The growing season is finally over where I live and I've been cooking up a storm with the ingredients I have. Additionally, I have been drying herbs in the house so I have the benefit of their flavours over the rest of the year. There are hundreds of herbs which can be dried, frozen or dehydrated, but I'm only going to talk about a few of them in this post as I will be discussing others as I use them or grow them over this upcoming year.
I've tried a few different ways to store my herbs and I've learned a few tricks. You can use a dehydrator on certain items, such as onions and garlics and solar drying (baking them in the sun) works well with Tomatoes and Peppers. I will Freeze certain types of Herbs, such as the Large Leaf Basils, but to save on freezer space and for convenience, I'm happiest to air dry my herbs.I consider dried vegetables as a Spice as they add extra flavours. I will add extra dried and ground vegetables to soup stocks, breads and recipes if I have the ingredients at my disposal.
Some examples of how to use dried vegetables:
Dried and ground Red Bell Peppers...or Paprika, that's a Spice I love to utilize. Red Bell Pepper will give you a sweet paprika, a ripe Jalapeño or other hot Pepper will give you a Spicy Paprika.
Dried and Ground Celery Stalks replaces Celery Seeds or fresh Lovage in a dish too.
Dried Fennel Replaces Fennel Seed, etc.
I'll talk more about using Vegetables as spices in a different post, today I'd like to focus on the Leafy Greens and Stems of the tender Herbs I have harvested.
Leafy Green herbs and Air Drying.
When it comes to leafy green herbs and drying herbs to collect the seeds, air drying is best.
When you are ready to harvest your Herbs, it is best to take a chunk of the stem when you cut the plant, so you can use the stem to either hang the plant, or use it as the base to tie a string to.To dry herbs, hang them upside down and let them dry naturally in a well ventilated area. You get the full flavour of the herb this way.
Once the leaves are brittle to the touch, you can remove them from their stems and store in a plastic bag or glass jar. The stems can be utilized to add additional flavours to your Soup Stocks or Sauces. Simply cover them with water and boil to extract the extra flavours and add the ingredients which best compliment the base of the broth to the soup you will be making.
If you are harvesting seeds from your dried herbs, the process is the same, except you will wait until the plant has flowered and the seeds have formed prior to drying.After you have tied the plant and hung it to dry, place a small dish or bowl under the drying plant to catch any seeds which may fall.
Cilantro, once it has gone to seed, will give you the spice Coriander, which has a different flavour profile to the leafy greens of the Cilantro Plant. Roasted or used on its own, Coriander is wonderful spice to add to many meat dishes.
Dried Cilantro Leaves don't hold the flavour of the fresh leaf as well, so it is best to use any dried leaves within a month or simply discard them (compost).Caraway and Fennel seeds are other examples of when you would harvest the seeds of an herb to use in your cooking.
Onions and Garlic are two herbs that I will both air dry and if I have an abundance I will dehydrate them as well. Dehydrating using a heat and air gives the herbs a smokey flavour when you use them.
To air dry Garlic or Onion, tie the Chives to a hook and simply leave them to dry away from your cooking areas. If there is too much moisture in your kitchen, like my own, you can hang them in a well ventilated area of your home such as a utility room.
A way to save on space is to braid the chives of the bulbs together and hang them together in a row. The image to the left is braided Garlic. I hung a total of two braids which gave me extra space for the leafy green herbs.
I'll be back to talking about cooking and a few basic recipes this month. Regardless of what you cook though, using the freshest of ingredients will ensure you have the best flavours in your meals.
Have a great weekend!
0 Response to "How to Dry Herbs and Harvest Seeds - The Basics"
Post a Comment