Fresh herbs prepped to dry
In the photo left to right is catnip, oregano, curry(the short grey stuff), marjoram, and rosemary hiding in the corner.
Planning my herb garden the end result, after all the dirty fun of course, was to have herbs to dry for cooking all winter long. Or at least until then ran out. So to save me money. So far, so good! I’ve dried so many herbs so far! Although, the end is in sight soon. The annual herbs are slowing because of the seasonal change. Margoram has already died, though that might be do to up rooting by an excited, energetic dog.
I did some research about drying herbs. It seems that two weeks in the magic time listed by many people. I’ve added a few more weeks sometimes with those herbs like sage that are softer and more succulent. Don’t want mold to ruin anything. Hanging herbs on the wall or laying them out on plates, out of the way of the cat has worked best for me. Remember to keep them out of direct sun light. Store the herbs out of sunlight if you can. I have mine on a shelf in the kitchen. There is no direct light on them because of where the sun rises and where the window is.
I’ve done some experimenting with drying herbs. Fennel is not supposed to dry well, but I left it out for almost a month and placing it in the jar I could still smell the black licorice scent. I have heard that sage doesn’t dry well. No problems so far. Cooking with both dried and fresh sage isn’t a lot different. Not a lot of flavor is lost with the moisture.
What I have noticed is that cooking with these fresh herbs requires a lot less. Sometimes the flavor is completely different that grocery store bottled cooking spices. Rubbed sage, even organic can’t compare to the stuff from my garden. It’s awesome! I can hardly wait until next year when I plant new and exciting herbs!
