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How to Dry Herbs
An herb is a plant used for making medicine, for flavoring foods or merely for ornamental purposes too. Essentially divided into two categories- annuals and perennials- herbs are fast gaining popularity among those with a green thumb.
Advantages of growing and harvesting your own herbs
It is a pretty easy task to consider becoming a herb gardener, if one has the patience to learn a few thumb rules as growing your own herbs gives you the convenience of preparing your own seasonings/ home remedies as and when you need them - and also save you a lot of money and that trip to the local grocery store (which may be out of stock at the best times). The best time for planting herbs is spring and when its time for harvesting, it is prudent to select only the healthiest plants. Also, harvesting of herbs is best before the plant flowers.
Drying herbs: winter stores and more
There are many methods of drying herbs and adding to your winter stock-so you do not have to do a 'Mother Hubbard' and be faced with a bare cupboard when you need your basic herbs. Some proven methods for drying herbs are enumerated below:
- Air drying herbs: this method requires one to simply tie herbs in bunches of 5-6 flowers each and hang them upside-down in a dark and dry place, about 70 F. Depending on the kind of herb being dried, it may take a few days or weeks for them to dry completely. For thicker parts or heavier roots it may take more than a year.
- Oven drying herbs: this method requires you to place the herbs on a sheet in a thin layer and put them in a low setting oven. A relatively quick method that works well for herbs in lesser quantity.
- Microwave drying for herbs: is as the name suggests high temperature drying method that eliminates the moisture content in the herbs put on a plate and the microwave set on low for a few minutes.
To dry seeds of the herbs, one can hang bunches of the flowers inside a paper bag and allow enough time to elapse for the dried seeds to fall down to the bottom of the bag.
Determining the readiness of dried herbs
The herbs are ready when they are paper-dry and crumble when you rub them between your fingers. Then they can be stored in ceramic containers or in dark glass jars with tight-fitting lids. This is a necessary precaution taken to ensure that the herbs will not deteriorate when exposed to oxygen. You may want to label the containers for ease of locating them when needed and then put them away in a dark, cool place-a closet or cupboard is a good bet-so the herbs best maintain their medicinal and flavoring value for the maximum period. Among the herbs that can be preserved in a dried or frozen state are those with soft leaves like Comfrey, Basil, Borage, Fennel, Dill and Parsley.