Dehydrator: I have an electronic dehydrator, that was bought for me many years ago. At that time we had a pear tree that gave lots of fruit. After the raccoons were done with their portion, there was still too much for us to eat fresh so we would dry them. (I also have to admit pears are not my favorite fruit, except I do like pear cognac and baked pears.) What I used the dryer for was to remove moisture from those cut pears, and occasionally an apple or two. It did the job adequately and I had semi-dried fruit to eat. However, this big beast used electricity, operated a long time, and made a loud hum that could be heard everywhere in the house. I found that over time I stopped using it.
Oven Drying: I have also dehydrated foods using my gas stove, but that uses energy too, plus heats up the house (the oven has to be propped open to keep air circulation happening). Great in winter, not so good in summer. I have to monitor the process more diligently than any other method and if I do not a whole batch of drying herbs can be ruined. I still use the stove for some items. I set the oven as low as it can go and use it for dehydrating specialty salts and sugars, or veggies that I am going to make into a veggie powder.
Microwave Drying: I have heard about this but have never tried. I cannot see how this would works as well as other methods. Fridge Drying: Certainly I have accidentally left herbs out of their container in the fridge, and wound up with most of the herbs fully dried. But have not explored this further as I usually do not have room in my fridge for this activity.
Solar Drying: This is the most often way I dry food; it is cheap and natural as all I have to do is have the food sit on the counter near a window that brings in morning sunshine. The kitchen is warm, the sun shines for a bit each day, and the herbs and other foods I leave on the counter dry well.
Growing Herbs: I grow oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic chives, parsley, mint, dill and basil in my garden. I also grow stevia and verbena. I love it that when I am prepping for a recipe, I can run outside with my shears and basket and gather what I need for the dish. Something about that makes me very happy and makes me feel as though I am supporting my family. Another great thing is that I grow these plants with little effort. (I do have to admit that parsley, dill, stevia and basil are hard for me to grow and often die before their time, but I am not giving up.) Growing my own also saves money, as I do not have to buy these herbs weekly nor throw them out when not used in time. Over a year, the money I save is significant enough to go out for a nice dinner.
- Heartier herbs are the easiest for me to grow and dry: bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, verbena, oregano, chives, mint and sage.
- Tender herbs can be harder to grow or dry: basil, parsley, tarragon.
Having fresh herbs through spring and summer is great. When the winter comes some of the herbs die (like my basil, parsley and dill) so I decided that as late in the growing season as I can I will harvest and dry my own herbs. That decision was a very good one as you can tell from the above photo. My dried herbs are greener, more fragrant, and better tasting than the dried ones I can buy in the store. I know my herbs are organic, I know exactly when they were harvest, and I know nothing bad was added.
Herb process: When buds start to appear, before flowers open, I start my harvesting. I try to cut the herbs in the morning after they are dry but not heated by the sun as I want oils in the leaves when I dry them. (I do not really know if this makes a difference, but I think it sounds intelligent when I say it.) I gently wash off any gunk if required and air dry the herbs, then pull the leaves off the stem, discard bad leaves or debris, and arrange the remainder on paper towels or parchment paper leaving them to sit in the sun. For herbs I make sure they are not overlapping. Every day I rearrange and flip them so everything dries, and I pull out things that do not look good. After a few days they are dry and I place them in a bowl in the kitchen to continue to dry, and then eventually into a sealed glass spice jar. The window does not get enough sun to bleach the herbs which is good, and they are in the kitchen which is the warmest spot in the house, also good.
Mushroom Process: I also do this with all sorts of mushrooms. I slice and put them in the sun separating the stems from the caps. The dried stems will go into a veggie broth and the caps will be re-hydrated and used in food. I did this one day as an attempt to save mushrooms that were going to go bad when I had too many for the dish. It worked and I have been doing this ever since. Again every day I rearrange them and spread them out as much as I can so they all get the touch of sun.
Zest Process: I also dry zest from lemons, limes, blood oranges, and grapefruit, I zest juiced citrus and place on a piece of parchment that is sitting in the sun to dry. Why waste a whole orange that is only calling for zest? I now have zest as part of my spices. I also dry the citrus peels (after removing all the pith I can). These can be used in specialty sugars, salts, and to make lemon pepper. These too will go into a bowl and then into a lidded spice glass containers. I make my own lemon pepper with dried lemon peels and zest along with pepper corns. This is a money saving activity that also tastes better than the lemon pepper I have bought.
Final thoughts:
- The freshly dried herbs last ~1 year
- Whole leaves will retain oils better than crushed, so do not crush them until you are using them in a dish
- Even with store-bought dried herbs, crush them into your dish do not just dump; they need to release whatever goodness remains in them and the crushing action should release some aroma and remaining oils
- When considering using fresh or dried herbs remember the ratio 3:1 fresh to dry; or 3t fresh equals 1t dried
- Check the homemade dried herb jars occasionally for any mold and discard
As a further benefit of doing this, I also now have small gifts I can hand out during holidays and birthdays. Not that expensive to make and a great gift to hand to someone who can appreciate good quality food.
Oh I just have to share this, just created a recipe I call Leeky Chard and a Winter Veggie Roast that taste great and looks wonderful with the bright colors of red, white and green. Tasters have given both a “thumbs up.” To continue to expand the German section I have added Kohlrouladen (stuffed cabbage). Hope you enjoy!
News: Reported 1/11/17 “A team of scientists found four species of Pacific salmon [are now carrying] the Japanese tapeworm: chum salmon, masu salmon, pink salmon and sockeye salmon.” What to do? You cannot see the larvae no matter how thinly you slice the fish. So the only option is to not eat raw (no salmon sushi) or under-cooked salmon. Cooking the salmon, to reach a sustained internal temp of 145F for ~5min, will destroy the tapeworm.
–Patty
