Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Drying/preserving herbs
Sometimes I’ll just wander past my spearmint and rub some leaves to catch that wonderful scent. I do that with the rosemary, oregano, tarragon, well, you get my point! I also like to preserve those wonderful herbs for winter use!
The easiest way to do that is by drying. I use a dehydrator (I talked about that last week when drying tomatoes) it takes much less time but if you don’t have one, no need to run out and buy one, unless you’ve found a fantastic garage sale!
The easiest and least costly method is simply hanging a bunch upside down and let them air dry. Gather a small bunch and tightly tie a piece of twine an inch or two from the bottom.
Hang the bunches in a well ventilated area out of the sun. You can use a paper bag with the bottom cut out and holes punched in the sides to keep them protected.
As soon as the leaves are crackly dry and crumble easily, take them down, strip the leaves off the stems and store them in a glass jar with a screw top. They’ll stay fresh for up to 18 months. (Most grocery store dried herbs are a lot older than that!)
I’ve also vacuum sealed them. Herbs that don’t dry well include parsley, chives and basil, BUT, you can freeze them. These won’t look pretty but work great in sauces, soups and stews.
Dice your washed herbs and pack them in ice cube trays, fill the space with water and freeze. Once they’re frozen, pop them in airtight containers keeping them frozen till you’re ready to use them. You can also just freeze the leaves after stuffing them into a ziploc baggie.
Fantastic Basil cream sauce!
- 1 c. fresh basil
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 oz. goat cheese
- 1/2 c. plain yogurt (not greek)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
Mince the basil and garlic and mix with goat cheese, yogurt and olive oil in a blender or processor until smooth. Put on salads or anything else that you can think of!
Most herbs are at their peek flavor just before the flower buds open. Pick them in the morning after the dew has evaporated.
Here’s a quick overview of different methods of drying herbs from Purdue University, including using the microwave.