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Dehydrating Your Home Garden Produce

It is a surprisingly common myth that once you ‘preserve’ a food, it has an indefinite shelf life. Absolutely FALSE. Pay attention to shelf life and plan to USE the food you store as it will not be good forever. 1

All storage methods have limits that are shorter than we are tempted to assume. Be reasonable. Nothing STOPS food spoilage, but certain methods of preserving slow it down considerably. It’s food! Its not indestructible. Nutrition is optimum the fresher it is of course, and at the beginning of storing, best used within a certain time frame.

Generally this is what you can expect:

Canned food – commercially canned or home bottled food has a recommended shelf life of 18 months to 2 years. Two years is the time frame I try to work within. Nutritional value is approximately 40% of whatever that food was the hour it went into the bottle. That nutritional value decreases as it ages, so yes, we may all know someone who has bottled peaches from 2018 on their shelf, but the nutritional value is so poor . . . . Just EAT the doggone thing or give it to the chickens! Get it over with! What are you waiting for?

Frozen fruits and vegetables if prepared properly have a recommended shelf life of 4 months to a year. For me, I use a year as my benchmark. Nutritional value is approximately 60% of whatever the food was the hour it went into the freezer. The key is to have it in the freezer as close to harvest time as possible. Don’t forget about it in there.

Dehydrated foods have a Potential Shelf Life of – 1 year for fruits, 6 months for vegetables, 1-2 months for meat (6 months if vacuum sealed. I say potential because there are so many factors to consider when dehydrating at home. Like for instance:
Did you use a dehydrator? an oven? or did you air dry?
How long between picking time and the dehydrator?
Did you remove all the moisture? Are you certain?
What temperature did you dry it at?
How are you storing it?
Best practise is to store in coolish room temperatures (no less than 40 F / 5 C and no higher than 70 F / 20 C), out of direct light. Nutritional value can be up to 80% with a key factor being prompt processing (from field to dehydrator).

Freeze dried food has an extraordinary shelf life of up to 25 years if done properly. Freeze drying is a gentler process preserving and protecting the food value. Nutritional value could be over 90%.

I strongly emphasize HOME GROWN when selecting what food to preserve for a few very good reasons.

* When I say ‘home grown’, of course I mean locally grown by either me or someone I know, or perhaps a farmer’s market vendor – so that we can know HOW it was grown and WHEN it was picked. Produce begins to deteriorate in-the-hour it is harvested. Most produce: all stone fruit like peaches, plums, apricots, mangoes, and all seed fruits like apples and pears, we buy from the grocery store are picked before it is fully ripe, and at least a week before we buy it. This is done to assist in the transportation of the produce to distant locations, but it inhibits full nutritional content right outta the gate. Some of the phytonutrients in those plants will never fully develop if they are harvested too early.

Since nutritional value begins to deteriorate immediately, keeping produce for a week or more before we eat it, ensures significant loss of nutrients. So for example, when we buy a case of “fresh” peaches from the grocery store to bottle or freeze or even freeze dry (don’t dehydrate them), and we wait a few more days after we get them home to ripen, we are guaranteed to loose much in the way of nutrition. In many cases – more than HALF before you even cut into your first ripe peach.

DEHYDRATORS:

There are many different types of Food Dehydrators. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but to make it worthwhile – pay attention to a few details.

Purchased or homemade? New or used?
When we started dehydrating in the late 1970’s there really weren’t a whole lotta options available for purchase. It was pretty much ‘homemade’ or nothing.

Oven
My first experience dehydrating was in our kitchen oven. I set it to as low a temperature as I could, and used a serving utensil to keep it slightly ajar, allowing the air to circulate. I made fruit leather, using a recipe from an old book I borrowed from the library. This was a good introduction, but awkward and impossible to know exactly what temperature I was dealing with. It took a long time and was easy to lose track of time and over do it.

Homemade Conversion
My next experience was to borrow a home made dehydrator from our good friends Daryl and Carol Currie from church. They had converted a small fridge, adding multiple shelves. It was heated with an in-car heater and fan. and worked very well. We loved it.

When I was in my first year of marriage, I came across this adage that spoke to me and shaped my thinking. The saying which gained popularity during the depression and wartime years, encourages resourcefulness.
To me it is the motto of a self reliant lifestyle.

Screen to sun dry
We experimented with an open screen system to dry in the sun. Dan built me a bottom screen and a top screen to protect the fruit from insects. Epic fail. First of all, the screens didn’t prevent the flies from landing close enough to the fruit to contaminate it, and second of all, the weather was not always helpful. We do not have the hot dry summers up here to make that idea practical. Back to borrowing Currie’s fridge dehydrator again.

