Dehydrating Leaves

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CrabbyLover77
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Dehydrating Leaves

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:11 pm

(I promise this post has to do with crabs lol.)

I've been playing around with dehydrating spring mix and escarole in the oven for my tortoise. She is a super picky eater and doesn't like to eat greens like she's supposed to. So once I dehydrated the greens in the oven, I put them in the food processor to chop them up into very small pieces. This way I can hide the small dried green bits in her pellet food. I want to buy a coffee bean grinder too, so I can get the pieces into more of a powder, which will hopefully help me disguise the greens even more.

I have a big Norway Maple tree in my backyard. My crabbies like to munch on the fresh leaves. I trimmed some branches today and didn't want to waste all those leaves. So I decided to try baking them in the oven too (I washed them first). It worked! I set the oven at 225°F and baked them for 25 mins. I did leave the oven door cracked for the first 10 mins though. Condensation builds up on the door from the water in the leaves if you don't. I took them out and crumbled them up. Then once the second batch is done, I'm going to pop them into the food processor. Now my crabs can have fresh leaves all year long. ImageImageImage

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Hermielover121
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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by Hermielover121 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:14 pm

Wow that’s a cool idea
I want to try dehydrating some things for them but don’t really know how


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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:52 pm

Hermielover121 wrote:Wow that’s a cool idea
I want to try dehydrating some things for them but don’t really know howImage


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Thanks! Image

I attached a pic of the final product after I ran it through the food processor.

I'm sure you could do it too! The biggest experiment was playing with oven temps and times. For dehydrating greens like spring mix, escarole, and the maple leaves, 225°F (107°C) at 25 mins seems to be the perfect conditions for my oven. The leaves are crispy and dry, but not burnt. If you're going to try, make sure whatever you're dehydrating is washed. Then dry the leaves as much as you possibly can. This will help speed up dehydration time. I layer a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper first (not wax paper, it's not heat resistant). If drying things like leaves, remove all of the stems. If drying lettuces, remove the hearts, and just keep the leafy parts. The hearts won't dry well. Layer the baking sheet with the leaves/lettuce, trying not to overlap them too much (this will keep them from drying evenly). If the leaves/lettuces are really moist, pop the oven door open for the first 5-10 mins to let the water escape. Then close it for the remaining time.

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My Pets: 2 Pomeranians, 1 Russian tortoise, fishes/snails(40 gal freshwater aquarium), and 13 hermit crabs.
"Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game." -Paul Rodriguez-
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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by Hermielover121 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:04 pm

Thanks
what do you know of that when you dry it it lasts a long time since I don’t think I’ll be able to be making this frequently


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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:17 pm

Hermielover121 wrote:Thanks
what do you know of that when you dry it it lasts a long time since I don’t think I’ll be able to be making this frequently


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It should def last months to a year once it's dried. I'm still using basil I dried last year for myself (the crabs didn't seem to be interested in it lol).

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My Pets: 2 Pomeranians, 1 Russian tortoise, fishes/snails(40 gal freshwater aquarium), and 13 hermit crabs.
"Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game." -Paul Rodriguez-
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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by Hermielover121 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:17 pm

Ok thanks so much I will definitely try


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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:18 pm

You're welcome! If/when you try, let me know how it works out!

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My Pets: 2 Pomeranians, 1 Russian tortoise, fishes/snails(40 gal freshwater aquarium), and 13 hermit crabs.
"Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game." -Paul Rodriguez-
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BigBeausBouti ... form-mcnav

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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by curlysister » Sun Jun 07, 2020 10:55 pm

I put my big bag of crunched up leaf litter in the freezer in the fall, lasts all year!
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Re: Dehydrating Leaves

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:05 pm

curlysister wrote:I put my big bag of crunched up leaf litter in the freezer in the fall, lasts all year!
That's a good idea, thanks!

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My Pets: 2 Pomeranians, 1 Russian tortoise, fishes/snails(40 gal freshwater aquarium), and 13 hermit crabs.
"Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game." -Paul Rodriguez-
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BigBeausBouti ... form-mcnav

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