How to Dehydrate Celery | Should You Blanch Celery Before Dehydrating It?

[@janetmiller3791]

Just an FYI: When blanching, you have to wait until the water comes back up to a boil after you've put your veggies in, then time it to 1 minute and remove. You don't time it from the point when you put them in.

[@monicaluketich3106]

Thank you for your experiment. I was getting ready to dehydrate celery and decided to check KZbin for a video. I'm glad I found yours - it answered all my questions!

[@StockingMyPantry]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MadlyinLovewithJesus-1953]

According to my favorite dehydrating mentor, "Preparing vegetables for dehydrating sometimes needs an extra step with blanching to stop the enzymatic process that causes spoilage. This lets your dehydrated food last longer on the shelf, and have a better texture when rehydrated." So, it's not really about taste but about longevity and texture, according to her.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks! Is that Tammy Gangloff? I haven't had any issues with texture or it not lasting long on the shelf, at least not with celery. I do find that I really need to blanch certain vegetables such as carrots, because they tend to turn kind of a whiteish color if not blanched first. I just haven't had the same experience with celery.

[@MadlyinLovewithJesus-1953]

@@StockingMyPantry Actually, I have only been aware of her for a little over a month and have not yet caught her name -- but the name of her channel is The Purposeful Pantry.

[@StockingMyPantry]

@@MadlyinLovewithJesus-1953 oh yes, she is great! Her name is Darcy. The woman I've mentioned doesn't do a whole lot on KZbin, but she's written some excellent books on dehydrating. I refer to her books most often when dehydrating something new. She probably does recommend blanching celery. :) One thing I've learned is to experiment a lot. There are a lot of different opinions, and sometimes it's just a matter of personal preference. As an example, the woman I mentioned recommends against dehydrating russet potatoes. But I had a bunch of russet potatoes that I needed to do something with, and decided to dehydrate them. They turned out great! I mentioned what this woman said in my video on dehydrating potatoes, and I had others mention in the comment that they have good results dehydrating russet potatoes. So who knows? But the good news is, dehydrating is something hard to mess up. It's not that no rules apply, or that there aren't best practices. But as long as you dehydrate something thoroughly, you will be fine. It's very liberating!

[@MadlyinLovewithJesus-1953]

@@StockingMyPantry Ah. Darcy. Thanks. And yes, I'm all about experimenting -- AND listening to what others have to say. I used to do a LOT of dehydrating 20 years ago when I was on a raw diet and called the dehydrator "my raw oven," LOL. Then after I started eating a lot of cooked food again I kind of forgot about my dehydrator as other things in life grabbed my attention. It's really exciting to get back into it. I remember that before things changed I used to use the dehydrator nearly daily -- and absolutely agree about making sure it is FINISHED when it comes to dehydrating. I love how you can't really "burn" food in a low-heat dehydrator, (a habit I continue to this day, I don't believe I have ever gone over 125°F now that I think about it, loving the idea of preserving most of the enzymes). Oh, but what I was going to say is that I had started to make all kinds of "dishes" in the dehydrator and it was like something creative in me got SUPER activated. I'm hoping to find that "sweet spot" again! :)

[@StockingMyPantry]

@Charity and Love (great name!) - I can't say how much I agree with you. It's great to learn from others, experiment, and keep growing and learning. Thanks so much for sharing your background. Have you considered making videos about "cooking" in a dehydrator? I've done a little, and had good results, but would love to learn more. I'm not on a raw food diet, however, I think there is great value in eating a lot of raw food, dehydrating at a low temperature, etc. Do consider sharing with others from your immense experience in this area.

[@johntucker8016]

Thanks for this! The point of celery in anything is the flavor, I would think unblanched would have more. Thank you for doing this experiment!

[@StockingMyPantry]

You are so welcome!

[@jenniferlzr5651]

Great video. From what I've read, the difference that some people noticed was the texture of the celery when rehydrated. Seems like I read the non-blanched was a little tough.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Jennifer, I think you're right! I'm actually now blanching more than I used to. Some say that after blanching, the vegetables rehydrate better and also that they maintain quality longer. We're always learning! Thanks for your comment. I appreciate it!

