I’ve become “mildly” obsessed with storage crops for lazy winter stews and soups, and I include dehydrateable veggies in this category.
In my hunt for greens that rehydrate in a nice way, I found mentions of molokhia and even bags of dried leaves sold for soup. This should be a good sign!
I’ve been growing molokhia for a few years as a heat tolerant summer spinach, and it grows very easily here. So this year I’ve found 2 more varieties to add to the mix, one with red seeds instead of the usual green and one with larger leaves, and planted two large rows of it.
I wonder if there are other species of Corchorus that could cross with Corchorus olitorius to introduce more diversity to the tiny grex?
And any other greens to try that dehydrate and rehydrate nicely?
We dehydrate nettles (urtica dioica) to add to soups/stews midwinter. I don’t know that they have a particular flavor at all (I never notice a flavor from them), but they rehydrate well enough and aren’t too fibrous in the soups.
Plus one for nettles!
I find it more convenient (space wise) to blanch them quickly, pack them tight in balls then freeze them (frozen spinach style), rather than drying them.
Harvest only top shoots to avoid disagreeable to chew fibers. Best season is though over, it’s better to do it before the plant flowers.
I also have good experience with drying shoots of allium, cut in small 1/4 inch pieces) then preserve in jar.
Another option would be to make a stock with all fresh vegetables and greens you can harvest and then dry it (takes less space).