Homemade from scratch
Dan built me a very big dehydrator out of plywood – the size of a small freezer. I was dehydrating for a family of growing kids, and to be able to do a fairly large amount of fruit at a time was important, so I needed something that would suit our purposes. Dan and our friend Kevin Lamont worked together and made one for us and one for Lamonts. Following the example of our friends the Curries, Dan and Kevin used in-car heaters as a heat source. They worked Great and we used ours for years! I could dry about 40 pounds of apples at a time, and as I recall – it would take approximately 24 hours (rotating shelves during that time).

At length, when my need for quantity reduced, we passed it on to someone else and looked for a counter top one to replace it.

I was given an older “Nesco GARDEN MASTER” by a friend who was moving away and downsizing. I loved it, and used it for years, but eventually it started to wear out. It sounded like it was having motor problems, and I couldn’t risk having it quit mid season, so we purchased a new model. Interestingly, the newer one was exactly the same – I guess when it already checks all the boxes, there’s not much to improve on. A nice perk was that all the older racks still fit so we gained quite a big capacity.

* Our son adopted our older one and refurbished it to run smoothly again, so now we both have one. The added bonus of that is that we can each borrow extra trays if we are dehydrating a bigger batch.

Purchased
There are many types of dehydrators for sale these days: big and small, reasonably priced for the most part – so do a little research and read the reviews.

It is easy to find used (I call them ‘experienced’) dehydrators for good prices – from people who just didn’t end up using them as much as they thought they would. You can pick one up for a real good price on the secondhand market.

Unless you’re a single person and expect to use your dehydrator mostly for fun – avoid a real small size. Some dehydrators are so small they’re almost a waste of time in my opinion.

The shape of your dehydrator (round, square or rectangle) is completely a matter of personal choice, but there are a few features I recommend looking for:
* being easy to clean is critical
* a fairly large capacity, and the ability to do a little or a lot at a time
* a thermostat to allow temperature control – a very important feature in my opinion
* being able to add more shelves (racks) to increase your capacity from time to time
* being able to purchase replacement pieces if needed
* easy to clean plastic removable screens for fruit pieces, and easy clean plastic sheets suitable for fruit leather.
tip: If your dehydrator doesn’t have screens or sheets, parchment paper is a good alternative.

Can you use your air fryer to dehydrate?
Apparently you can, but your capacity is very small. You’ll be drying one sliced apple at a time, so what’s the point? And you’re still looking at several hours.
When I dehydrate, I’m not doing it for fun – I’m looking for practicality and a quality product.
Be cautious about keeping your heat down. I’ve had people tell me they dehydrate at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s cooking, not dehydrating – and heat sensitive vitamins will be destroyed.

In the end – my recommendation is to buy a good dehydrator. Whether it is new or experienced doesn’t matter, but investing in one will give you a lot of continual flexibility to be able to take advantage of freshly harvested produce that comes your way.

DEHYDRATING: Why and How

Dehydrated foods can be a nutritious option, but the extent of the nutrient retention varies. While some nutrients are well-preserved, others like water-soluble vitamins like Vitamin C and some B vitamins, will be lost during the drying process.  The extent of loss will depend on a few factors – see below.

If you’re going to be serious about dehydrating, get yourself a dehydrator. It doesn’t have to be expensive, in fact I recommend buying an ‘experienced’ one from market place or a thrift store. You can get some pretty nice dehydrators for decent prices when you buy them second hand. I highly recommend getting one that has temperature control and that fits on your counter.

Nutrient Retention in Dehydrated Foods:

Vitamins:  Vitamins C and some of the B complex (B1 & B9) are heat-sensitive and can be degraded with heat. To preserve these nutrients, use as little heat as you reasonably can. If you have a food dehydrator with a thermometer on it (my high recommendation), you can deliberately keep your temperature lower: 115 F to 125 F (46-52 C).

Temperature: For delicate citrus fruits and strawberries, keep the temperature range on the lower end / 115F – 125 F.
For more hardy fruits like apples, some recommend doing the first hour at about 140 F to remove initial surface moisture, then reducing it to the lower range for the remainder of the drying time.

Minerals:  Minerals are generally well-preserved during dehydration. 

Fiber: Dietary fiber content remains largely unaffected by the drying process. 

Calories:  The calorie content of dehydrated food is going to stay the same, but on a weight-for-weight basis may seem higher because the water is removed. 

Macronutrients:  Macronutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are largely retained during dehydration. 

Factors Affecting Nutrient Loss:

Drying Method: Dehydrating in a dehydrator at a low-temperature, retains more nutrients than air drying or oven drying.
Temperature: Lower drying temperatures help preserve nutrients. 
Storage: Proper storage (like cool temperature and in the dark) helps maintain the quality and nutritional value of dehydrated foods. 

Benefits of Dehydrated Foods:

Longer Shelf Life:  Dehydration extends the shelf life of foods, reducing spoilage and waste. 

