're fine in other stuff.

I'd like to be able to dehydrate spinach too. 
My dehydrating book says strawberries don't dehydrate well either but people seem to like them.


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## avandris (Jun 8, 2007)

Happydog do you blanch your collards?

Momof4 thank you for bringing this topic up. We get the big boxes of spinach at Costco too. 

Elsa


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I'll post back here after I try it....it can't be much different than dehydrating basil or other herbs, which do ok in ziplock bags and crumbled into foods.


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## diane (May 4, 2002)

I have never done greens before. Could be interesting for soups.

Strawberries are really great dehydrated IMO. All my children and grandchildren love them. (so do I)


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

You can get a can of dehydrated sinach from Waltons for less than $10. I wonder about the economics of drying your own .


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I have one of their #10 cans, and also some spinach powder I bought from another company. But since I have access to large bags of spinach and a dehydrator (or even the sun on our back deck on days like today) I thought I'd try it. I have a batch drying right now, and I'll post back after I try rehydrating it....so far it's drying nicely.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

avandris said:


> Happydog do you blanch your collards?
> 
> Elsa


No. I just wash it and tear out the spines and dehydrate it. I'm kind of new to dehydrating and I consider it one of my easier foods to dry.


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## Nana2boys (Mar 8, 2008)

I got a lot of boxes of frozen green giant cut spinach free. I thawed them out and put then in a towel. I twisted the towel to get the excess liquid out of it and then spread the spinach out on my dehydrator trays. it dried beautifully. So dark green. I vac sealed it in quart jars. Do you know you can get 5 boxes of frozen spinach into one quart jar?. I will use some to make powder, some for quiche and possible some in soup.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Success with my experiment, too! I dried about a pound of raw spinach in two hours, and then rehydrated a few leaves in hot water to try. It tasted great, just like cooked spinach, and the dried leaves crumble nicely for adding to food. I'll seal mine in canning jars too, since the vac sealer would crumble it all up too much.


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

I double checked with my Master Food Preserver teacher & she said that blanching was only a quality thing, not safety, so you can do what you want. This is my 3rd time around in these classes over the last 13 years, but I'm still having trouble with the quality/safety stuff!


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

Forgot to say - thank you for doing the experiment! I'm glad it worked, now I'll be trying it.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

You're welcome! I think some of the people on this forum are so experienced that the rest of us feel like dolts. I don't know a lot, and I like to take pictures, so I'll share even if my photos or methods are elementary.

Plus, others sometimes join in when it brings back memories of something they do like second nature.


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## avandris (Jun 8, 2007)

Thank you so much. Now I know what to do with extra spinach when we get tired of salad. The photos were great.


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## Nana2boys (Mar 8, 2008)

I love looking at pictures. I'm more of a visual person and learn better by seeing it done. I have a new excalibur and am drying things that I haven't dried before. Even the color seems more brillant, like my red and green bell peppers.


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## westbrook (May 10, 2002)

also add the powdered spinach to flour when making pasta.


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