Dehydrating garlic scapes is very easy and a great way to preserve this crop that we only get once a year! Dehydrated garlic scapes are a great ingredient to have on the shelf and are easy to add to many dishes.
I’ve been growing garlic for years. But, for many years, I only planted a soft-neck variety of garlic. This past year, I decided to try and grow a hard-neck garlic variety. When you grow hard-neck garlic, you get a little smaller garlic bulb, however, you also get an additional crop of garlic scapes which, in short, are the flowering stalk of the garlic plant.
Garlic scapes are such a special crop! They are fresh and green and have this gentle garlic flavor. After harvesting the garlic scapes, we jumped into trying all the things! I roasted some of the garlic scapes, fermented garlic scapes, made garlic scape pesto with many of them, froze some, and pickled some (you can find all the recipes and tutorials here).
Dehydrating Garlic Scapes…
And I also dehydrated some of the scapes. I figure that they’ll be a great seasoning to have on the shelf. Since they have a much gentler garlic flavor than the actual garlic clove, they are fun to add to so many dishes. Of course, dehydrating garlic scapes is also a great way to preserve them. And that’s important especially since we only get this crop once a year.
Reasons For Drying Garlic Scapes…
- Preserving the flavor – we only harvest garlic scapes once a year! Dehydrating them is a great way to preserve their special flavor.
- Easy to travel with – do you like camping? We camp every summer and packing a couple tablespoons of dry garlic scapes to season dinner is so easy.
- Preserving for long-term storage – just another way to preserve garlic scapes and keep them at room temperature.
- Saves time – there are many dishes that call for garlic or garlic powder. When you have dehydrated garlic scapes ready, dry, and on the shelf, it’s super easy to throw them into anything.
Ingredients…
- Garlic Scapes – choose fresh, young garlic scapes.
Kitchen Tools…
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Dehydrator – I use a nice dehydrator that allows me to control the temperature and produces a better result. If you don’t have a dehydrator that allows you to control the temperature, you can still dehydrate garlic scapes in the oven (if your oven can work at a low enough temperature…) or in a cheap (no temperature control) dehydrator. More on this in the FAQ section below.
- Air tight storage container (I use jars)
How to Dehydrate Garlic Scapes…
Step one – prep the garlic scapes. Always cut the garlic scapes into small pieces. I like cutting them really small because it makes it easier to season dishes with them later, but you can cut them into a little longer pieces as well, just don’t leave them too long.
Step two – add to the dehydrator. Set the garlic scapes on the trays of the dehydrator. Make sure that they are spread in one layer.
Step three – dehydrate. Place the trays in the dehydrator and dehydrate at 135 degrees F for about 12 hours. Check to make sure that the scapes are dry. If they aren’t completely dry, keep dehydrating for another hour or two until they are completely dry.
How to Store Dehydrated Garlic Scapes…
Once the scapes are dry, remove them from the dehydrator, let them cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to an air-tight container. You can vacuum seal them or use zip-lock bags, however, in my opinion, jars with two-piece lids work best for storage and are beautiful on the shelf!
How to Condition Dry Garlic Scapes…
If you’re going to store your dehydrated garlic scapes for the long term, make sure to condition them. This means that after storage, every day for about a week, check to make sure that there is no moisture on the inside of your air-tight container. If you spot moisture, remove the scapes and dehydrate them again for a few more hours. Then transfer to an air-tight container and condition again. If, after a week, there is no moisture your dry scapes are OK to be stored for the long term at room temperature.
How to Use Dehydrated Garlic Scapes…
Usually, if we are dehydrating bananas or pineapple, for example, I’ll have a few different ideas in this section on how to use the dried food. However, when it comes to garlic scapes it’s pretty simple. Set the jar of dried scapes on your spice shelf and use them to season any dish. If a dish calls for garlic or garlic powder, simply add a few dried garlic scapes instead.
How to Make and Use Garlic Scape Powder…
One of the greatest things about dehydrated food is that you can turn it into powder. To make garlic scape powder, place the dry scapes in a coffee grinder and grind them until you get a powder. Store your powder in jars at room temperature and use it just as you would use garlic powder.
Frequently Asked Questions…
Yes. Drying foods in a proper dehydrator where you can control the temperature produces a better result and preserves the nutrition better, however, if you don’t have a dehydrator, you can follow the same prep instructions, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, turn your oven to its lowest temperature (hopefully lower than 180 degrees F), and dehydrate your scapes this way. Of course, drying time will change so keep checking your garlic scapes. Also, you might need to turn your baking sheet and/or move the scapes around in the pan halfway through.
It’s not recommended. It will be hard for the garlic scapes to dry properly and it will, most likely, be hard to use them later.