Concentrated Nutrition:  Dehydrated foods are more nutrient-dense by weight, making them a good option for backpacking or situations where weight is a concern. 

Variety:  Dehydration allows for year-round access to a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. 

Mixing batches?
Sometimes you may have two or more types of food that need the dehydrator at the same time. Can you mix them? ie: a few shelves of kale and a few shelves of fruit leather?
Be careful. Consider the flavour and aroma of the foods your thinking of putting together.

Apples for instance have a pretty delicate flavour profile, tarragon is pretty strong. Keep those things in mind as you make the decision to combine in the dehydrator – albeit on different shelves. I have mixed in the past but usually with similar things: apples and fruit leather, cherries and fruit leather, cherries and apples, tomatoes and basil or oregano, kale and most herbs.
Garlic or onion with anything else? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Don’t even do those in the house. And make sure you wash your shelves afterward. With garlic you might even want to use parchment paper which you can discard afterward.

What types of herbs, fruits and vegetables grown in the prairie provinces of Alberta are best candidates for dehydrating?

HERBS

All garden culinary herbs except dill weed (the green ferny parts), chives and cilantro are suitable for drying. With these herbs, the flavour is lost and the texture is not very good. I opt to freeze them as the flavour, colour and texture remain beautiful. I use them FROZEN, scraping out of a container with a fork and returning the container to the freezer immediately.

Basil – Oregano – Rosemary – Sage – Savory – Tarragon – Thyme (and any other leafy herb):
wash, shake off water and drain well. Bigger leaves like basil I’ll remover from stem, smaller leaves like thyme and rosemary I’ll leave on the stem. Arrange in single layer on dehydrator rack. Once they’re dry, its a lot easier to strip off the stems.
Do NOT leave any herbs unattended, as some will dry surprisingly quick.
Oregano, tarragon and thyme for instance could be dry in a couple of hours, while basil may take double that time or even more.
You know they’re dry enough when they’re crispy. Some leaves like basil will change colour – get a lot darker. Other leaves like oregano will stay the same colour. Be prepared for variety, they’re all gonna do what they do, and its all okay in the end.

Garlic: is different entirely, as it is not leafy, but succulent. Slice and arrange on rack in single layer, being prepared to redistribute by hand from time to time during the drying process. Best to find a protected outdoor area to set up your dehydrator as the smell will be very strong.
When dry, store in slices, or grind into powder / granules.

FRUITS

* Experiment with length of time, always selecting a low temperature if you have a thermometer on your dehydrator.
* Most of these ones listed you can expect to take over night at least – probably a good 12-18 hours. You’ll know they’re ready when they’re CRISP. Not a minute sooner.
* Not all pieces will dry at the same rate. Rotate your racks throughout the process, and remove pieces that are dry sooner than the others. Place them in their storage jar, and continue to add others as they dry. If you stop too soon and pack them away while there’s still some moisture in them, they’ll mould and you’ll lose them all.

Should you peel your fruit?
Depends on the fruit – and your preference, but I generally choose to peel apples. I find that the skin dries a little tough and the kids were eating around it.

Apples: my kids were raised on dried apples, dehydrated in a large dehydrator that Dan built. I could fit 40+ pounds of apples into it at one time.
– Peel them, core them and slice into rounds 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick. If you prefer wedged slices to rounds, go ahead, you be you.
– Add to a water-lemon juice solution to prevent them from browning.
– When you’re ready, spread evenly in a single layer on your dehydrator racks and stack them. Cover with the lid and turn it on.
Suggestion: set your dehydrator to 145°F (63°C) for about an hour to dry surface moisture, then reduce it to 135°F (57°C) for the remaining drying time.  This two-step process helps prevent “case hardening,” where the outside dries too quickly and traps moisture inside.  Expect 6 to 12 hours for the apples to dry completely.  Don’t be surprised if it takes longer as there are other factors like humidity in the air that will affect the timing.

Testing: its a good practice to test every few hours, occasionally turning slices over as you see the need. Rotate racks.

Checking for dryness:
Apples are dry when they are dry to touch, no moisture when pressed between your fingers. They can be crisp or pliable but ‘leathery’. Your choice.

Cooling and Storage:
Always allow to cool completely before storing; a few minutes will suffice. Don’t let it sit for too long though, as it will absorb moisture from the air and lose it’s crispness. Store in an airtight container, preferably in a cool, dark place. I prefer glass jars.

Shelf life:
You can be comfortable with storage of several months up to a year. After that, the quality will start to deteriorate.

Blueberries: I rarely have enough blueberries to dehydrate, but if you live in the north and you’ve got a favourite wild blueberry patch, then go for it! Poke a hole in each berry to break the skin – other wise they’ll take forever. Personally I wouldn’t leave these overnight. I’d want to keep a closer eye on them to prevent over drying.
Use the steps for apples as a general guideline.

cherry raisins – I save the pits too to use in other projects.

