Title: Drying Herbs & Spices
Categories: Dehydrator Herb Info
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Herbs and spices come from a variety of plants and parts of plants. Many herbs such as basil, marjoram or mint are valued for their leaves; dill and parsley for both their leaves and stems. Cloves are flower buds, allspice comes from a berry and nutmeg comes from the fruit of a plant. And from another part of the plant come poppy, caraway or mustard seeds. Herbs are classified as any flowering plant whose stem above the ground does not become woody. This definition includes a wide variety of vegetables and some fruits. However, for those of us who grow and use herbs, they can be defined as any plant valued for culinary flavor and aroma or medicinal properties. Herbs are usually grown in temperate climates while many spices require a tropical climate. Some fresh herbs and spices are available seasonally. Others such as parsley, basil, dill, ginger root, fresh coriander and tarragon are more common. Herbs and spices have little, if any, nutritive value, but their unique flavors and aromas are indispensible in creating the favorite foods of the world. Fresh herbs and spices have a stronger aroma and flavor than dried and are prized by food lovers and gourmet cooks. Dried herbs and spices are next-best and are used more often than fresh because they are available and convenient. They may lose some of their flavoring oils when dried, but drying also concentrates the flavor by removing the moisture. Most herbs contain from 70 to 85 percent water. Eight ounces of fresh herbs will yield about one ounce dried.

GROW YOUR OWN

If you have the space and time, you may want to plant an herb garden. Herbs grow fairly well with a minimal amount of care. Plant outside herb gardens where they will get plenty of sunshine. Keep the area free of weeds. To avoid confusion about what is what, define areas for each herb with dividers or other plants. In milder climates, some perennial herbs such as mint or thyme can be harvested most of the year. A number of herbs can be grown indoors on a sunny windowsill or covered porch. Herbs such as chervil, chives, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary or sage will grow indoors successfully most of the year. Nurseries and occasionally produce markets have starts, small plants that grow more quickly than seeds.

HOW TO BEGIN

For the best flavor, use scissors to gather leaves and stems on a sunny morning just after the dew has evaporated and before the heat of the sun has dissipated the flavoring oils. The leaves of most herbs should be still green and tender and harvested just before the plant begins to flower. Harvest plants in the mint family when they are in full blossom for the best flavor. The new leaves at the tip of the plant are usually the most flavorful. After flowering, many herbs have a bitter taste and the leaves are not as aromatic because more energy has gone into the buds. Leaves and stems of several herbs may be harvested three or four times during the summer and others may be gathered year-around. The flowers of some herbs are flavorful and should be harvested when they first open and while still very fresh. Harvest fully mature seeds of plants such as mustard or caraway. Some seeds change from bright green to brown or gray as they mature.

PREPARATION

Lightly rinse leaves and stems with cold water, either by submerging or holding under running water; shake off excess water. Cut off dead or discolored leaves or stems. To prepare flower petals, wash, then separate petals and trim any tough or discolored parts. If the flowers are to be used for tea, they must be dried whole. Seed pods, depending upon how much they have dried on the plant, may be left as is until the outer covering is sufficiently dried so that it may be easily removed. When the outer covering is fairly dry, rub the seeds between the palms of your hands, blowing to remove the chaff or husks. The seeds are then dried until there is no evidence of moisture when they are crushed. Do not heat seeds to be used for planting or they will not germinate. ** How To Dry Foods by Deanna DeLong HPBooks, California 1992 ISBN = 1-55788-050-6

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