Dry Your Own Chives

                                                     

How many of you love chives?  

I know I do!  They are low 

in calories and they give food 

a hint of sweet onion flavor.  

They are great on baked potatoes,

 mashed potatoes, soups, 

salads and much more.  I do

prefer them fresh but when

I can't use them fresh, they are 

great dry.

As I cleaned a small area in 

the garden I noticed some

 chive plants that needed to 

be trimed.  I took my kitchen shears 

and cut down the plants 

to 1-2 inches.  I decided

 I was going to dry them.

Any of you who always wanted 

to dry your own chives, 

here is now I did it.   

FOOD DEHYDRATOR

Take your washed chives and 

gently dry them. Remember to remove 

any dead or unhealty ones. Trim 

them about 1/4" with shears or a knife.

Spread the cut chives evenly on the trays 

of your food dehydrator. Dry them at

 a temperator no more

 than 100 degrees for a couple hours.

It may be longer or take a shorter time,

 so please check them after the first 

hour and 30 minutes thereafter.

Once dry, allow them to 

cool for 15 minutes. 

 Remove chives from

trays.

Place them on paper towels or 

some wax paper. Then place them

in containers.  They are ready to use.

There are other methods of drying chives.

HANG

Most people will bunch them up, 

tie them and insert them in a paper

 bag and hang them to dry. 

Once dry, crumble and 

place in a container.  I find

 this method a little messy 

once they dry. 

OVEN

You can place them in an 

oven on a cookie sheet or 

baking dish.  Dry them whole 

or slice them about 1/8"

 at the lowest oven setting 

for a few hours.  Don't forget

to wash and dry before you 

place them in the

oven to dry. 

MICROWAVE

I've heard of drying chives in 

the microwave, but I've

 never used this method.

How do you dry your chives?