Drying basil

My basil needs cutting. I read that it is best to cut it in the evening. However, I need to dry it because I really can't use that much fresh basil. What is the best way to dry it that you have tried? Also, I don't have a hydrater.

Wow, your basil is gorgeous! I dry my basil by cutting about a 6" stem, tieing two or three of the stems together and hanging them out of direct sunlight where they get good air circulation. We're in a humid climate, so it usually takes 8-10 days for the leaves to get crisp. I then put the whole leaves in a lidded jar and crush the leaves when I need to use them.
Freezing basil is an alternative to drying. I put basil leaves in a small food processor (also can be chopped fine by hand) and chop them up, then add just enough vegetable oil to make a slurry. I put the mixture in ice cube trays and freeze it, then transfer to freezer bags or a plastic container. A "basil ball" can be dropped frozen into soups, sauces, or when steaming vegetables.
Individual basil leaves can be placed on a cookie sheet, frozen and then put into a freezer container. The leaves will turn black but taste the same. If you blanch the leaves by dipping them briefly (30 seconds or so) in boiling water, they will retain their color better.

Thanks! After the hail it looked pretty bad and a couple of plants just didn't make it. So I am lucky that a couple got going ok.

We are pretty humid up here! Dew comes in the morning so I don't know if I could keep it completely dry if I put it in a covered alcove I have. Also, I don't think it gets that much air circulation there. That would be the only place I have that is out of the sunlight.

I suppose drying it inside would take forever.

Have you ever tried the oven method? Heat oven, turn it off, and put the basil it?

This message was edited Aug 15, 2009 12:27 PM

I always dry basil inside, and you can, too. Just make sure that there is some air circulation--not a stiff breeze, but if you wet your finger and hold it up, one side feels a little cooler. That's air circulation!
I have not tried the oven method. Basil is fairly delicate, and loses some flavor if dried quickly. I prefer the "natural" method of hanging herbs inside the house, out of sunlight, but with some air circulation.
If you visit us on our website which is rgf-tx.com and request under "contact us" the July newsletter, we will send you the newsletter which has a picture of an herb dryer and instructions on making it. It is simply a hanging dryer that will accomodate six to eight bunches of herbs. Our website is secure and we aren't selling anything--just sharing the joy and pain of a small farm in Central Texas. Most days it's joyful, sometimes it's painful . . . .

Texasroses -- Thanks for the tips. Do you hang your basil? Can I put it in my bedroom that has regular temperature? Does it need to be dark where you put it? I usually keep my herbs in presciption plastic bottles and in a cupboard. I figured they would be ok because I don't have anything else that might be better.

I just hang it in my basement. Then I bring a bunch up & brake the leaves off just before using. it's really dead on simple. the bunch does take up some space in the kitchen but I rather have the leaves intact until just before use.

Venice, go take a look at TexasRoses web site. It is great.

I still love ya Texas. Tell your hubby I said hi.

I prefer freezing or storing submerged in olive oil over dried... I just think basil doesn't retain it's flavor very well when dried.

How do I find TexasRoses' website? By the way, I don't have a basement.

What I do, with great success- as grandma taught me - is to take a paper lunch bag - tie or rubber band the top closed some herbs hanging from the top . poke a few holes in the bag - place somewhere cool and dry. when they are dry just pull off the leaves. . There are some people that put them in the oven on low and the door open with a fan..I just bought a food dehydrator and it works wonders... you can leave them in the sun if it is dry enough outside.. but i have always used and will always reccomend the paper bag dryer.
-joe-

The web site is given in her post to you. rgf-tx.com

The reason why I am so dense is because of the weather. lol Really I don't do well in this heat and humidity. I get so hot and drippy that it takes me quite a while to cool down.

Jim, I know I should not complain because your weather down there must be next to unbearable. I haven't been over to the new slug thread for a while. But glad to see you up and at least typing away. I am sure your doctor said you should not be doing everything you were doing. Hey, by the way, how did Jo's cinnamon pickles turn out? I have never heard of them! Maybe they are sort of like cinnamon apples. Are the pickles red? I wish we could see them. She probably is canning something else by now.