Sour cherries: One of my favourite ways to preserve cherries is to dehydrate them, and then use them like raisins. Pit them, cut in half and place on the dehydrator rack open side up in a single layer.

Pitting cherries is a messy job, so its the perfect one to take outside. Having the dehydrator plugged in outside as well, keeps the whole mess outside where its easier to clean up.
fruit leather

Pears: Personally, I do not enjoy the texture of dried pears, so I don’t do them.

Plums: I slice into quarters – Prunes! Beautiful.
Refer to the instructions for apples as general guidelines. No need to soak in lemon water, and if the plums are especially big and plump, cut them into smaller pieces.

I only use plums that are easy to pit. If I cannot remove the pit by simply slicing the fruit, then its not suitable to dry.
Best to eat those plums fresh, or use for plum jam or plum sauce.

Rhubarb: only in fruit leather, as by itself the texture leaves much to be desired. See footnote for more information on fruit leathers. 2 Rhubarb freezes well – I love to use it frozen in smoothies, and I even can it sometimes cold packed in pint jars to use later as a sauce or in oatmeal. 3

Strawberries: slice and dry. No need to treat with lemon water, they’re beautiful.
Like the blueberries, I wouldn’t leave these unattended over night. I’d want to keep an eye on them to prevent over drying. Strawberries will also make beautiful fruit leather alone or added to rhubarb. 4

All of these fruits are perfect for eating right out of the jar, or rehydrating.
Use in porridge, or to bake with: muffins, cakes, crumbles etc. Stewed prunes over top of oatmeal. Refreshed dried cherries in muffins. Stewed apples and blueberries. Rehydrated apples and cherries in a nice ‘crisp’ or cobbler. Strawberry sauce to go over top ice cream.

Remember a dried plum is now a prune. It will never be a plum again – even if you rehydrate it. It is a PRUNE, just like a dried grape will always be a RAISIN. Rehydrating will never make them what they once were.

VEGETABLES

– carrots – corn – green beans – peas – onions – peppers – kale – spinach – tomatoes – zucchini –
I store all these vegetables in labelled glass jars in a dark pantry cupboard.
Most of them will only be useful in soups later.

* Most of these ones listed you can expect to take over night at least – probably a good 12 hours. But as with fruits, experiment with length of time, always selecting a low temperature if you have a thermometer on your dehydrator.
* Not all pieces will dry at the same rate. Rotate your racks throughout the process, and remove pieces that are dry sooner than the others. Place them in their storage jar, and continue to add others as they dry.

Carrots: chop into small pieces and dehydrate to use in soups over the winter. Use in small amounts as they’ll be pretty strong flavoured, and expect them to take at least 20 minutes to rehydrate in brothy soup.
I like to make carrot juice in the fall when I have lots of carrots, and when I do I often use the leftover pulp in carrot muffins or carrot cake. Sometimes however, I have an excess of carrot pulp that I cannot use right away. In that case, I’ll dehydrate it and store in a jar to use for carrot muffins over the winter.

carrot juice and whole wheat carrot muffins – the perfect late summer breakfast

Corn: shuck cooked corn as if you were going to freeze it. Break the pieces up quite small and dehydrate. Rehydrate in soups.

Green peas and beans, sweet peppers: blanch as if you were going to freeze them. Dehydrate on racks and rehydrate in soups.

Hot peppers: If they’re small I dehydrate them whole, and use them whole later without rehydrating them. I will throw them into the food processor whole, like for spinach dip, or to add to a sauce or soup.
*tip: Peppers have a protective skin that should be punctured or split before dehydrating. You can still leave the peppers whole, but splitting the outer layer with a sharp knife before putting in the dehydrator will drastically reduce the time it takes.
Sometimes if the peppers are small, I string them with thread and hang them in my kitchen to dry. It seems that simple puncturing of the needle helps.

Kale:
Remove the tough stem, wash and chop coarsely. Lay on racks – no need to worry about single layers, I stack it quite deep. It dehydrates surprisingly (don’t ask how many hours – I never pay attention to that enough to write it down) quickly.
I never blanch (or steam) it first.

Onions: chop into small pieces, or slice into 2-3 inch pieces and rinse in cold water. Rinsing removes some of the strong pungent sulfur flavour that is released when the onion is cut – I highly recommend it.
Arrange on rack in single layer, being prepared to redistribute by hand from time to time during the drying process.
Best to find a protected outdoor area to set up your dehydrator as the smell will be very strong.

Spinach and other leafy greens that are more delicate than kale: I suggest lightly steaming first (then plunging into COLD water to stop the cooking process). Drain well then coarsely chop and lay loosely on the dehydrator rack. Personally, I prefer freezing delicate leafy greens.