The cheaper Presto dehydrator is very popular and you can find it at any Walmart or online. It runs at a temperature of 165 degrees F and there is no way to control the temperature. Yes, you can use this kind of dehydrator to dry garlic scapes. Again, for best results, we want to process scapes at a temperature of 135 degrees F but a higher temperature will work as well. Drying time will probably be shorter, around 6-8 hours or so and you might need to purchase drying mats for your dehydrator (especially if you want to dry them in small pieces).
Yes, you can. Add as many as you want to a bowl of hot water and let the scapes sit for a few minutes. Since we mostly use them to spice food they will rehydrate in the dish as it cooks so I usually don’t rehydrate them separately. However, if you want to add them to bread dough, for example, or anything else that is pretty dry, you might want to rehydrate them first.
Yes, you should be able to dehydrate frozen garlic scapes by following the same steps. And I don’t think that there is a need to thaw them, just place them in the dehydrator frozen.
Dehydrated garlic scapes are a great seasoning ingredient to have on the shelf. They aren’t as sharp or garlicy as garlic cloves so they can add a nice yet gentle garlic flavor to many dishes. And of course, dehydrating garlic scapes is a great way to preserve them.
More Dehydrating Tutorials…
- How to Dehydrate Green Onions
- Dehydrating Onions For Long-Term Storage
- How to Dry Cayenne Pepper
- Dehydrating Beets
- How to Dry Thyme
- How to Dehydrate Jalapenos
- Drying Radishes
- Dehydrating Parsley
Dehydrating Garlic Scapes
Dehydrating garlic scapes is very simple and dehydrated garlic scapes are easy to add to many dishes for a little added garlic flavor!
Ingredients
- Garlic scapes (I used 30 to produce one half pint)
Instructions
- Always cut the garlic scapes into small pieces. I like cutting them really small because it makes it easier to season dishes with them later, but you can cut them into a little longer pieces as well, just don’t leave them too long.
- Set the garlic scapes on the trays of the dehydrator. Make sure that they are spread in one layer.
- Place the trays in the dehydrator and dehydrate at 135 degrees F for about 12 hours. Check to make sure that the scapes are dry. If they aren’t completely dry, keep dehydrating for another hour or two until they are completely dry.
- Once the scapes are dry, remove them from the dehydrator, let them cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to an air-tight container. You can vacuum seal them or use zip-lock bags, however, in my opinion, jars with two-piece lids work best for storage and are beautiful on the shelf! For long-term storage you will need to condition them to ensure they're completely dry. After placing the dried scapes in the air-tight container, check every day for a week to make sure there is no moisture on the inside of the container. If there is moisture, remove the scapes and dehydrate them again for a few more hours. Then place them in an airtight container again and start the process all over. If, after a week, there is no mouisture your dry scapes are OK to be stored for long-term at room temperature.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions...
- Can I dehydrate garlic scapes in the oven?
Yes. Drying foods in a proper dehydrator where you can control the temperature produces a better result and preserves the nutrition better, however, if you don’t have a dehydrator, you can follow the same prep instructions, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, turn your oven to its lowest temperature (hopefully lower than 180 degrees F), and dehydrate your scapes this way. Of course, drying time will change so keep checking your garlic scapes. Also, you might need to turn your baking sheet and/or move the scapes around in the pan halfway through. - Can I dehydrate whole garlic scapes?
It’s not recommended. It will be hard for the garlic scapes to dry properly and it will, most likely, be hard to use them later. - I can’t control the temperature on my dehydrator, can I still use it?
The cheaper Presto dehydrator is very popular and you can find it at any Walmart or online. It runs at a temperature of 165 degrees F and there is no way to control the temperature. Yes, you can use this kind of dehydrator to dry garlic scapes. Again, for best results, we want to process scapes at a temperature of 135 degrees F but a higher temperature will work as well. Drying time will probably be shorter, around 6-8 hours or so and you might need to purchase drying mats for your dehydrator (especially if you want to dry them in small pieces). - Can I rehydrate dry garlic scapes?
Yes, you can. Add as many as you want to a bowl of hot water and let the scapes sit for a few minutes. Since we mostly use them to spice food they will rehydrate in the dish as it cooks so I usually don’t rehydrate them separately. However, if you want to add them to bread dough, for example, or anything else that is pretty dry, you might want to rehydrate them first. - Can I dehydrate frozen garlic scapes?
Yes, you should be able to dehydrate frozen garlic scapes by following the same steps.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 5Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Hi! I’m Lady Lee. I help homesteaders simplify their homesteading journey while still producing a ton of food! I am a single mother of four, I was born in Israel and raised in an agricultural commune called a Kibbutz. Now I homestead in central NC.