Lemongrass gives Asian and especially Thai dishes a wonderfully gentle lemon aroma. Since fresh lemongrass is not always commercially available, it is worth growing the fine Asian spice yourself and preserving it by drying.

Preparation for drying
In contrast to purchased lemongrass, which is often already divided into individual stalks, you have to prepare the lemongrass you have harvested yourself for drying.
- Cut off the remaining roots at the bottom and the green part of the lemongrass.
- Remove the outer, mostly dry leaves.
- Rinse the soft inner part to remove any dirt residue.
You can roughly chop the lemongrass or dry the whole stalk. A delicious tea can be prepared from the dried green parts, which also has healing powers.
kiln lemongrass
Gather the lemongrass stalks into a loose bundle with a ribbon. Hang the spice in a warm, dry place until the lemongrass is completely dry.
Lemongrass can be dried in the oven just as well. To prevent the essential oils from evaporating, the temperature should not exceed 50 degrees. Spread the lemongrass stalks out on a baking sheet covered with a gauze towel. This way, air can get to the spice from below and the compact stalks dry more evenly. Hold the oven door ajar with a wooden spoon.
Drying is even easier and gentler in a special dehydrator. Also use the lowest temperature setting with this device to preserve the fine aroma of the lemongrass.
Powder the dried lemongrass
Grind the completely dried lemongrass pieces in a mortar to a fine powder. Alternatively, you can chop the stalks in a blender. Then fill the spice into tightly sealed, tinted containers.
The great aroma of lemongrass only unfolds again when it comes into contact with moisture. Therefore, first stir the powder with a little water and season the dish with this mixture.
tips and tricks
If you use dried lemongrass that has not been powdered, you should put the spice in a disposable tea bag and cook it in the food. So you can easily remove the toothy pieces of the spice before serving the food.
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