Normally when I dehydrate zucchini, I slice it in a coin shape and lay them to dry on the dehydrator. This past time, I wanted to try something different. The large round pieces are rubbery when I try to use them whole after they have been dehydrated. I have to crush the pieces and use them smaller in omelets etc.
When I have frozen zucchini in the past, I have only frozen it shredded to use in zucchini bread. I bought some stir-fry vegetables a few weeks ago and they had zucchini chunks in it. So, I thought to myself, I can do that.
I like zucchini in soups and stir-fry's but wanted to try 
a different approach. I was blessed to get two crates of zucchini from the food bank. They received about 20 crates and they were giving them away as quickly as they could but they were going to go bad before they could give them all away so I took two of the crates and thought I would try a few things.
a different approach. I was blessed to get two crates of zucchini from the food bank. They received about 20 crates and they were giving them away as quickly as they could but they were going to go bad before they could give them all away so I took two of the crates and thought I would try a few things. I cut the zucchini length wise into a cross. I then froze them in Ziploc bags writing the date on them so I could just put them in soups or use them in stir-fry all ready to go. I then washed and cut some up to dehydrate in this new way.
I placed them
onto the dehydrator just in those chunks wondering if they would dry OK. They seemed to dry just fine and I was excited about it hoping they will turn out better for use in stir-fry and omelets than the bigger round coin shaped zucchini.
I haven't used them yet in anything but I will let you know how they work out. I have been busy with end of
the year events for the girls. However, I am excited about the new way of freezing the zucchini to give me more options when we have bags of zucchini hitting us from every neighbor. I must say, it has never gone to waste, we always use every one. Now I just have a few more ways to use them. Aren't I the blessed one!
onto the dehydrator just in those chunks wondering if they would dry OK. They seemed to dry just fine and I was excited about it hoping they will turn out better for use in stir-fry and omelets than the bigger round coin shaped zucchini. I haven't used them yet in anything but I will let you know how they work out. I have been busy with end of
the year events for the girls. However, I am excited about the new way of freezing the zucchini to give me more options when we have bags of zucchini hitting us from every neighbor. I must say, it has never gone to waste, we always use every one. Now I just have a few more ways to use them. Aren't I the blessed one!
So, what was the verdict? Did they work well in soups?
ReplyDeleteThe frozen zucchini works really well in soups and even better in stir-fry. I use it all the time. It is similar to the Birds-eye California blend but I don't like the large pieces even in their mix. I like mine the size shown in the pictures. The dried is more of a filler or you can put it in a coffee grinder and use it for flavor or a thickening agent if you have gluten allergies or wheat allergies. I use pumpkin flour that I make that way. You can check out that post as well. I get every zucchini and summer squash I can get my hands on during the harvest and freeze them and we use them all year in soups, stir-fry and spaghetti sauce. I just ran out last month and now I am starting to replace my freezer supply as neighbors give me their excess. I NEVER say no to anyone that wants to give me one. I use the large ones, pull out the seeds and shred them for muffins and bread as well. Smaller ones are for the stir fry as they are more tender skinned. :-)
ReplyDeleteSoo glad they worked, how long did you dehydrate them for and do you freeze then after that?,so feel for you ideas
ReplyDeleteIt is really hard to give a time on dehydrating things as every dehydrator is so different. I usually dehydrate until things will break when I snap them. If they are still bending, they usually still have moisture in them. I have never frozen anything once it is dehydrated. I just put them in Tupperware containers and store. Have a blessed day!
Delete