Drying Herbs?
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Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Cut branches of mint and tie several together. Hang them in a cool dry place with some air movement and leave them undisturbed until they are dry. Then strip the dry leaves and package them.
If it's peppermint, it's good for tea and desserts. If it's spearmint, there are thousands of Middle Eastern, Greek, Armenian etc. recipes that use it in savory dishes.
If it's peppermint, it's good for tea and desserts. If it's spearmint, there are thousands of Middle Eastern, Greek, Armenian etc. recipes that use it in savory dishes.
Teanobi
Assistant Cook
Also make sure where you hang them they wont gather dust or have any insect visitors. It really ruins some nice dried herbs when you see spider webs all over them.
A dehidrator can also work well for drying herbs if you happen to have one. It will make sure to keep them clean and reduce the drying time greatly.
A dehidrator can also work well for drying herbs if you happen to have one. It will make sure to keep them clean and reduce the drying time greatly.
jkath
Hospitality Queen
A very light sprinkling of dried mint is a great addition to a batch of brownies!
Claire
Master Chef
I have a bumper crop of herbs this year, and unfortunately, don't have a/c and summers are humid here. I tried micro-drying some sage, which I'd had some success with before, but got a fire going (and I used special microwave paper towels!). Now that it is a little cooler out I may try the oven. When it is humid, your hung herbs tend to mold before they dry. I do have one bedroom air conditioned .... it would just be me to have herbs hanging in the master bedroom. I mostly want to dry sage, I use a lot of it around the holidays, and it is one of those herbs that dries very well, and is even tastier in dried form. Most of my herbs, I've decided, are a seasonal thing and too bad. More trouble than they are worth to dry them. But thyme and sage I use in great amounts, and have in great amounts in the summer. I have a freind with a dehydrator and am thinking of asking to borrow it. I've never seen one. Are they huge? In return I'd give him a year's supply of whatever herb he desires.
Claire
Master Chef
P.S. Daisy ... thanks for the recipes. I found some ground lamb at the grocery a couple weeks ago, and know in a general way what I want to make with it. I have a huge mint patch and a pretty decent parsley one. I'm sure I'd have figured out how to use them with the lamb, but getting proportions right when you're cooking something you can't really taste as you go along is a big help.
bknox
Head Chef
Drying Herbs and Freezing them
I dry herbs pretty much as the forum is describing but depending on how I use a specific herb I will freeze them as well.
With Basil I will prepare as a paste and freeze into cubes using ice cube trays. I will make various pestos as well as freeze them the same way.
The flavor stays intense and fresh herb paste or pesto is excellent in the middle of winter when fresh herbs are scarce. We make Thai food and whole leaf basil is required. We freeze our basil whole leaf as well. Since we are going to be cooking it anyway, wilting caused by freezing, does not matter as much and you will still have the intense flavor.
Bryan
Bryan Knox
Knox Spice Co.
http://www.knoxspice.com
I dry herbs pretty much as the forum is describing but depending on how I use a specific herb I will freeze them as well.
With Basil I will prepare as a paste and freeze into cubes using ice cube trays. I will make various pestos as well as freeze them the same way.
The flavor stays intense and fresh herb paste or pesto is excellent in the middle of winter when fresh herbs are scarce. We make Thai food and whole leaf basil is required. We freeze our basil whole leaf as well. Since we are going to be cooking it anyway, wilting caused by freezing, does not matter as much and you will still have the intense flavor.
Bryan
Bryan Knox
Knox Spice Co.
http://www.knoxspice.com
Constance
Master Chef
Bryan, I also freeze my basil, and Italian parsley as well, as a paste, and find that it works extremly well...you still get that fresh aroma and taste.
But I do mine in Ziplock sandwich bags, getting all the air out, then pressing out very thin, no more than 3/4" thick. That way, I can take the bag out and break off however much I need.
I put several of the sandwich bags in a bigger ziplock, which keeps them together, and further protects them from freezer burn. I have used some that were 3 years old that were still good.
But I do mine in Ziplock sandwich bags, getting all the air out, then pressing out very thin, no more than 3/4" thick. That way, I can take the bag out and break off however much I need.
