Preserving Bamboo Shoots

Photo Credit: Sarah Culver

To take advantage of the fast and furious bamboo harvest season, we like to harvest all we can and dehydrate the shoots.  These can be stored for about a year (or more) in a dry environment and to use, we just rehydrate what we need by soaking in water for about an hour or so.  

To dehydrate bamboo shoots:

1. Remove the hearts of the bamboo. Discard the husks.
2. Boil the hearts in an uncovered pot of water for about 45 minutes. This dispels toxins present in raw bamboo shoots. Drain and discard the water. Rinse the bamboo shoots and pat dry. A salad spinner may be helpful. Removing as much water as possible will hasten the drying process.  
3. Dehydrate the shoots using a food dehydtator (alternatively, experiment with dehydrating in your oven, closely monitored, at the lowest temperature, with the door cracked). Shoots are done when they are fully dry, hard, and will break if you try to bend them (not flexible at all).