[@coolstamper]

Ok I just rehydrated both the blanched and unblanched dehydrated celery. To ME I like the smell and the taste of the unblanched better. I haven’t cooked any of it yet, but I think the unblanched will do better cooked as it already smells and tastes better. I will also be making some celery powder with it as I have never seen celery powder in the stores. I’ve seen celery salt, but there’s usually too much salt for me, so I will powder my own celery and add my own amount of salt to whatever I’m making. 💕🌸💕

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks for sharing the results of your experiment, Cindy! I love the idea of making your own celery powder. I agree about commercial celery salt. I don 't buy garlic salt for the same reason. I prefer to use garlic powder and add salt separately so it has a lower ratio of salt.

[@coolstamper]

@@StockingMyPantry Yes, me too and the same with onion powder. I LOVE onion powder in scrambled eggs and in a LOT of other things I cook. 💕🌸💕

[@StockingMyPantry]

Definitely! If you haven't ever made your own onion powder, it's an absolute must! Just be sure to put the dehydrator outdoors or in a garage or something for the first 6 hours or so of dehydrating unless you want your house to smell like onions for the next 6 months. ;) Here's a link to a video on dehydrating onions: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hneboa2EpZ6Na5Y - the flavor is out of this world!

[@coolstamper]

@@StockingMyPantry TY!!! I haven’t done onions yet…thought about buying the chopped frozen onions and dehydrating those. Probably much easier than cutting up fresh onions.

[@karenleavitt8212]

I have never blanched celery and I love it that way. Thank you for the information on the blanching. Glad I did not have to try it.

[@StockingMyPantry]

You're very welcome, Karen! Since I published this, I have had people give reasons for blanching, so I think it's a matter of preference. But it's worked fine for me to not blanch.

[@GailsSouthernLiving]

I can't wait to get my dehydrator and get started.

[@StockingMyPantry]

I think you'll love it! It's one of the easiest ways to preserve food, and I love that the food you dehydrate takes up so little space.

[@FlavorsandTextures]

I saw some in my local Walmart Yesterday.

[@StockingMyPantry]

I was just in Walmart earlier today and saw celery for 98 cents a bunch. Not sure if that is the normal price, as I don't yet know the prices in my new location, but that seems like a good deal.

[@GailsSouthernLiving]

@@StockingMyPantry 98 cents a bunch thats a cheap video. I may video my first experience with it. What will I dehydrate first? Who knows? Whatever is on sale.

[@StockingMyPantry]

@@GailsSouthernLiving that's the way to do it, for sure! I don't know if you have Sprouts where you are, but they have good sales on produce. I buy certain things when they have a good sale. For instance, I've gotten bell peppers 3 for $1. I buy around 20 and then dehydrate them. I buy around 20 because I've found that is about how many fit in a 1 quart jar when dehydrated.

[@Dwade6894]

Thank you! Just watched this video after I have had the celery UNBLANCHED in the dehydrator for 3 hours…. now I feel god that I did not blanch it,, thank you again for the experiment! It is my first time dehydrating vegetables and I try to avoid blanching them, don’t like that extra step if it is not needed.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks for your comment. I know the feeling when something is already in process and I wonder if I should have done something! I think it's fine not to blanch, though others swear by it!

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks for watching! Here are the two dehydrators I personally use and recommend: amzn.to/3EJrS3i and amzn.to/3nUxX6f .

[@GettingItDoneRepairs]

Hi, we haven't dehydrated celery yet but soon. I will go with your opinion and skip the blanching. Thanks for sharing. 😀

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks for your comment. I think you'll enjoy having the dehydrated celery on hand. It's so handy to toss into soups or other things. I also recommend onions and carrots. As you learned from the green onions, don't do it in the house. Yellow or white onions will seriously knock you out, lol.

[@sheilarogers3448]

Watched a video on blanching green veggies. Claimed tsp backing soda to 1 cup water ratio. Claims it keeps the green veggies from turning brown. Have not tried it yet. Video made greens look really good and green. They claimed it did not change taste. Want to try it on broccoli

[@richardmaggs2843]

