ISO How to Dry Basil and Other Herbs

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E. Joy

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
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2
:angel: What is a good way to dry basil? I don't have a dehydrator. Thanks for your help.
 
Place the leaves on a cooling rack or screening and place it in a cool dry area with some air flow until dry.
 
If I were you I wouldn't bother. Dried basil, like dried tarragon, only retains its flavor for a few months at best. After that it - like dried tarragon - tastes like dried lawn grass.

Your basil is better served if you put it into a blender or food processor with just a dollop or two of olive or vegetable oil & then freeze it. You can use ice-cube trays, or just place dollops on a sheet of wax paper on a baking sheet. Freeze till solid & than place the frozen dollops in a Ziploc bag to use as you wish. Truly - you'll get much more flavor from your basil than by drying it, & a bagfull of the frozen "dollops" doesn't take up much space in the freezer.
 
BreezyCooking said:
If I were you I wouldn't bother. Dried basil, like dried tarragon, only retains its flavor for a few months at best. After that it - like dried tarragon - tastes like dried lawn grass.

I beg to disagree. My dry basil from last summer is still very potent. As is my rosemary. In fact, I have some basil from 2 summers ago that is still plenty fine.

There are a lot of things I prefer to use dry herbs for. If I don't grow it and dry it myself, I buy from Penzeys.
 
How long does it take for the herbs to dry when upside down? Does it loose some of its fragrance?
 
I have a hard time hanging herbs -- they seem to get dusty and cobwebby (I live in a 155 year old house, and old houses seem to breed cobwebs) and even mildewy in the humid summer months (no A/C in the rooms I'd be inclined to hang them in). They also suffer if there is too much light. I find the besst way to preserve basil is to puree in a food processor with olive oil (or a more neutral oil if you want to use it in Asian foods) and garlic, then bag and freeze. I used to dry sage in the microwave, but twice caused fires when doing that, so now give the sage pretty much the same treatment. I used to just bring in my rosemary plant, but it died for some reason this year.
 
I have dried them by hanging them as others mentioned. I also froze the leaves in a plastic bag. For some reason (maybe age!) I can't remember how the frozen version turned out. I know the hanging method worked. I now just have small inside pots of herbs and do miss growing them in the garden.
 
I freeze mine the same way the Breezy does it. I put in ice cube trays and bag it and it is great for sauce and pesto in the winter.
 
Does the olive oil and blender method work well for other herbs? I grew oregano, parsley, thyme, marjoram, and chives as well. With the cold Canadian winter coming, I would like to do something to preserve them.
 
I have dried all kinds of herbs just hanging till they are dry, then crumbling and putting in air tight containers. Basil seems to be good both dry and frozen. I think the key to avoiding the cobweb/dust problem is to move them to containers as soon as they are dry. This year I am trying to dry them in brown paper lunch bags, redistributing them every day.
 
I also freeze it in icecube trays for pesto in the winter. What I discovered this year is putting it in layers in a sealed plastic container covered with salt in the fridge. This to me holds the best basil flavor yet and you can use the salt after you've removed all the basil.
 
I like to layer mine in a sealed plastic container in the fridge. Between layers of basil I put salt. This holds the best taste for me yet.
 
Salt

The salt method does not dry the leaves, does it? But seems like a very good idea. I'm using something similar for dill and parsley which I store with salt in a glass recipient. Glass, unlike plastic seems less active.
 
It doesn't completely dry the leaves, but it turns them black and they are still somewhat pliable and full of that wonderful taste.
 
I freeze my herb leaves and then put them in a pint or quart jar then I seal it with my vacum sealer. i then store the jar in the freezer. It works really well.
 
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