Different methods of dehydrating microgreens
There are several ways to dehydrate your microgreens, it turns out.[i]
Air Drying | Convection Drying | Heating (Oven) | Solar Dehydrator | Freeze Drying | Microwave-vacuum Drying
Air Drying
Air-drying has some advantages over oven preservation methods but takes longer to dry. When you air-dry your microgreens, they also take up less space, time, and energy than freezing or canning.
Air drying microgreens removes moisture, which inhibits the growth of micro-organisms that cause spoilage.
This method requires three factors; Heat, air circulation, and humidity.
Less humid and warm environments promote fast air drying. With proper air circulation, the microgreens will dry faster.
The larger the surface area you expose to moving air, the faster and more effective the air-drying process. Â If you dry indoors, you will need a fan.
Note: Don’t use aluminum screening for air drying foods. Aluminum causes discoloration of the foods.
Convective Drying
This is the most popular way of warm air drying. Convective drying works by circulating large flows of hot, dry gases from combustion heaters or air heaters over your microgreens that dries up the moisture.
While drying your microgreens, pay extra attention because the microgreens will be in direct contact with high temperatures.
Convective drying[ii] is excellent for drying large amounts of microgreens because it is cost effective.
Using the convective drying method to dehydrate microgreens has become a common practice among many farmers.[iii]
When you want to dehydrate small to medium quantities, you can use your convection oven, an electric oven with a fan at the back in place of a metal coil at the bottom.
Heating (Oven)
You can use an oven to dehydrate microgreens if you intend to dehydrate only a small or medium batch of microgreens.
One advantage of an oven is that the temperatures are higher than a food dehydrator. Your microgreens will dry up faster. But higher temperatures can damage the nutritional value of the microgreens. At 140°F (60°C), it will take 30-50% longer to dry microgreens in your kitchen oven.
See How to dehydrate microgreens using an electric dehydrator for further instructions.
Solar Dehydrator
For centuries, farmers sun-dried their farm produce to preserve for rainy days. With the improvement in technology, microgreens farmers use solar dehydrators to preserve excess produce for optimal profit.
Solar dehydrators are alternatives to electric dehydrators. A solar dehydrator uses the sun’s natural heat alongside airflow to remove moisture from vegetables and foods. It is relatively cheaper to use and maintain, unlike an electric dehydrator. Still, it is significantly more expensive to purchase or build.
Depending on the sun’s intensity and the solar dehydrator’s size, it takes a minimum of two days to achieve dryness.
See How to dehydrate microgreens using an electric dehydrator for further instructions.
Note: If you’re an urban farmer or backyard gardener and thinking of building your own solar dehydrator, here’s a neat video with instructions.