How to Rehydrate Dried Vegetables

Dehydrating, or drying, food is a process of removing most of the water from food to prolong its storage life. Many dried foods, especially vegetables, must be rehydrated before eating. Rehydrating means to add back the removed water—either by soaking, or by cooking, or both.

You can always just use the dehydrated vegetables in soups or stews, but you may not always want to do that. This article will explain how to rehydrate dried vegetables before cooking them.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. To rehydrate dried vegetables before cooking, soak them in boiling water or boiling broth for about 30 minutes.
   
   For every one cup of dried vegetables, cover with 1 ½ cups of boiling water or boiling broth. Stir occasionally to help speed the rehydration process.

2. If the dried vegetables have absorbed the boiling water quickly, but still look shriveled, add about ½ cup more of boiling water or boiling broth and let stand until the shriveled look is reduced.

3. Cook the rehydrated vegetables as you would fresh vegetables.