Drying herbs for spices

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Drying Herbs For Spices Drying: Sun, oven, dehydrator, and microwave drying are not recommended because the herbs can lose flavor and color. For retaining highest flavor and quality, air drying or room drying is the easiest, most inexpensive method for preserving herbs. Moisture evaporates slowly and naturally during air drying, leaving the precious herb oils behind. Dehydrators are useful if you are drying large quantities of herbs or high moisture herbs such as basil. Air drying herbs:1.Start by washing the herbs. Do this in the garden with a light spray of water before you cut them. Let them dry and then cut the stalks and bring them inside. 2.Or, using a sharp knife or scissors, cut stems from the plants. Gently shake each branch to remove insects. Examine each branch and remove old,

damaged or diseased leaves. Rinse each branch in cold water and dry with towels or paper towels to remove all water. Wet herbs tend to mold.3.Remove the largest lower leaves. They are not as pungent as the top leaves nearest buds. Tie five or six stems together in a small bunch. For high moisture herbs, use smaller bunches.4.Place the bunch upside down in a large brown paper bag. Gather the bag around the stems and tie. Cut several holes in the bag for ventilation. Write the name and date on each bag.5.Hang the bag in a warm, airy room or attic. Leave in paper bag for about two weeks or longer.6.When the leaves are dry, check for any signs of mold. If there is mold, then discard the entire bunch. If there are no signs of mold, strip dried leaves from stems and discard stems. Crush the leaves, if desired, but whole herbs retain their flavor longer than crushed, ground or rubbed herbs.7.Store herbs in labeled airtight containers.

Store herbs in a cool, dry, dark place away from sunlight. Another method of air drying herbs is to place the leaves in a shallow wicker basket with a weave that allows air to flow through, or cheesecloth stretched over a frame. This process usually take three to four days. Once a day, shake and redistribute the leaves so they dry more evenly. Once they are completely dry, put them into labeled airtight containers. Drying Seeds: Seed drying takes about two weeks. When the stalk is dry and the seeds are brownish looking, remove the head of the flower. Spread the flowers on a cloth stretched on a screen for about a week. Gently remove the seeds from the flowers. Leave the seeds to dry for another week and then put into labeled bottles.Or, put the flower heads in a paper bag. After the seeds are dry, remove the seeds from the flower heads back into the paper bag by

thumping or shaking the flower heads. Put into labeled bottles. Storing:For those of you who store their kitchen spices in clear glass jars, light is one of the biggest destroyers of herb flavor and medicinal potency. The other is oxygen. To best preserve the herbs' constituents, store them in amber glass or ceramic container. Fill containers to limit the amount of oxygen they contain. As you use your herbs, Add cotton wadding to the containers to limit the amount of oxygen inside them. Moisture is another herb killer. If your herbs get wet, re-dry them quickly to prevent the growth of mold. Suzi What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. health/ http://suziesgoats.wholefoodfarmacy.com/

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