How to Dehydrate Cabbage at Home? (A to Z Guide)

In this article, I will be talking about the best methods to dry cabbage from the comfort of your home.

You will need your everyday kitchen appliances for the same.

I’ve not only included my personal experience with drying cabbage but have also incorporated hours of research on what food bloggers and experts have to say on drying cabbage at home.

There are numerous ways to dry cabbage and I’ve got you covered with the four easiest methods.

Since each of these methods are unique in their own way, let’s kick things off with the most common method referred to for drying cabbage at home.

Dry Cabbage Using the Food Dehydrator

Using a food dehydrator to dry your cabbage leaves is one of the fastest methods with minimum effort required.

You can dehydrate an entire head of cabbage at a time with most dehydrators.

The process is quite simple and only requires a few hours before you get perfectly crispy and dry cabbage leaves at home.

Clean the Cabbage Leaves

Remove the outer leaves since they are a bit harsh and do not dry well.

Wash your Cabbage

Wash the cabbage leaves thoroughly under running water and rub off any dirt with your thumb.

Use a colander to dry the cabbage and get rid of any excess water.

Pat-dry the cabbage with paper towels once done.

Slice the Cabbage

Chop the cabbage evenly into ⅛ inch broad strips. Try to not make them too small or too big as this will affect the time consumed to dry the vegetable.

Arrange the Cabbage

Layout the cabbage on the dehydrator trays. There will be some overlapping but try to keep it to single lines as much as possible.

This will allow air to circulate properly between the leaves as they dry.

Set the Temperature

You need to dry your cabbage at 125 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit or follow the dehydrator’s directions.

Dry the Cabbage Leaves

The cabbage will take anywhere from 7 to 11 hours to dry. When it is entirely brittle to the touch, you will know that it has perfectly dried.

You should rotate the trays for evenly drying your cabbage leaves. After finishing, store in vacuum-sealed bags or mason jars.

Dry Cabbage Using an Oven

You can use an oven to dry fresh cabbage leaves at home.

Even though this is a simple method, you need to ensure the leaves don’t burn because of being exposed to high levels of heat.

You can avoid such instances by keeping a watch on your cabbage leaves as they dry.

Clean the Cabbage Leaves

Remove the outer leaves since they are a bit harsh and do not dry well.

Wash your Cabbage

Wash the cabbage leaves thoroughly under running water and rub off any dirt with your thumb.

Use a colander to dry the cabbage and get rid of any excess water.

Pat-dry the cabbage with paper towels once done.

Slice the Cabbage

Chop the cabbage evenly into ⅛ inch broad strips.

Try to not make them too small or too big as this will affect the time consumed to dry the vegetable.

Layer the Trays

For the best results, use a baking sheet with a lining, such as parchment paper.

If possible, arrange the cabbage leaves in a single layer on the trays.

This will allow air to circulate properly between the leaves as they dry.

Preheat the Oven

Preheat it to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, or lower if possible.

Dry the Cabbage Leaves

After putting the trays in the oven, check on the cabbage leaves every few hours.

It will take 6 to 11 hours to dry completely. You can also use a toaster oven if you don’t want to use your oven for that long.

Dried cabbage leaves will have a crispy texture and they will be crunchy as well. You can easily snap them.

Dry Cabbage Using Freeze-Drying

You can even freeze dry your cabbage leaves at home to get them evenly dried. This is a simple method if you know how to freeze-dry vegetables before.

Wash and Clean the Cabbage

Remove the tough outer leaves, rinse thoroughly, and soak the cabbage in cold water for 30 minutes to get rid of any cabbage worms or grit if you raised it yourself or bought it directly from the farmer.

Chop the Cabbage

Cabbage can be frozen in shreds, leaves, or wedges, depending on your preference.

It’s best to freeze your cabbage in wedges if you’re not sure how you’ll use it yet. You’ll be able to chop it down to whatever size you need later.

Blanch It

Fill a large stockpot halfway with water and bring to a boil.

To blanch your cabbage, place it in the boiling water once it has reached a rolling boil.

This will destroy any germs present and stop the enzyme from working, allowing it to last longer in the freezer.

Shredded cabbage or leaves should be blanched for 1.5 minutes, and wedges should be blanched for three minutes.

Cool the Cabbage Leaves

When the required blanching time is up, remove the cabbage from the boiling water and place it in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

Freeze-dry the Cabbage

The drier it is, the less likely it is to get freezer burn.

The cabbage should then be placed on a cookie sheet and transferred to freezer bags.

Squeeze out any excess air, seal the bags, and return the cabbage to the freezer.

The Proper Way to Store Dried Cabbage Leaves

Keep dried cabbage leaves in an airtight, food-grade container at all times. Mason jars or vacuum-sealed bags can also be used for this purpose.

However, plastic zip-top storage bags, which are highly popular, are not a viable solution because they are not airtight.

They allow air to pass through the zipper top and, over time, through the plastic.

While they are suitable for short-term storage, they are not suitable for storing dried cabbage leaves.

Moisture must always be kept out, and zip-top storage bags are ineffective in this regard.

Our Take on Which Method is Best

People who live in regions that are relatively hot and dry benefit the most from solar drying cabbage leaves.

You will not require any electrical appliances or artificial heat for this method since it is completely natural.

You can use the oven and food dehydrator to dry cabbage leaves in bulk within a short timeframe.

However, you will have to keep a constant watch on them as they dry to ensure that they don’t overheat or burn.

You can refer to the freeze-drying method for getting evenly dried cabbage leaves from the comforts of your home.

FAQs

Bottom Line

We’ve covered four easy techniques to dry cabbage leaves for a variety of uses.

This guide should have helped you learn how to dry cabbage at home.

Please share this article with your friends and family if you find it useful; if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below!