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Garlic scapes cut and arranged on dehydrator trays
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5 from 12 votes

Drying Garlic Scapes and Making Garlic Scape Powder

This recipe explains how to dry garlic scapes and also how to grind it into powder
Course: condiment
Cuisine: American
Keyword: garlic scape powder, preserving scapes
Author: Judy DeLorenzo

Equipment

  • dehydrator
  • bullet blender (or other blender)

Ingredients

  • garlic scapes

Instructions

How to dehydrate scapes

  • Wash the garlic scapes and let them air dry.
  • Trim away the tip from each scape just below the flower bud (see photo). Discard the tips or save them for making vegetable broth.
    Fresh garden scapes with tips cut off
  • Cut the scapes into 1/2" to 1" pieces. Arrange them single layer on dehydrator trays.
  • Dehydrate at 135ยบ until dry and brittle; this will take about 24 hours.
    Yes, they take a long time to fully dehydrate! To speed up the process, see the alternate step explained below.
  • Let the dried scapes cool down before placing them into a glass jars(s). Tighten the lid(s) and store in a cool, dry, dark location for best results.

How to make scape powder

  • To make garlic scape powder, grind about a cup of dried scapes in a bullet blender, or other blender. A coffee grinder used for this purpose would also work.
    1 cup of dried scapes will yield about 3/4 cup of powder.
  • Store the powder in a small glass jar with a tight fitting lid. As an optional step, add a few small dried beans to the jar to help absorb any remaining moisture; this will also help to prevent clumping.

Notes

The actual length of time to dehydrate will depend on the following factors:
  • Moisture content of the scapes
  • Temperature of the dehydrator
  • Whether or not the dehydrator has a circulating fan to evenly distribute the heat
  • How often the dehydrator is opened and if it opens from the front or top
  • Humidity in the room
To speed up the drying process
As an alternative, after you cut the scapes into pieces, pulse them in your food processor to break them up, but don't process so long that they turn into a paste. Arrange on your trays and continue with the rest of the steps.
By breaking them up in this way, they will take less time to dehydrate. If you're planning on grinding the dried scapes into powder anyway, it makes sense to break them up so they dry faster. However, if you plan on adding them to dishes, you may want to keep them as intact pieces.