How to Dry Celery, with a quick blanching method.

When organic celery goes on sale at our local marketplace we stock up! I like some to eat fresh with peanut butter, or cheddar cheese, and some for the freezer. As well as a bunch to slice, blanch and dry. But why dried celery? Because in some recipes, it is simply better...

Take advantage of sale prices, then fill your food dryer!

Personally, I like to have both frozen diced celery and dried celery in my kitchen ready to go! Frozen celery is perfect to add to any recipe where the food will be cooked. It will bread down in the cooking process, but the flavor is still there. But I prefer to use dried celery for tuna or chicken salad for sandwiches. And it is perfect to stir into cottage cheese along with some dill and serve with sliced tomatoes. Or how about your own homemade version of Stovetop Stuffing...you may want to rehydrate before using, or let is naturally soak up any liquid, on it's own. 

So come and take a look at how easy this process is! 

WHOA! It turns out there is a little more to drying celery than washing, chopping and loading up the food dryer!

I did a bit of research before I dried my own celery and originally wrote this post, back in 2022. And while it is not mandatory to blanch celery before drying, I strongly suggest that you do. The blanching process takes but a minute and will ensure that your dried celery has a mild and enjoyable flavor long after drying. 

True Confession: For my original batch I did not blanch and I actually had to throw it out after a few months. Why? Because the flavor was so strong, it was bitter. And to my way of thinking, not a flavor I would want to add to any recipe. 

So lets start again, shall we?

Place a large pan of water on to boil. 

Place a heat safe strainer in the sink. 

Wash, dry. and trim the ends from the individual ribs of celery. Slice approximately 1/4 inch thick. 

When the water is boiling, add the sliced celery. 

Stir and let the celery blanch for about 30-45 seconds.

Pour the celery and boiling water into the strainer and let it rest until the water has all drained away.

Fill the drying trays with the blanched and drained celery slices. 

Take care not to overcrowd the trays. You may dry as much or as little as you wish.  

Use the vegetable setting, and begin checking after 12 hours. 

Celery must be brittle dry, for storage. Plus you will know it is dry because look how small it becomes...however to test for dryness, pick up a piece and try to bend in half. It should break, if it does not, you will want to continue the drying time. 

Dried celery will be very small! After checking at the 12-hour mark continue to dry if needed. When the celery is completely dry, store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, or a zip-top plastic storage bag. 

In humid environments (like East Texas) you may want to store the dried celery in the freezer to keep it from drawing moisture. 

After loading the dryer trays I process the ends and pieces for the freezer. 

See the link below! 

I love it when I can keep kitchen waste to this low level. But our hens will enjoy these ends and pieces.  

UPDATED: 09.26.2024

You may also enjoy: 

How to Freeze Ready to Use Diced Celery. 

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