Blanching kills enzymes that will, over time, even in a dried product, cause slow but sure flavour and texture deterioration. Your initial observation is I am sure correct: the unblanched dried version WILL have more flavor, as some flavor is undeniably washed away during the blanching and refreshing process. The real test is to taste and compare, both in their dried state and when rehydrated, your two contrasting dehydrated products after, say, a year of storage. THEN you will see that the blanched product will have much more flavor and a also a slightly better texture (this benefit is more marginal frankly). Don't get me wrong, I don't always blanch my celery, depending on how much of a glut I have, how much time I have or can be bothered to devote to processing something (!), but most of all how long I want it to last in the best condition. For short-term dried storage the difference is much more modest. But that is the true comparison of the two methods. More work, yes, but if you are able to blanch and refresh first, you will get much better flavor longevity in your dehydrated vegetables.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Great point, Richard. Thank you for sharing! I'm actually doing more blanching now than I was before. It's always a learning process, and hopefully we keep improving how we process and store food. I really appreciate your input on this. I'm going to pin your comment so that others can see it as well.

[@joycevanhoose1829]

Comment thank you so much for your comment I have decided to blanch my celery this morning after reading what you put thank you

[@coolstamper]

You got me thinking now too…will probably blanch mine from now on also. For celery powder would you recommend blanched or unblanched?

[@PossumandPearl]

I enjoyed your experiment. I don’t blanch my celery either. I do cut mine a bit smaller and it does dry faster. I am trying to dehydrate something everyday. Messed up and dehydrated some carrots out of a can…. Not so pretty!

[@StockingMyPantry]

Cutting it smaller does sound like a good idea. About the carrots in the can, I can imagine what that would be like, because I once dehydrated canned green beans. In this video, I experimented with dehydrated both frozen and canned green beans: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIC4emB9iryHbtU - you can guess which one I will never dehydrate again, lol. I have heard that some canned food can be dehydrated, but I'm not sure which ones and I'm afraid to try. :)

[@StockingMyPantry]

I forgot to add that I think dehydrating something every day is a great plan. If you find you can't keep up with that, at the very least try dehydrating something every week. You can buy something specifically for dehydrating each time you go to the grocery store. Little by little, it all adds up!

[@leaelizabeth23]

Lol try frozen carrots dehydrated 😅

[@sandrarichardson2713]

Really great video. Thank you taking the time and effort to experiment with these different methods. 1 question: Did one seem to shrink much more than the other? I am new to dehydrating but very interested in trying it. Thanks so much and Jesus bless.

[@StockingMyPantry]

I think they shrunk about the same amount. I definitely recommend dehydrating! It's one of the easiest and least expensive ways to preserve food. Jesus bless you, too!

[@janisherwood6101]

Well, That was Exciting! I’ve never tried dehydrating anything and now my head is spinning with the possibilities! I am wondering if I can just do it in my oven- or even in The Sun?

[@222ouch]

I will be using up the dehydrated celery within a year, so I am skipping the blanching for this veggie. Glad I found your video with the taste test!

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks so much for your kind words. I hope the celery has turned out good for you!

[@nadenegordon7639]

Thankyou for this test, it really helps us who are starting off. 🙂

[@dravenavila6622]

GOt a bunch to dehydrate....thanks.....i wanted to skip the blanching!!! You are really cool!! I subscribed!!!!

[@kittywoods7155]

Thank you for sharing your results. I’ve never dehydrated celery before so I went looking. 😉 thank you again! 💞

[@MaryThompson-c2o]

I have read that celery should be blanched in baking soda water so it keeps its color a longer time. Deanna Delong who wrote 'how to dry foods' says to blanch 30 seconds to 1 minute in 1/2 tsp of baking soda to 1 cup water solution. i plan to try it some time after christmas

[@StockingMyPantry]

I have just recently heard about this myself! I currently have a lot of dehydrated celery because I bought a #10 can when it was on sale, so it may be awhile before I dehydrate celery, but I definitely want to give this a try!

[@christinagaffney2054]

i have read this also for celery and green beans if i remember correctly, they were the only 2 she mentioned, but I still don't do blanching for celery and probably won't waste the time but we use it so often i doubt it'll make a long term storage item for me, the celery meant for long term is in a soup mix container and i have never noticed its being affected by storing for the year in my opinion but celery is one of those veggies everyone has strong opinions about i think you either love it, hate it or just never touch it you'll have to let us know what your personal find is once you try it thanks in advance

[@rlynnmiller5485]

I added soda to the blanching water and the celery turns out a nice rich green!

[@vickiegraham4765]

Learning with new dehydrator. Today. Doing celery now. Did not. Blanch. Did not know this step I. ordered. A. Book. For. dehydrateing. . From. Amazon ‘ coming today.