Tomatoes: choose meaty tomatoes like Roma. Tomatoes that are too juicy will take forever and stick like crazy to the rack. I slice them and lay in single layer on rack. As they dry and get leathery in texture, I’ll turn them over by hand and put them back on the rack to finish. Make sure you rotate your racks from time to time to help with even dehydrating.
To use: add to soups or sauces as is, or powder them in a blender to use in the same way one would use tomato paste. 5

Zucchini: choose zucchini before it gets huge – the perfect eating size. I never peel the the small ones (just as if you were serving them for dinner), slice in nice thick pieces, then quarter them.
Sometimes if I have a bigger zucchini, I’ll grate it and dry that way to refresh later and use for zucchini cake. These ones I DO peel because the peel is tough.

Other vegetables like: beets, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumbers – personally I don’t recommend dehydrating them, mostly because its a texture issue. Having said that, there are always exceptions: I have dehydrated beet slices for the purpose of powdering them (like tomato powder) for adding to smoothies. Beets are a nutrient-dense, low-calorie vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They are particularly rich in folate, manganese and potassium, also rich in fiber and iron and dietary nitrates which are beneficial for heart health. This makes them worth going the extra mile to find a way to benefit from them. Just because a fruit or vegetable is not suitable to use in the ‘traditional’ way, doesn’t mean its not useable in a non traditional way.

It is always worth experimenting with how you can benefit from the good that your garden is gifting you. The very nature of experimenting means it might not work – but it might! Be creative, and open minded to try things you haven’t tried before. Be THAT person. Discover new things simply because you gave them a try.

* I recently saw a post for dehydrated dill pickles. The individual who posted, had too many on hand and their family didn’t care for the brand, so they got ‘creative’ and discovered something wonderful. THAT is what we’re talking about. Not only did they have a good experience, but by sharing they helped others have a good experience too.

a few rules to live by:

Being self reliant is about not wasting goodness.

“Store what you EAT. And then eat what you store.” It doesn’t do any good to dehydrate foods that you are never going to eat. But on the other hand, it IS good to experiment in small quantities at first, and then give it every chance. Not all fruits and vegetables are suited for all forms of preserving, 6 so its good to be flexible.

I hope you’ll give some of these foods a try in the dehydrator, and I’d love to hear your experiences. You likely have some great ideas that I’ve not implemented yet. Or some ways of using the dehydrated foods you’ve dried. I’d love to hear those too.

Enjoy the journey.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

  1. to read more about what you can expect from different home storage methods click this link https://backyardcityhomestead.com/2024/09/16/preserving-and-storing-food-that-we-grow/#c7953b70-6d0e-4435-8d9f-7b67ffc1287f-link PRESERVING AND STORING FOOD THAT WE GROW ↩︎
  2. to read more about how to make Fruit Leather click this link https://backyardcityhomestead.com/2021/09/20/fruit-leather/ FRUIT LEATHER ↩︎
  3. to read more about ways to use and preserve RHUBARB, click this link https://backyardcityhomestead.com/2022/09/03/common-herbs-in-your-house-and-yard-part-6-rhubarb/
    ↩︎
  4. same Fruit Leather link as above ↩︎
  5. to read more about how to dehydrate and use tomato powder click this link: TOMATO POWDER https://backyardcityhomestead.com/2022/04/20/tomato-powder/ ↩︎
  6. read about other ways to preserve fruits and vegetables here: https://backyardcityhomestead.com/2024/09/16/preserving-and-storing-food-that-we-grow/#c7953b70-6d0e-4435-8d9f-7b67ffc1287f-link PRESERVING AND STORING FOOD THAT WE GROW ↩︎
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Zucchini for the Win

So I’m a big fan of zucchini, but not such a big fan of it when it becomes monster zucchini. I like it when its small and tender and you don’t have to peel it. But no matter how diligent a gardener thinks she is, there’s always a few zucchinis that hide out and grow too big while you were hanging clothes on the line. (and that’s almost as long as it seems to take) What to do? There’s really only so much zucchini cake anyone should make in a lifetime.

WHO KNEW? Some interesting facts about zucchini . . . .

*While we think of, and use it as a vegetable, like the tomato zucchini is technically a fruit.

*Zucchini, and all other squash are native to Central America and Mexico, and started making an appearance in European kitchens in the 1600’s. From Europe, it spread to the rest of North America. The scenic route.

*We generally eat zucchini when it is young and immature, while the rind is tender and the seeds are undeveloped, . . . . or at least that’s the goal.

*Zucchini is a surprising source of calcium, making it valuable in maintaining good bone and teeth health. Calcium also helps your nervous system function properly.

