Drying herbs?

[Dace]

I have three nice basil plants and I really need to whack 'em back. I would like to try some but need some advice.

I have an electric dehydrator (hiding in the mess of a garage somewhere) but I would prefer to not plug it in. Can I just find a nice quiet spot to hang my basil and let it dry on it's own? Also any ideas on how long that would take?

 

[2dream]

I am not sure on the basil but my rosemary, thyme and lavender I just tie some string around the end I cut off and hang up in my kitchen close to my stove. (Ususaly from a cabinet knob. It can take a couple of days or a week. Depending on the humidity in the house and a lot of the time the rosemay and thyme get used before they dry completely.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I usualy use the dehydrator which takes a couple of hours with most herbs.
However, most herbs dry really easily. Basil would be one of the fleshier ones but if you have a warm place like the oven with a pilot light or something, it should dry in a couple of days.
Things like rosemary and taragon can simply be hung up in bunches to dry but I have never done that with basil. I think there might be a lot of breakage doing that so I think that laying it on widow screening or cheesecloth or something similar in a way the air can circulate under it- You'll probably have to turn the leaves every so often to get even drying. But is should dry just in a normally warm room in a couple of days.
Easy to do.

 

[patandchickens]

Honestly I've had poor results drying basil (specifically, as opposed to most other herbs). It does not retain its, um, basility very well. You might really consider freezing instead.

Most herbs (like the ones that dry well enough to be worth drying) I've had good luck with just hanging in a quiet airy spot indoors, inside a lingerie laundry bag or something like that if you have a dusty cat-hair-y house like mine. Or just a few hrs in a warm oven does the trick too.

Good luck and hvae fun,

Pat

 

[keljonma]

You could use the shelves from the electric dehydrator. Put down some foil wrapped cardboard underneath and place in a sunny window....


I tried drying basil tied as a bunch. I hung it in a brown paper bag in a closet. It took about 1 1/2 months for it to completely dry. I like the basil dried in the dehydrator better because it seems to retain more of its flavor.

 

[Cassandra]

I found a good way of preserving basil in salt that works fantastic. I need to update this thread at the easy garden forum:

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23488

I have acutally used some of the basil I preserved this way and it was nice!

Cassandra

 

[Woodland Woman]

I have dehydrators but I like to dry my herbs on a rack my husband made for me. It has a wood frame with legs and 1/4" hardware cloth to put the herbs on.

 

[Farmfresh]

Stop messing about and get that dehydrator OUT OF STORAGE.

We are on a self sufficiency forum!

I use my dehydrator constantly!

I dry all my herbs. (Basil is easy and fast) I dry leftover celery stalks - chopped in the food processor first - great for cooking. Onions (outside or in a breezy place please). Mushrooms on sale. Fruit. I go on ........

A well used dehydrator can really save money.

 

[Wildsky]

I use my dehydrator constantly!

I dry all my herbs. (Basil is easy and fast) I dry leftover celery stalks - chopped in the food processor first - great for cooking. Onions (outside or in a breezy place please). Mushrooms on sale. Fruit. I go on ........

A well used dehydrator can really save money.

I use mine alot as well - it just stays on the kitchen counter - mostly I make jerky - cause I can eat the LOT in a week all by myself (from a 2-3 pound london broil) I'm SUCH a pig!

 

[enjoy the ride]

I do agree that most of the herbs I have dried in the dehydrator have better color, taste and texture that air dried with the exception of rosemary which seems good either way.
I recently went on a large scale thyme drying marathon- caused my house to reek of thyme for days- yes I mean reek- it was only on the third day the smell had dropped down to the pleasant cooking smell level rather than the eye-watering, nose running level. Next time I think I will do air drying for that too.