Drying Herbs

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This year I planted an herb garden- everything did really well...My question is about preserving the harvest: frozen vs. dried...any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

-- Alexa Krain (DrMom5775@aol.com), September 01, 2001

Answers

Alexa, I grow lots of herbs. I make pesto and freeze it in ice cube tray. The rest I dry in the dehydrator. I pick, wash and sort the herbs. Then dry till crunchy. I put them in plastic bags, leaves, stems and all. Then when I need to use the herbs, I strip the leaves from the stems. and crush. I also made a combination herb mix. Take a couple of tablespoons of each crushed herb and mix together. Sprinkle over garlic toast, put in Itialian dishes. Well, I just put it in everything. Anyway, drying in the dehydrator, dries them fast and they keep their color and don't get dusty like hanging them.

-- Belle (gardenbelle@terraworld.net), September 01, 2001.

On the Martha Stewart show (ya I know) anyway to dry herbs she takes a layer of that wedding veil mesh lay's her herbs on it then rolls it up so they are kind of suspended from each other like cinamin in a bun, and she puts it in the fridge. Wha La in about a week or so they are dry. let them get to room temp. and put them in jars for stroage. Nothing to it.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), September 01, 2001.

Alexa, I too grow lots of herbs, and you just have to experiment to see what works best for you. Not all herbs dry well (like basil and parsley which can end up tasting like grass). In principle, it's better to harvest herbs before they flower as the essential oils are at their peak then. By now, though, most have already flowered, so don't worry about it. Chopping up herbs like basil (which can turn black if frozen alone) and mixing them with just a little olive or mild flavored oil (2 cups of herbs to half a cup of oil) and freezing in ice cube trays is a good way to go. When they're frozen, pop them out of the tray and put in a plastic bag (labeled!) in the freezer. Other herbs like chives freeze well straight from the garden.

-- Katherine in KY (KyKatherine@Yahoo.com), September 02, 2001.

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