*Zucchini contains the carotenoid known as Beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A, making it important to a healthy immune system and good eye health. That, in combination with the other antioxidants present, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, protect the eye’s cells and are helpful in preventing macular degeneration.

*Because of a good amount of potassium and magnesium, zucchini is good for regulating your blood pressure and keeping your heartbeat at a normal rate. Moderate levels of folate in zucchini contribute to good heart health by breaking down amino acids like homocysteine, which would increase our chances of heart disease and stroke.

*Zucchini is a good source of zinc which helps with immune function and healthy hair growth. Being rich in fiber, zucchini aids in digestion.

*Zucchini is a good source of vitamin C, so eating it fresh and uncooked as much as possible is extremely beneficial. Good thing its so delicious straight from the garden. The anti-inflammatory properties that come from the beta-carotene and vitamin C in zucchini, address symptoms of osteoarthritis, as well as asthma and other respiratory ailments.

*Since it is packed with so much goodness, and not very many calories, it only makes sense that eating zucchini will promote good health and help prevent disease. It should be a welcome guest at your dinner table.

preparing monster zucchini for the dehydrator

Best way to eat zucchini? Straight outta the garden. Preferably while you’re still standing IN the garden. Snap it off its stem and enjoy the crispness as you bite into it. It’s flavour is so mild that it cannot possibly offend anyone, and it has a slight sweetness to it. The peel is very tender, and adds to the body and texture (and nutrition), so don’t ever peel it when its young. I love the experience of picking a nice tender zucchini with a grandchild in tow so that we can share the experience. I hope they remember those garden moments.

But what do you do with those ripened zucchini’s that are as big as a child’s torso? Well, you can scoop out the seeds, fill it with a stuffing and bake it for supper. I don’t mind doing that once a year, but usually Dan just eats the stuffing and not the zucchini anyway. You can shred it and make zucchini cake, but that’s another once-a-year thing for me too. Seriously – how much zucchini cake do you or all your friends want? In its shredded form, you can add it to stir fries, add it to spaghetti sauce (it disappears and no one will be the wiser), soups, and omelettes. This appeals to me a lot more, and I love putting it to good use in dishes that are made more nutritious because of it. But still, . . . . you have a LOT of zucchini.

DEHYDRATE it!

What on earth would you do with dehydrated zucchini later? Well, you could throw them into those same soups, stews, stir fries, cakes and sauces of course. Yes, I know you can shred it and freeze it, but my freezer space is limited at the best of times, and even more so at the end of summer. One of my favourite ways to use dehydrated zucchini is in a seasoning mix that I call “Taste of the Mediterranean“. See recipe below.

To dehydrate:
Peel large zucchini, cut in half and scrape out the seeds.
Cube the white flesh into pieces about an inch square.
I also shred some.
Spread out in your dehydrator in a single layer. Over night should be sufficient time to dehydrate, but test it by pinching and tasting. The shredded zucchini takes a lot less time than the cubed. I recommend not leaving it for more than an hour or two without checking. You don’t have to babysit it, just don’t go to bed.
When it is good a dry, store in a glass jar in your pantry out of direct light.

zucchini dehydrated and in the jar

recipe: TASTE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

This taste of the Mediterranean is a valuable part of my kitchen. Add it to your meatballs or meatloaf. Add it to your spaghetti sauce, or your lasagna. Add it to a thick cream sauce for pizza. Add it to your alfredo sauce to go on pasta. Add it to your cream soup, or your Italian Wedding Soup. Make a hearty vegetable dip, buttermilk salad dressing, or a cheese spread. . . . . . . be creative, the sky’s the limit.

ingredients layered in before I mix it all together

1 cup dehydrated zucchini or 2 cups freeze dried zucchini
(I often find myself running out of this mix mid year, when I don’t have any dried zucchini left. No problem, when I have another can of THRIVE LIFE freeze dried Zucchini on hand. )
1 cup dehydrated mixed bell peppers, or 1 cup freeze dried green pepper + 1/2 cup freeze dried red peppers
Blend the above into a coarse powder using the pulse option on your blender. Only a few seconds, so that you still have a little texture but mostly powder.
Add 1 cup freeze dried chopped Spinach
Pulse it in the blender a few more seconds.
Add:
1 cup freeze dried chopped onions
1/3 cup Tomato powder (I use THRIVE LIFE Tomato Powder, but if you have dehydrated tomatoes, powder your own)
1-2 Tablespoons garlic powder (I usually use freeze dried, crushed in a mortar & pestle)
1/2 cup mixed dried Italian herbs: oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil (or your favourite Italian or Greek Seasoning mix) hand crumbled
1/2+ cup dried parmesan cheese (I use THRIVE LIFE freeze dried Parmesan)

Stir with a fork to fully incorporate all the colours. Pour into a clean quart jar with a tight fitting lid. If you’re not using freeze dried cheese, you might want to store it in the fridge, or simply leave the cheese out so that you can add it separately whenever you use the mix later.