[@sheilarogers3448]

I save the celery top on its own tray and jar. The stalks in separate jars. The tops I rehydrate with vinaigrette for salads. The stalks to cook with.

[@nettextrdnr]

Excellent video, you answered all my questions. Thank you

[@coolstamper]

GREAT video...TY!!! I think blanching will also deplete it of many of the vitamins. I think I would not blanch as well!!! 💕

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thank you! Others swear by it, though, so it's worth considering. I just don't personally think it's worth it.

[@coolstamper]

@@annebrunner9698 I like celery with a dip, or in egg salad, and in potato and macaroni salads. I also like to cook with it. My problem with celery is I’ll buy a bunch and use 1-3 stalks of it and the rest goes bad…as do many other foods like lettuce/cabbage, etc. I’m finding dehydrating is the answer. I also like to dehydrate celery as I can make my own salt free celery powder as the stores only carry celery salt. I have NEVER seen celery powder in the stores. I recently dehydrated my first batch and I did blanch it first. I will not blanch my next batch. Then I will make some soup, divide it in half and see which one I like better. I think in the dehydrating world, a lot of things are to personal taste, just like in cooking. 💕🌸💕 I just read Richard Magg’s post and may consider blanching all the time. It really didn’t take that much longer. Just the time to boil the water, add the celery, bringing it back up to a boil, and blanching for about 3 minutes.

[@mynuttyfamilyadventures]

Thank you for sharing! I didn't even think about dehydrating celery!

[@StockingMyPantry]

You're so welcome! It's super handy when making soups, etc.

[@mynuttyfamilyadventures]

@@StockingMyPantry Great idea!

[@gardengal9478]

Very helpful 🙂

[@coolstamper]

I have two batches of celery that I dehydrated…one blanched…one not blanched. I also have the Nesco and I love it!!! I am going to rehydrate a few pieces from each batch to see for myself what I like or don’t like. As far as bitterness goes, I’ve had fresh celery that tastes a little bitter as well. I have some water heating now, so I will let you know my opinion after I rehydrate them. I don’t plan on eating the celery in the dehydrated stage, so I want to rehydrate to see which one I would like in the rehydrated form as I would be more likely using mine in soups, etc. 💕🌸💕

[@StockingMyPantry]

I love the way that you're experimenting!

[@twinfin8571]

I’m so happy with the conclusion of this video. I hate the extra steps too. Lol

[@StockingMyPantry]

I know, right?! Why do something unnecessary? I do think it's worth blanching carrots, because when I didn't, over time they turned kind of a whitish color. Not very appetizing!

[@twinfin8571]

@@StockingMyPantry . I’m not sure if it was your video I watched (I’ve watched so many. Lol) but I think it was. Where you put broccoli in a casserole dish with a Tbls of water and cooked in microwave for two minutes? I tried that and the broccoli turned out great. Do you think that method will work for carrots? I was going to give it a try with thinly sliced carrots. Right now I’m dehydrating for powder use. Broccoli is all powdered and celery will happen tonight. I have dehydrated more foods in the last 6 days then I’ve done in 6 years.! Desperate times call for desperate measures. But even when things get better I intend to continue dehydrating. It’s so practical. No waiting for frozen food to defrost. I cook everything from scratch and don’t eat canned food or processed food. I make my own stock. So. If I don’t plan a meal I end up with scrambled eggs. Now I can have plenty of ready to go items for a bowl of soup at least. Or a casserole. I’m hooked. Lol. Thanks again for your inspiration.

[@Ladythyme]

I also add baking soda. The difference won’t become apparent right away visually. The blanching makes a difference in long term storage…it makes it more tender when rehydrating…. BTW the soda is keep it greener and definitely looks more appetizing

[@StockingMyPantry]

I recently heard that idea as well and will certainly give it a try next time I dehydrate celery!

[@mindyday6279]

Just the info i was looking for. Thank you ma’am.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Glad it was helpful! You're welcome!

[@adriver231]

thanks for being honest and I love that clock in the back of you lol

[@StockingMyPantry]

You're welcome! And I'm glad you like the clock. My parents had it made when I was probably in my teens. I would have to look in the clock to see if there is a date. I know that each clock this person made were numbered.

