Dried, spiced cucumbers are a great way to preserve the harvest when you’ve had your fill of pickles.

Yes, cucumbers are excellent dried as chips! They can also be used as a tasty topping on top of salads, stews, or other savory dishes. And if you’re a gardener, dried cucumber slices are a great way to preserve the harvest after you’ve made more pickles than you and the neighbors can stand to eat.

Drying cucumbers is very easy, either in the oven or in a food dehydrator. Here are three flavors of cucumber chips for you to try, or feel free to dry them with just their natural cucumber flavor. And you can use whatever kind of cucumber you want for this; the cucumbers in my photos are Miniature White cucumbers, which I grew in my garden.

HOW-TO

Drying cucumbers is easy: Just slice thin, toss in your herbs and spices, and dry at 170F for a few hours, or until crisp.

For all of the flavor combinations, I dried enough cucumbers for one or two servings (1/2 a pound of cucumber); feel free to adjust the recipes to make more. The process is the same:

• Slice the cucumbers thin with either a sharp knife or a food mandolin. I sliced mine with a sharp knife to about 1/8 of an inch thick.
• Toss your sliced cucumbers in your spice mix.
• Place your sliced, spiced cucumbers in a single layer in your food dehydrator or (like I did) on a rack placed over a cookie sheet. Cucumbers seem to stick more than other foods I’ve dried, so make sure you oil the rack lightly.
• Dry for several hours in the oven at 170F (or the lowest setting of your oven), or however long your food dehydrator takes to dry foods.
• Eat as chips, or save to sprinkle over savory stews, salads, or toss into soups.

FLAVOR MIXES

The natural taste of cucumbers is complimentary to many flavor combinations, from sweet to savory. Here are three ideas for flavor combinations you can try; hopefully these ideas will get your creative juices flowing and encourage you to make up your own favorites:

Spicy

These are great just eaten from a bowl, or tossed onto soups. They make a great compliment to cream soups like cream of mushroom, or cream of chicken. Toss 1/2 pound of sliced cucumbers in:

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika

Dry flavored cucumbers in your oven at the lowest setting (170F) for a few hours, or in your food dehydrator.

Dry following the how-to instructions above.

Herb

These are wonderful served alongside light meals like vegetable soups or grilled chicken or fish. Feel free to substitute your favorite herbs, such as dill and parsley, or basil and oregano.

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary

Dry following the how-to instructions above.

Sweet

The lightness of cucumbers lends itself to a sweet flavor mix. These make nice snacks, and I think they’d be a great addition sprinkled over spicier dishes as a way to offset the heat, like a spicy goulash or bowl of hot chili:

• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Dry following the how-to instructions above.