I put several of the sandwich bags in a bigger ziplock, which keeps them together, and further protects them from freezer burn. I have used some that were 3 years old that were still good.
RPCookin
Executive Chef
This is one great reason to be living in Colorado. Drying just happens. The hard part is watering often enough that they don't dry on the plant.
I will cut a few sprigs of something (rosemary the other day) to use in a dish, then I just leave the unused portion on the bay windowsill above the kitchen sink. In a couple of days it is dry, I strip the leaves from the stems, and put them in old jars from store-bought spices. This year we didn't do much in the garden, so all I have is rosemary, oregano, chives, and garlic (and hopefully tomatoes in another month or so
).
I will cut a few sprigs of something (rosemary the other day) to use in a dish, then I just leave the unused portion on the bay windowsill above the kitchen sink. In a couple of days it is dry, I strip the leaves from the stems, and put them in old jars from store-bought spices. This year we didn't do much in the garden, so all I have is rosemary, oregano, chives, and garlic (and hopefully tomatoes in another month or so
).
My grandmothers used to go out and harvest herbs from the garden several times during the season. All they ever did was tie the stem ends with some string and hang them in the shade from a nail on the back pourch until they were dry, unually only took about a week, then strip the leaves and put them in a Mason jar.
ALTON BROWN's hi-tech (24-hour) method:
1 Square Box Fan
2 long Bungee Cords
4-6 paper (NOT fiberglass) AC/Heater filters (the kind with V-shaped grooves, not flat)
4 bricks (if needed - see below)
Lay the fan down on a counter so that the side that blows out is facing up. Lay a filter on it - with the V grooves going horizontal across the fan. Sprinkle some herbs on it, top with another filter and repeat as necessary up to about 5. Top with a final filter (no herbs on it). Use the bunge cords to firmly attach the stack of filters to the fan (bottom to top). You can now place a brick under each corner of the fan so there is air circulation if it's going to be pointed up - OR - stand the fan up on it's base (you can set this in the window to blow outside if you don't want your house to smell of the herbs you are drying). Turn the fan on to low and let run for about 24-hours (until the herbs are dry).
ALTON BROWN's hi-tech (24-hour) method:
1 Square Box Fan
2 long Bungee Cords
4-6 paper (NOT fiberglass) AC/Heater filters (the kind with V-shaped grooves, not flat)
4 bricks (if needed - see below)
Lay the fan down on a counter so that the side that blows out is facing up. Lay a filter on it - with the V grooves going horizontal across the fan. Sprinkle some herbs on it, top with another filter and repeat as necessary up to about 5. Top with a final filter (no herbs on it). Use the bunge cords to firmly attach the stack of filters to the fan (bottom to top). You can now place a brick under each corner of the fan so there is air circulation if it's going to be pointed up - OR - stand the fan up on it's base (you can set this in the window to blow outside if you don't want your house to smell of the herbs you are drying). Turn the fan on to low and let run for about 24-hours (until the herbs are dry).
Claire
Master Chef
Thanks, RP. So many who don't say where they are from (or their moms or grammas) give solutions to problems that won't work elsewhere. I actually HAVE collected dried sage off of sage plants! But hanging doesn't work in some climates. I still have all that sage, andthink I'm going for a sage/olive oil/garlic paste for the freezer. If it's still beautiful in the fall (once we turn the heat on) I may be able to hang it to dry. My bay tree died this year, but I did successfully hang-dry bay leave enough to last me a year, but that's only because the tree liked it inside rather than outside, so I could dry them in the winter (drying in the winter, when the heat is on inside, is easy. Unfortunately that isn't when most of the rest of my herbs are booming!). I've done herb gardens in Hawaii, Florida, and Illinois. IL by leaps and bounds is the best place to grow most herbs, but they're definitely seasonal. Unfortunately, the herbs you want for your winter soups are looking great in the garden in July, when you don't want to turn on the stove. Hawaii had its own set of herbs, which I miss. Florida was in-between. Actually easier to hang-dry herbs, because you lived with central heat/A/C 350 days a year, creating an artificially dry atmosphere that worked. However, a lot of herbs simply couldn't survive those years when it hit 90 in April and we were still in swimsuits in October (and I lived ABOVE the freeze line). However, my mom had a great bay tree in her yard, convincing me to buy one for mine, which turned into a great little tree that survived 90 degrees AND frost. Herbs are very regional, as anyone who's visited some of the old missions in California can tell you ... ever seen a hedge of rosemary?
