Drying Herbs

[NSB]

Does anyone have any hints on freezing herbs? Or drying herbs? I am wanting to try and dry Bay and Rosemary.

Look forward to some expert advise

[Vegmonkey]

Hi. With bay, all i've done is hang them up in the shed and they have dried beautifully. Not sure if that is expert advice, but it's all i got guv. Will follow this thread with interest!

[Earthbabe]

Hi NSB and welcome to the vine.

There is a thread on freezing herbs, probably in the kitchen. You could try putting freezing into the search engine and it should pop up.

Drying - like vegmonkey - I hang small bunches whereever it is dry and there is some air circulating, and some space. A dry shed or similar is fine or try the kitchen for a "rustic" look. If the bunches are too large the "leaves" in the middle won't dry properly and will rot - Yuk!

Things like bay, rosemary, sage, lavender, thyme dry very well. Leafier herbs such as basil, tarragon, lovage will keep their flavour and freshness better frozen.

[NSB]

Thanks for that

[mrs potato head]

You can freeze herbs in ice cube trays with small amounts of water or wine.
Another nice way to preserve herbs however is to ground down and stir into oil. you do need a lot of leaf to do this, consistancy should be of a think paste. This can be stored in fridge for upto 3 months.

[NSB]

I've cut my herbs and froze them, the bay leafs I have hung and they have gone very limp and curled, I picked the very pale green leaves should I have picked the dark green leaves?

[Earthbabe]

As they dry out they will get a bit firmer. Mine generally look paler than those in the shops but taste and smell great. Don't worry. As long as they have plenty of dry air around them they'll be fine.

[la cebolla grande]

Being lazy I just chucked some herbs (mint, thyme and oregano) in freezer bags and hurled them in the freezer, hoping for the bext. I found they froze brilliantly, kept their colour and I just opened each bag and crunched in enough for each meal.

I've tried the freezing in an ice cube, and in oil, but it can be a lot of faff and you need a reasonable amount of space to keep enough cubes for the whole winter.

Woodier herbs I just dry, hanging off curtain poles etc - I always dry lavender like this. Haven't ever tried rosemary, as its always there fresh when needed right the way through the year.

LCG

[moggssue]

I was following a recipe recently that required basil oil - so I made my own (by guesswork) and it was yummy. I would definitely now recommend this way of preserving but dont know how long it'll last for so it may not actually 'preserve'?

[JennieAtkinson]

I had to pick some rosemary yesterday as it was shadowing another plant, so I stripped the stalks and put them on a piece of kitchen towel in the microwave for a couple of minutes to dry them out, crushed them and stored them in a glass jar. I did this last year and on a wet evening, when a needed some herbs it saved a trip to the tunnel.

Lovely smell in the kitchen afterwards!

[Flummery]

My dad used to dry some of his rosemary and then fluff it down in a coffee mill (one attached to a food processor). He used it when stir-frying white cabbage. A pinch added to the finely diced cabbage is heavenly.

[moggssue]

Oohhh, another way to try to tempt OH into eating cabbage - I'll try that idea! Would you keep the dried rosemary in the same sort of jar as you would use to pickle? I've always just picked it fresh from the garden, but dried and ground would be handy sometimes (and easier in the rain!!).

[JennieAtkinson]

I only ever use pickle jars for pickle moggssue, as I find the vinegar smell pervades every thing you put in. You could put dried herbs in an envelope and keep them in a dry place.

[Flummery]

He kept it in a glass jar with a screw top lid - can't remember what had been in before but it didn't impart a smell. As you can use rosemary fresh all year he only did this for the cabbage - if you chop it you still get stalky bits.