[@adriver231]

@@StockingMyPantry Oh My God are you serious? They had it made for you since you were a teenager? That is sooooo awesome! I really truly love it. Is it considered a God father clock? Oh I also wanted to thank you for showing me how to dehydrate my celery and showing me the difference and being honest of the difference 👍

[@joerivas9847]

Rosered/lady with a gadget found an old preservatI will follow her example!ion book. She added baking soda to the blanching water to help preserve the color of the celery. I will do the same

[@StockingMyPantry]

Yes! She published her video after I did this, and that definitely sounds like something worth trying!

[@susanjordan2130]

Thanks.i dont blanch my peppers tomatoes either.

[@edensgarden1775]

Thanks for sharing. I do a lot of dehydrating.

[@StockingMyPantry]

You're very welcome, Kimmy! I am glad to hear that you do a lot of dehydrating.

[@pamelaremme38]

New subscriber here. I love these comparison video's. Thank you! Someone on a different channels feed said you can take the base of the celery and put it in water and it will re-grow? That would be a great experiment.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Welcome! I'm glad to have you here! You can indeed regrow celery. I have tried it, and it worked! It grows really slowly, but if you don't mind being patient, it's worthwhile.

[@vickiegraham4765]

What temp do you. Use for this

[@aracelimartinez9465]

Thanks for this!

[@StockingMyPantry]

You're very welcome!

[@isette]

Thank you very much for all the info really helps a newbie =)

[@mystiquerose620]

Thank you for the great video...very informative and helpful😊I dehydrated my celery and put them in pint mason jars...would that be fine?how do you store your dehydrated items?do you use any silica pouches in the jars to keep moisture out?thank you

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thank you again for your kind words! I store pretty much everything in mason jars. My favorite! I haven't used any silica pouches in the jars, but instead have a Foodsaver with a jar attachnment and use that to seal the jars. If you can't find that or don't want to get one, you can purchase oxygen absorbers to put in the jars. But as long as you've put the lid on tight, they should be fine for quite some time without any of that. You do want to use the Foodsaver or oxygen absorbers if you're planning on long-term food storage, but if you're going to use in the next 6 months or so, it should be fine without special treatment.

[@mystiquerose620]

@@StockingMyPantry thank you very much for your input😊

[@MaryThompson-c2o]

added to my just prior comment-- blanching you cook quick but then put the food in a big bowl of ice water to cool it down really fast, not just run under cool water.

[@StockingMyPantry]

That is a good point. Unfortunately, I never seem to have ice, so would have to plan ahead.

[@MaryThompson-c2o]

@@StockingMyPantry that can be a pickle

[@StockingMyPantry]

@@MaryThompson-c2o that is definitely true! I should probably make having ice on hand a priority, though I seldom have a need for it.

[@christopherfountain7129]

I just noticed you tossing the leafy tops, why?

[@ljm9092]

Hi, the reason for Blanching is to open the cells of the Vegetable. they rehydrate a lot better and ... yes they do look really nice in your jars.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks so much, Linda! I am indeed blanching more than when I created this video. I do find that in some things it really makes a difference, and in other things not so much. And in some cases, the results are bad if you blanch. The two that I've found blanching to be absolutely essential with are carrots and potatoes. Broccoli can turn mushy if you aren't super careful with blanching being very brief. For that, I found that steaming very briefly works better than blanching. I still to this day haven't seen much difference with celery. However, I almost always use my dehydrated celery in soup, so there is ample time for rehydration. If I was using it in a different way, than I would likely find that unblanched. didn't rehydrate as well. I appreciate your comment as I'm always learning more and more, and comments like yours really help with that.

[@sharlas8030]

Stocking My Pantry...thank you so much for posting this video!! I have fresh celery growing in my backyard. It is very dark green, and very strong flavored. I've been using it to cook, and drying the leaves. I recently dried two heads of celery without blanching (didn't realize this was a "thing"), and it is nice and green with great flavor. My question is; do you (or anyone reading this) know if the blanched version will keep longer in a jar than unblanched? Also..does anyone use oxygen absorbers in their jars? My goal is long term storage along with great flavor.

[@StockingMyPantry]

I have had others say that they really think blanching helps, so I'd definitely consider doing it. I'm not sure about how it impacts storage. I also store long term. I don't use oxygen absorbers, but do use a Foodsaver to seal my jars. I've had things for a long time (much longer than a year) with good results.