Constance
Master Chef
I live in Southern Illinois, Claire, and what you say is true. It's hard to dry anything outside when the humidity is 93%. I don't know what it is today, but my patio doors are fogged up, and when I went out earlier, it was like stepping into a sauna.
I use a lot of herbs in my cooking, so my plants stay well clipped in the summer. I freeze extra basil and Italian parsley in a paste form to use in the winter.
I am fortunate to have a south-facing, passive solar greenhouse across the front of my house, so I take pots of herbs in to clip from all winter. They all do fine except for the basil...it's a sun & heat lover and an annual, so when the days get short and the weather gets cold, it pretty well spits out the bits.
I'm thinking about that hedge of Rosemary...how lovely!
I use a lot of herbs in my cooking, so my plants stay well clipped in the summer. I freeze extra basil and Italian parsley in a paste form to use in the winter.
I am fortunate to have a south-facing, passive solar greenhouse across the front of my house, so I take pots of herbs in to clip from all winter. They all do fine except for the basil...it's a sun & heat lover and an annual, so when the days get short and the weather gets cold, it pretty well spits out the bits.
I'm thinking about that hedge of Rosemary...how lovely!
Sorry, Claire - my mom, gammas and aunts all lived within a 120-degree arc starting from 15-miles E of Fort Worth swinging around to the south 50 miles SSW.Even after 6 weeks of 100-F days with no rain it never gets as dry down here as it does where RP lives! Rick lives on the far south side of Denver - I used to live just a little west in Golden. I swear it's so dry up there you cauld make "powdered water"! 
Nannsi
Assistant Cook
Be careful about the dehydrator you use. I bought one, and it only has one temp setting, and pretty high at that. I'm guessing it's set to dry jerkies and meats at a high enough temp to be safe. In any case, it crispy crittered a batch of thyme in a flash, and I had to throw it (the thyme) out.
I air dry my herbs by hanging them from the chandelier above the kitchen table. I cut holes in a paper lunch bag, put in a loose bunch of herbs, tie it closed, and string it up. allows air circulation while keeping dust and insects out.
I air dry my herbs by hanging them from the chandelier above the kitchen table. I cut holes in a paper lunch bag, put in a loose bunch of herbs, tie it closed, and string it up. allows air circulation while keeping dust and insects out.
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Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Nannsi said:
I had the same experience and called the manufacturer of my dehydrator. They explained I needed one with an adjustable thermostat as herbs need to dry at a lower temperature than the 130F the non-adjustable models reach. They recommended 110F. Higher temperatures cause the flavorful volatile oils to be driven off, leaving relatively tasteless dried herbs.
I also air-dry my herbs with no problem.
Nannsi
Assistant Cook
There comes to mind an old design for a low temp dehydrator that involves old window screens, shelving cleats, a slat-wood box, and a light bulb inside for heat.
A larger version of the Easy Bake Oven, without the intensity
A larger version of the Easy Bake Oven, without the intensity
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Alton Brown did a Good Eats episode in which he dried herbs using furnace filters, bungee cords and a box fan.
Buy several non-fiberglass furnace filters and lay the herbs on one and top it with another filter and lay herbs on that one, repeat for several layers. Strap the stack of filters to the box fan and turn it on for, I think, 24 hours and the herbs should be dry!
Buy several non-fiberglass furnace filters and lay the herbs on one and top it with another filter and lay herbs on that one, repeat for several layers. Strap the stack of filters to the box fan and turn it on for, I think, 24 hours and the herbs should be dry!
purrfectlydevine
Sous Chef
If I remember that Good Eats episode correctly, I think Alton "flipped" the filters over (holding them all together) half way though the drying time.
I don't remember AB flipping the filters .... or mentioning doing such ... and I've watched that episode about 3 times. I'll have to watch closer next time.