Still working on the cinnamon pickles. Takes several days to do them. They taste a lot like spiced apple rings. They are just a lot of trouble. She's been putting up pear butter. What that is I don't know. Tastes good. She is going to put up pear preserves. My personal favorite. She's got five gallons of muscadines to put up for jelly. Womans breaking me buying jars and sugar. I'm glad you made this post because I'm going to raise some basil next year and was wondering how to store it.

Ok, I learned something else. I didn't know what muscadines were, a super grape, grows well in a hot climate. They must make great jelly!

How can spiced pickles be more trouble than spiced apple rings? My mother used to can spiced whole crab apples. They were cute but I didn't care for them. I have not even heard of pear butter or preserves. I tried making jelly from my lemon balm last year. What a mess!

I am wondering if Jo enters some of her things she has canned in a County Fair or other. I think she would be someone who would get blue ribbons!

Muscadines originally grew wild. Now they have domesticated them. The wild ones were really tart but now they have bred a lot of that out. They do make good jelly, wine and even make a good pie.

I don't know how you make spiced apples but there are a lot of steps in making the spice pickles.
Over size cukes peeled and sliced, then you cut out the center where the seeds are.
Soak them in ice water, then alum water for several days.
Soak them in vinegar, mixed with red hots, cinnamon sticks and red food color. This is boiled and poured over them.
Then every day for four or five days, you have to drain off the concoction and reheat it, add more red hots and pour back over it.

Then you have to bring the whole mess to a boil and put it in jars and seal it.
Then water bath it.
Probably some sugar mixed in there somewhere.

I'm just the canner man. Handle the pouring off and pouring on and putting the lids on the jars.

She never has entered anything at the fair.

Pear butter is a new one for her. Really don't know what all is envolved except the pears have to be chopped really fine. She says they are easy to do. I'll take her word for it. Think she is putting it up to give to our senior group for christmas.

Pear preserves are really good except they have so much sugar in them I can only sample. The pears are peeled and sliced off the core. That is a chore because canning pears are hard. They really have a delicious taste and the syrup on them take up that good pear flavor and is delicious.

Good golly! I had absolutely no idea that there were so many steps in making those cinnamon pickles and that it took so many days!!!! So amazing Jo has so much patience and stamina to do that! And to do all the other canning she does! Her recipes are certainly creative!

She's a work-a-holic. Can't stand to sit. Had 26 pts. of the spiced pickles.

Oh my gosh! That is a lot!

She had already put up about twenty. Put up 30 half pints of pear butter. 36 qts. or fig preserves. 3 gal. of sweet pickles. 24 qts. of dill pickles. 64 qts. of purple hull peas in the freezer. 8 qts. of butter beans in freezer. Pile of okra for frying and boiling. 20 gal. zip lock bags of roasting corn. 36 qts. of grape jelly. 24 qts. of picante sauce. I think that is all so far. Still got five gallons of muskadines to cook down for jelly and pears for preserves. Makes me tired to think about it. Course you understand that the kids are going to pack most of this home with them.

Where do you store all of those jars? You must have some sturdy shelves. How many kids do you have?

Just two kids. I don't know where she's putting them right now. We have a pretty big house and if push comes to shove, I have a forty by thirty storage building. Use to be a country grocery store.

And I just bet she could nearly fill up that storage building all the way. lol Did you use to sell all of your canned things in that country store? By the way, you sure have lucky kids!!!! Very lucky!!!

Ok, I'm jumping in now, since I grew Basil that looks like that pic above for the 1st time this past Spring. It's all dried up now and there are only the brown seed pods standing. Sooooooooooo. Is the seed a little black thing inside those pods? I expected more than just one seed per pod, but if that's it, I guess not.

Finally, when do I replant the seeds for the next season, and do Basil really like the heat? Thanks!

Linda

No you can't sell things you home can. To many health laws. The store was running when we bought the house and we ran it for about four years. If we hadn't lived right next to it it would have been ok. Couldn't get up early enough and close late enough. They thought because I lived by it I ought to be willing to open up anytime. Usually the ones that did this, never bought anything from us. Just used us, when they forgot something at town. Want to guess who hollered the loudest when we closed down?

Don't know anything about Basil, Gymgirl. Go over to "More Basil" thread and ask Dave. He'll know the answer.

Gymgirl,
The little black things are the seed. A basil plant puts out a lot of seed pods. When the pods turn about the color of a paper bag, you can harvest them easily. I just put the long stem of pods in a plastic bag and store it in a cool, dry place until planting time.
I start my basil indoors in January and have nicely sized plants to put out in March. Basil is a heat lover, and if the soil or air is too cool, it will just sit there until conditions are more to its liking. I don't know what kind of basil you are growing, but my personal favorite is Genovese. There are lots of basils (globe, cinnamon, African, etc.) so you can experiment and enjoy!

So the little white things that look like seeds are not ready to pick yet? You have to wait until they turn brown? I thought you were suppose to not let basil go to seed.

Venice,
If you want to continue harvesting basil leaves, you don't let basil go to seed (the plant thinks it has completed its life cycle, done its duty, and is ready to rest). If you want to save seed to plant next season, let one plant flower, go to seed, and harvest the little black seeds that are inside the brownish spikes that are spent flowers. I have let my African basil go to seed at this point, and am waiting to harvest the seed within a week or two.
Aren't Jim and Jo something special?

For sure!!!! Amazing!

Thanks Texasroses. Now. How do I stop a basil plant from "going to seed?"

Gymgirl,
I usually just point my finger at the plant and sternly say, "no!"
Seriously, as soon as you see the little pointy start of a blossom, just pinch it off. The basil wants to set flowers so it can set seed, so you have to be vigilant and do a lot of pinching.

Texasroses -- Talking about seeds. Do you know about annual dalia seeds? I have deadheaded these annual flowers but I don't know what what I have left are seeds. My camera won't take a good photo of something that small. Do you know what these seeds look like?

Thank you for the flowers Texas and Venice. I think you guys are pretty special. Surprizeing how many friends I've made on Dave's since June.

I want to plant some Basil for next year, Texas. What is the best all around Basil for cooking? Where to order seed?

I have hung my basil to dry but it is turning really dark. Why????

Jim, I get my basil seed from Pinetree Seeds (superseeds.com) and I get Genovese if I can. Almost any basil is good for cooking. I usually put in three plants in the small herb garden and have basil coming out my ears (very decorative, and I have been complimented on my head foliage!).
Venice,
Your basil is turning dark because it is drying. Perfectly natural and doesn't affect the flavor. When your leaves are quite dry, store them whole in jars or plastic bags out of sunlight, and rub them into small bits just before you use them. Whole leaves keep their flavor better than small bits, since there is less surface area exposed to air.
I haven't the foggiest idea about Dahlia seeds. Try posting on the beginner gardening forum--those folks know almost all kinds of flowers. I'm a rose person, myself (as if you couldn't guess.) Sorry I can't help on this one.

Ok.
I wanted to grow basil 'cause it is such a wonderful smell in the garden, and I have. Now, all you basil lovers here please go post some recipes specifically using basil. Start a thread in the RECIPES FORM called "Cooking With Basil From Your Garden".

Thank you, in advance, for sharing!

Linda

Never mind. I'll start that thread for ya'll. ^_^

Venice,
May I have permission to use you pic for the new thread?

Gymgirl -- Sure you can use that photo. No problem. It is Sweet Basil but I think there are other varieties that have a better taste. I was lucky to get that because last year Lowe's was all out of it.

Next time I want to grow something other than from the seeds I have saved, I will order them. I doubt if I will need more basil than what I have from these 2 plants! However, if I decide to get some basil seeds I would want to get this one.

Magical Michael - O. basilicum 'Magical Michael'
Award-winning hybrid with an uncommon degree of uniformity, and nice flavor for culinary use.

I save my herbs in prescription amber plastic bottles in a large baggie on a lower kitchen cabinet.

Thanks Venice62! I'll be sure to list your credits.

Thanks Texas. I'm in the process of ordering seed and I'll see if I can find it. Don't have that catalog yet. Just Johnnys Selected Seed.

I know this thread has wandered off-topic, but I thought I'd throw in another alternative for basil preservation, and that's drying it in a microwave. I put it on double-layer paper plates and microwave it (I think I usually do 30 seconds at a shot) until it's dry and crispy. Works well; might not have the same flavor as cool dark drying, but if you're in a time pinch or your climate is just not cooperating, it's an alternative that's pretty easy.