[@leaelizabeth23]

If the plants in your back yard are very dark green they can get extremely stringy and they arent like grocery store celery. They blanch the celery on the plant. Wrap cardboard around the stalks to help shade them and create a nice textured celery. Do not cover the leaves as they are needed for photosynthesis. You don’t want to kill the celery. Look into blanching your celery plants though. As well as blanching in the kitchen before dehydrating. Also, you can make your own celery salts ❤️

[@Suz_408]

I've dehydrated celery without blanching. I found that I never wanted to use it because of how it looked. It was very pale. I will blanch from now on.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks for sharing your experience! For me, for whatever reason, the color was the same either way. Not sure why. I have found that carrots need to be blanched before dehydrating or else they get kind of a white color on the outside. I found they still rehydrated fine, and had normal color when rehydrating, but they definitely didn't look good in the jar.

[@GarouLady]

The blanching helps out that it helps break down the celery, partly cooking it, which shortens the cooking time when you add it to things. Also unblanched celery has a more chew factor to it because it hasn't been partly cooked or blanched, so you have to cook it longer in whatever you are adding it too. Personally I like the blanched way better.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and preference. I really appreciate it!

[@patriciamercer9960]

Thank you

[@StockingMyPantry]

You're welcome

[@StockingMyPantry]

Be sure to check out the #LetsDehydrate playlist for a ton of great dehydrating videos by several different KZbinrs: kzbin.info/aero/PL_esfRPyYcgYOB8sffhqVZ4YLwX4J_5X7

[@christinagaffney2054]

I personally agree with you 100% I think dehydrated food in general have a stronger taste and smell actually. I have chose not to blanch anything to be honest, but i do still choose to cook and mash at least a few of my butternut and crooknecks for powder storage and for making quicker pie mix but i also do from raw form for cooking with in soups and stews thank you for this comparison i just figured i was weird you prove I'm not lol

[@StockingMyPantry]

Christina, thanks for your comment! I have cooked, mashed, and dehydrated sweet potatoes. They turned out really well. So I can see doing that with squash as well. I'm going to have to give that a try! I do blanch carrots, because when I didn't, they ended up with a white chalky looking exterior. They will rehydrated fine, but just didn't look so nice in the jar. I also found it helpful to very lightly steam broccoli before dehydrating. So I suppose it's not one-size fits all. I'm all for experimenting!

[@christinagaffney2054]

@@StockingMyPantry hello my friend just a update you might find interesting, this last batch of celery i did i decided to 'de-string' shave my celery so i cut the ends and ever so lightly pulled the loose hairs down before dehydrating thinking the texture could possibly be the issue ppl had with the veggie. Interestingly enough i must say i did notice a tad bit of difference in the texture, the chewiness of the celery, and when cooking the celery in the pressure cooker when making beans or stews the longer cooking time seemed to help so you might find that worth a try to compare but, that being said I still don't mind just doing the celery raw. Thanks for your continued knowledge stay safe and looking forward to more. god bless

[@MickyBellRoberts]

I eat and juice a lot of Celery. Thank you for this video.

[@StockingMyPantry]

The African Lion, you're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. One thing I haven't tried yet is making celery powder/salt, but I think it would taste much better than store bought.

[@jchai1343]

Celery powder for anything is really good and has way more flavor and then add the salt after very intense!

[@mystiquerose620]

Hi there...i planted a lot of celery this year and am planning to dehydrate them....i use fresh celery for Turkey stuffing ...would you think dehydrated celery can be used and how?or would frozen celery be better...just thinking frozen celery would be too mushy?your thoughts plz?thank you

[@StockingMyPantry]

Great question! I think dehydrated celery would work great! Rehydrate it ahead of time by covering it with hot water for about 20 minutes, then drain it before sauteing it in butter. Alternatively, you can cover it with room temperature water and refrigerate it overnight, then drain and sauté. Just remember that the celery will really shrink down a lot when dehydrated. So you'll want to use about 1/4 - 1/3 of what the recipe calls for.

[@mystiquerose620]

@@StockingMyPantry hi..thanks so much for your help and advice...have a great day😊

[@StockingMyPantry]

@@mystiquerose620 you're very welcome! Hope you have a great day, too.