Mediterranean Meatloaf or meatballs : add 1/2 – 1 cup to your favourite ground meat mixture, and form as usual.
Mediterranean White Pasta Sauce : add 1/2 cup to your favourite alfredo sauce. You might need to add a little bit more liquid to compensate for rehydration.
Mediterranean Tomato Pasta Sauce: same thing – just add to your favourite tomato sauce. Adjust liquid if necessary.
Mediterranean Omelotte: add to beaten eggs, allow two or three minutes to refresh. Cook eggs as usual.
Mediterranean Vegetable Spread: Cream mixture into cream cheese. Start with 2 tablespoons, and then add more if desired. Stir in a little mayo and sour cream, creaming with mixer or spoon after each addition. Let it sit for 15 minutes to ensure all is rehydrated. Test for desired consistency, adding more liquid if necessary. For spreading on crackers, serving with fresh bread, or using as a sandwich base.
Mediterranean Vegetable Dip: Same method as above, but use mayo and sour cream. Maybe a little cream cheese for body and richness.
Mediterranean Buttermilk Salad Dressing: Same method for Dip, but stir in buttermilk to desired consistency.

I’d love to hear your ideas for eating zucchini – especially when it gets too big.
If you decide to try this recipe – I’d love to hear ways you incorporated it into your meals. Its great to learn from each other.

Warmly,

Cindy

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Common Herbs and Spices in Your House and Yard: Oregano

Oregano is a major player in my herb garden. To the right you can see a few varieties of thyme. Behind the thyme are feverfew plants in full bloom, St. John’s wort behind the feverfew with yellow flowers. Also purple lupins and poppies in bloom.
Raspberries in the very back along the fence.

Oregano is a staple in every herb garden. Primarily because it is so doggone easy to grow, and easy to please. It is super friendly and loves everything and everyone; a real confidence booster for first time gardeners.
* Spring came early this year? Great! Oregano will be one of your first plants to green up.
* Late spring? Don’t worry about it. Oregano will be pushing through the cold nights like a trooper.
* Lots of rain and hardly any sun? No problem. Oregano can be its own mini rain forest.
* Lots of sun and a little on the dry side? Gotcha covered. Oregano is very forgiving on either end of the spectrum. For a plant that originates in the hot areas of the Mediterranean, it is surprising how hearty an established plant can be in a typical Canadian year.

in the garden

Oregano is a hearty perennial that makes a useful ground cover in any sunny part of your garden. It may start out low, but can grow up to two feet high when mature! It has a lovely pink to lavender coloured flower (some varieties might have white flowers) so I make sure to have it in a few different spots: my herb garden of course where I keep it trimmed by harvesting, and in a couple of my flower gardens where I allow it to flower to use in bouquets and flower arrangements. Strip off the lower leaves to use fresh or dry and then enjoy the flowers in a jar of water. Because its so independent (not one of those high maintenance fair weather friends), oregano is the perfect beginner for any herb or backyard garden. If you’re much north of Edmonton, or live out in the country where your garden is open, its possible your oregano might not make it through every winter. Just be prepared for this and don’t take it personally. That’s one reason I keep it in a few DIFFERENT spots throughout my garden. I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, and we do live in Canada after all. I even grow some in my vegetable garden as it is a friendly and helpful companion to many other plants.

Oregano in upper right, parsley in center and sage forefront. Lupin (purple flower) upper left of center, feverfew upper far left (flowering like little white daisies). Red orache center left.

Most herbs are considered weeds (we are such name calling bigots lol), and as such they’re not particularly fussy about the soil in which they grow. Oregano is no exception. Not surprisingly then, rich loamy soil is actually not even desirable for oregano. It actually prefers sandier, lighter soil that drains well. So if you have a difficult spot in a sunny area (rock garden, along a sidewalk, or close to your kids’ sandbox) – let your oregano show you what its made of. If you’re in an apartment with a sunny side, or small condo with limited patio space, oregano will do well in a pot. If you live where I live, be prepared. A pot makes it a one season plant as it won’t survive the winter outside of the ground. Best to plant it in the ground if you have a spot available, so that it can come back, but if you don’t – no problem. Just treat it like an annual and replant it again next year. It does best in sun of course but doesn’t demand full sun. Other than that it is virtually trouble free and maintenance free. Having said all this, my garden has excellent soil and I really don’t have a poor-soil place to plant it, so it is where it is. Thankfully its pretty difficult to offend oregano.

The leaves of oregano are flat and oval and can range from fuzzy to almost smooth. Occasionally mistaken for marjoram as they belong to the same family and look very much alike. 

