Drying or dehydrating foods can be beneficial if you need to store them for an extended time. Dehydrating foods can also destroy some harmful microorganisms. Dehydrating sprouts will result in some nutrient losses, regardless of the method you use to do this, but you can minimize these losses and improve the safety of the sprouts.
Nutrients Lost During Dehydration
Most of the nutrients found in sprouts will remain after dehydration. The amount of calories in the sprouts will still be the same, and the protein and fiber content will not change. The sprouts may lose a small amount of vitamin A, some of their B-vitamin content and most of their vitamin C, however.
Blanching Before Dehydration
If you want to maximize the amount of microorganisms destroyed and minimize the loss of nutrients during the dehydration process, Colorado State University Extension recommends blanching vegetables before dehydrating them. Put the sprouts to be dried in a mesh bag or cheesecloth, drop them briefly into boiling water and then into cold water. Put them on a cloth or paper towel so any excess water can drain off, and then dehydrate them using the oven or a dehydrator.
Safety
Food safety is a real concern with sprouts, as they have been linked to numerous outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, including E. coli, listeria and salmonella. The optimal conditions for growing sprouts are the same as the optimal growing conditions for these bacteria. Although blanching and dehydrating the sprouts may remove some of these organisms, it may not remove them all. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends fully cooking sprouts before consuming them.
Considerations
Although drying foods in the sun can save energy, it is difficult to do so without also exposing the food to contaminants. Drying foods in the oven can lead to burnt food if you do not watch the sprouts carefully. Make sure the sprouts are fully dehydrated, as partially dehydrated foods are at risk for becoming spoiled.
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