[@sherrie9241]

Ive never blanched my celery, im doing some today, and ran across this video... i am about easy, i will forgo the blanching...lol

[@StockingMyPantry]

I'm with you on easy! Hope your celery turned out amazing!

[@sherrie9241]

@@StockingMyPantry it did...i usually make a power with it.. I enjoyed your video..

[@wreckergirl2939]

Blanching also gets rid of any bacteria that will ruin the food during the while stored.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Interesting! That seems logical, but then it doesn't make sense to not blanch everything. If you look in books like the ones by Tammy Gangloff (who seems to know more about dehydrating than anyone else I know), you are to blanch some things, but not other things. Any idea why, from a bacterial perspective, that would be?

[@corinnesmedes8686]

What is the best way to rehydrate celery and other veggies? Every time I dehydrate, I find everything so extra chewy, and it takes the fun out of it because we don't enjoy the chewy texture, am I doing something wrong? Please help, thank you :)

[@bonbon6942]

You should give it a try after its rehydrate

[@StockingMyPantry]

I have, and it worked great. But you are right that I didn't do it on this video.

[@kimberlyhughes5475]

Your celery was definitely a richer green after blanching. I'm doing mine tomorrow, some with baking soda during blanching, some without the soda.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Ii have heard about the baking soda option just recently. I'd love to hear how that worked for you!

[@kimberlyhughes5475]

@@StockingMyPantry So...the celery is dark green! But I'll let you know how it TASTES when I reconstitute some.

[@juliewebber2749]

I only did it once before.I did not blanch and it turned out.

[@snuffle2269]

I did 7 bunches of celery and felt there was a lot of flavor and "other" left in the blanch water so now I am going to dehydrate without blanching. I believe that you have to cut up the celery pretty thin to blanch in just 3 minutes to stop that enzyme change. My first batch is in glass and labeled for use after I try the unblanched. This is for mostly soups to which I want the flavor. I am overseas and don't have good California celery so toughness is not a consideration. I always blanch onions and potatoes and carrots. I will do a followup including reconstituting.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Richard, thanks for sharing! I look forward to hearing how it goes for you! I also mostly use my dehydrated celery in soups.

[@christopherfountain7129]

I blanch, it makes 2 differences. 1. Color celery keeps its deep green color and doesn't turn gray. 2. Rehydration time and texture of the celery is much better

[@SilverPreppingGrandma]

Interesting. I'm with you about the extra step of blanching, if it doesn't make a difference don't do it, lol.😀

[@StockingMyPantry]

Exactly!! I don't want to be lazy, but at the same time don't want to spend time and other resources doing things that don't make a difference!

[@MickyBellRoberts]

I like your knife, looks like Cutco.

[@StockingMyPantry]

The African Lion - yes, it is!

[@MickyBellRoberts]

@@StockingMyPantry I sold Cutco for 10 years until I retired. My son was a District Manager And I was Sales Manager. I love my Cutco knives.

[@StockingMyPantry]

Wow, it's nice you and your son were both with Cutco. That says a lot about the company! I do love the knives!

[@MickyBellRoberts]

@@StockingMyPantry Yes Ma’am.

[@louiseeyahpaise795]

Okay, thank you , decision made :) non-blanched it is!

[@StockingMyPantry]

Hope you like it! I still know some people who swear by blanching, so you may want to do your own experiment to decide what you like best. :)

[@FlavorsandTextures]

I dehidrated them last year, Then I powdered them

[@StockingMyPantry]

Flavors and Textures, that's a great idea! I haven't done that yet, but when I've made my own onion powder and garlic powder, it is so much more flavorful than what you buy at the store. I'm sure homemade celery powder is delicious.

[@sheilarogers3448]

Jury’s out blanching looses some of the nutrients.

[@micheleinboden3410]

I think if you freeze celery u half to blanch😄

[@StockingMyPantry]

Interestingly enough, it seems that with most things that have been frozen, you don't have to blanch. This is true even with things like blueberries.

[@Lord_Nemesis8]

MAYBE SLICE THEM THINNER

[@Lord_Nemesis8]

Have your husband tackle your mom before she gets to the trailer😂😂😂😂😂

[@StockingMyPantry]

LOL on the tackle comment. And I agree that slicing thinner may be a good idea. I do like bigger pieces in soups, but thinner slices would definitely dehydrate faster.