Oregano plants are in the mint family (and a close cousin of marjoram) so they propagate themselves through root expansion. They’re not ‘invasive‘, but they will spread if not contained. I like this fact and it keeps my oregano plentiful so that I have lots to move around and to share.

It can be started from seeds but they take a long time to germinate. Catalogs offer a wide variety of seeds, but unless you’ve got your heart set on a particular type that you can only get by seed, spend a few bucks and get a plant from your local nursery. Better yet, get a cutting or division from a friend, then you’ll know exactly what to expect and you’re more sure of its hardiness. After a few years, you can divide your own plants to spread oregano to different parts of your garden, and share with friends.

Few garden pests bother oregano, (another great attribute), in fact the strong scent of oregano repels pests, making it an excellent companion plant in your vegetable or flower garden or under fruit trees.

Many use oregano oil as a natural insect repellent, and even as bug spray for your household plants! Simply add a few drops to a spray bottle with water, and spray your plants with it. You will keep aphids away.

in the kitchen

Oregano is a MUST-HAVE in any kitchen garden, probably the herb I use the most during the cold months, as it is so wonderful in soups, meat stews, pasta sauces, chicken dishes, dressings, and roasted vegetable dishes (especially those with a Mediterranean flavour. One of my favourite ways to use it in the summer months is with a few other herbs on vegetables roasted over the barbeque with a little bit of olive oil. Did you know that climate, soil, and moisture can cause variation in the flavour? That means that your oregano can be quite unique to YOU.

As with most herbs, oregano leaves taste best before the plant flowers. In my herb garden I pinch the flowers to keep the plants bushy and prevent it from bolting to seed. In my flower garden, I allow them to flower and then cut to use in the house in flower arrangements. Either way, cutting the flower off keeps the plant vibrant.

To harvest (anytime after the plants are close to 6 inches), simply clip with some kitchen scissors or clippers. I cut the stem right to the ground to encourage more stems from the base and keep the plant looking plump. I pick the bigger, older stems that are a little more ‘woody’. Swish lightly in clean water to wash and shake excess water off in the sink. Let sit to let the wetness dry off, and when no longer damp, strip the leaves from the top by holding the top and sliding your finger the thumb down the stem.

Oregano and Thyme. Very good friends.

Conveniently, harvesting = pruning. Most woody, perennial herbs don’t require pruning to grow. They’re fine left to their own devices and given the right growing conditions, in fact many will become shrubs or carpets of ground cover. But in a well kept garden, pruning will improve the look and strength of the plants, and the whole idea in a home garden is to USE the herbs anyway right? Pruning also encourages new growth which will have the best flavour. Having said this, the flowers of the oregano plant attract bees and other friendly pollinators which is very desirable in any garden, so allowing some flowers to stay on the plant is a good thing. There simply is no bad way to grow oregano. It is going to like you and help you no matter what you do or don’t do regarding it. Wouldn’t we all like to have friends this loyal and forgiving?

Using it fresh in salads, and many other dishes, using it dry during the winter, and even making into a tea – which is quite tasty bytheway. I sometimes use it in my pesto to supplement basil if I’m a little low on basil. When you know something is super nutritious as well as delicious, your incentive to use them MORE is enhanced.

However you use it, just make sure you do!

oregano is good for you

More than just a culinary herb to use in the kitchen, oregano is rich in antioxidants, boasting one of the biggest antioxidant ratings. Keep in mind of course that we don’t eat handfuls of oregano like we eat handfuls of berries, but just knowing that should make us want to include them as much as possible in our diet. Rich in Vitamin K, (a lesser known but important nutrient), it is helpful in preventing heart disease and building strong bones.

a veritable bouquet of herbs! Clockwise from 11:00 and 12:00 is Feverfew in full flower,
1:00 is Red Orache (more green than red here),
3:00 is Orache, 4:00, 5:00 and 7:00 is Mint, 6:00 is Feverfew and dead center is Oregano

Oregano is well known to strengthen our immune system, so make sure you have plenty on hand for flu and cold season. Because it has powerful antibacterial and anti-fungal properties oregano oil is very popular. It has a remarkable ability to fight bacteria and studies indicate that it’s antimicrobial quality is not diminished by heating. For those who suffer from arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, it is helpful to know that oregano contains a substance known as beta-caryophyllin, which inhibits inflammation, so we can add anti-inflammatory to the list of favourite ‘antis“.

Oregano has earned its honoured place in my garden, and I love that the flowers attract bees which are welcome guests. I highly recommend it in your herb, flower, or vegetable garden.  A single plant can yield you enough to use fresh during the summer and enough to dry for the rest of the year.

I’d love to hear your Oregano story. 
How do you grow it and where? 
What are your favourite ways to use it? 
Any tips for the rest of us?

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle