I have been doing some research on drying and storing herbs, but I am just getting confused on what I should and should not do, so I figured I would pick some brains here to hopefully be pointed in the right direction.
I am growing an indoor herb garden, and I have an excess of herbs at the moment. I don't want them to flower, nor do I want to waste them. As such, I am looking at drying and storing them, but I want to be sure I am not wasting time and flavor in the process.
I have successfully dried some thyme, but I was wondering how well basil (I have cinnamon, Thai, and sweet) and mint dry and if there are any special ways I should be storing them (freeze instead of dry to keep flavor better, ???)
Thanks in advance!
Drying and Storing Herbs
Mint and sage dry very well,but must be quite dry to store.I've found that keeping them as much whole leaf as possible (not crumbling to powder until using) keeps a lot more of the flavor & smell in the leaf.
Basil does fairly well dried but freezing in water is best
Thanks both of you! I took the mostly dried leaves off of the mint I was drying yesterday, and I will be sure to leave them whole until I am going to use them. I guess I should start freeing up some freezer space for the basil!
This is a great thread for this time of year. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/714309/
Thanks for the link dahlianut!
I dry out Basil leaves on some screens and place them in a quart sized glass jar with a screw on lid. They keep very well that way!
tommyr2006 - Does your basil lose its flavor?
No it doesn't. I use it mainly in spaghetti sauce.
Tommyr, I also dry my basil and enjoy it. It doesn't taste just like fresh basil, for that flavor I whirr it in a blender with a little water and freeze it in ice cube trays. But, the dried is really good and MILES above supermarket basil.
herbalbetty - How fine do you chop your basil before freezing?
I don't chop it. I dry it whole on stems. When dried, I strip the leaves from the stems, trying to keep the leaf as whole as possible. I then crumble when I use the herb. I do this with as many herbs as possible (leaving them whole). The fragrance and taste keeps much more intact that way.
Ok. That makes sense. That is what I have been doing with my herbs as well. Glad to see my logic is solid in that respect :)
Ok, my herb garden is small. Some of the plants are not only for cooking, but for Butterflies also. Anyway, have couple Basils, Dill, Fennel, Tyme, Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Chives, Mint, Lavender. I usually just go out a pick some for cooking, but the Dill is getting rather full and tall, and the same with the Fennel. Can these be frozen? If so, can it just be cut, put in baggies or some other method.
Thanks?
mj
This message was edited Dec 7, 2008 7:36 AM