Drying Herbs?

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Hi there. I usually strip the leaves off my mint and then dry it. Would you folks recommend trying to dry it on the stem first and then just crumbling the leaves?

Oh, and my method us usually putting the leaves on a cookie sheet in the oven that I have just turned off.
 
Someone mentioned basil paste, how do you make that? also, when you freeze basil, do you strip the leaves off the stem?
 
I remember him flipping them halfway through, although I doubt it would make much difference if you flipped or did not flip.

To flip or not to flip, that is the question :-p
 
jkath said:
A very light sprinkling of dried mint is a great addition to a batch of brownies!

I was just about to try this! I'm making thin mint brownies for a bbq tonight, and thought about sprinkling some chopped mint ontop of the frosting, to go with the peppermint patties inside. I've never done it before so glad to know it might turn out OK before I ruin a batch!
 
One great way to preserve mint is in ice cubes...it stays very fresh that way.

The way I make my basil paste is to put it in the food processer with a bit of salt. :)
 
I decided to experiment and threw some sage in the blender with olive oil and garlic and made a paste to freeze. I'll do it a couple more times before our first frost hits. The problem is that I only have the freezer on top of my fridge (I've always had a little, separate chest freezer, but sold it when we went on the road). Right now there is enough pesto and tomato sauce to feed a third world nation if someone else donated all the pasta! lol! I've been providing three households with tomatoes and cukes. And my garden is very small!! But I've given up on drying herbs. More trouble than it is worth. Over the holidays, when I'm buying dried rubbed sage, I'll be kicking my own butt (now there's a sight!).
 
Actually, I think my cheeks may just get low enough for this to not be much of a feat! Ain't middle age wonderful?!!
 
Just amke sure that you FREEZE any paste made with olive oil and fresh herbs, garlic peppers, etc.

Otherwise you've got botulism issues:ohmy:
 
I don't know why I didn't think to check this site before. Good instructions on how to dry herbs from when to pick them to how to dry them.

I still like Alton Brown's method, which we covered earlier in this thread. Speaking of which .... when I said I didn't remember him flipping the filters over it was not to imply that I doubted anyone who said that he did. Maybe I wasn't paying attention? My step-mom has a habit of calling every day when he is on so maybe I just missed it?
 
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I've frozen whole leaf basil but never made a paste of it. How would I go about doing that? It sounds like a great idea!
 
I made a paste of my basil by using the mini-processor accessory for my immersion blender. I drizzled about 1/4 c of olive oil into the attachment, then filled the compartment with basil. I sealed the top, and blended it for a few seconds. That pretty much processed all the basil in the bowl. I then kept adding more basil until I filled the attachment with basil paste. I added some more olive oil at least once. Once it was done, I used a spoon to drop spoonfuls of the paste into an ice cube tray, and promptly froze that.

Edited to add: Micheal, thanks for the website! There's a lot more info there on other topics as well! I've bookmarked it!
 
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