Drying or Freezing Herbs from the Garden?

[tacatcon]

Hey there
I need suggestions. I have basil and mint galore I want to start preserving for cooking in the winter. What do I do with it? Can i dry it myself? Can i freeze it? How do I best do either?

Thanks!

[Domestic Gal]

If you have a dehydrator you can dehydrate it but it takes like 24 hours for the basil. Not worth all the effort to me when you can buy it for $1
Or you can make some pesto out of it and freeze it.
The mint you can make mint jelly and freeze it or could dehydrate it also.

[meofcourse80]

I make pesto with my basil and freeze in little tubs or ice cube trays transferred to a freezer bag. Just look for a recipe online. I use toasted walnuts or pecans instead of pine nuts because it's so much cheaper. And it really doesn't effect the flavor much, since the basil is so strong.

[TiggerToo]

Cubes - Chop the basil and put into ice cube trays…or cube molds or whatever you have available. Add water to the molds and freeze. Once frozen, take out of the trays and either pack them in Ziploc bags, Food Savers or Tupperware containers.

You can also do this with olive oil, but taking a food processor and in batches, take some of your basil, and add olive oil and process till you make a paste. Add the mixture to the ice cube trays and freeze. Then once frozen, take out of the trays either pack them in Ziploc bags, Food Savers or Tupperware containers.


Pesto – is fantastic as well…and in my research, I find that you should go as far as to blend all ingredients except for the cheese. You can add the cheese when you pull the pesto out to make it. Basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and garlic.


Drying - If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can either hang them upside down in a bundle or you can use your oven. Lay a baking sheet with one layer of paper towels. The herbs need to be placed in a single layer on the paper towel and avoid overlapping. Cover them with another sheet of paper towel and you can add another layer. I wouldn’t go more than 4 or 5 levels up. The oven needs to be very low…180 – 200 degrees for about 3 – 4 hours. You can leave the door of the oven open so it doesn’t get to hot. You are trying to create that dry heat. Watch the herbs, because they will dry fairly quickly and as they get crisp, remove them from the layer.

[motherofmolly]

my friend does mint. they use it for tea...she cuts the mint and brings it inside and puts newspaper out on a table in her sunroom. she pulls the leaves off and lays them out and lets them dry completely. she then puts them in a ziploc bag or an air tight jar (she uses those glass jars that the cashews come in around christmas time) and then uses it all winter long. obviously if you use a ziploc, you need to keep them cool and dry.

[buddysmom]

I pick the whole stem of basil, bring it in & wash it off - then I lay some dish towels on the counter & pull off the leaves, and lay them on the towels in a single layer - till they dry off. (Not dried like a dried herb - just the water is dried off). Then I put them in a ziploc bag or a small plastic container & store in the freezer.

One time, I picked the whole stem, washed it off & hung it from my clothesline till the leaves were dry - then removed the leaves from the stem & stored as above. It dried alot faster this way

[CW&M Mom]

My mom would gather them in bunches..tie with some twine and hang them upside down to dry.

To do flowers (not for eating) she would carefully put them into a bucket of clean sand. So put some sand down...carefully lay the flower down, carefully surround it with sand....then put the next flower down. In about a month...she would then very carefully pour out the sand to get the dried flower.

[janastanley]

I dehydrate mint and basil. I also hang it inside of paper bags to dry. I will freeze some basil for pesto and then have a jar of it to add to soups and sauces. We make our own tea blends with mint, so I have a huge jar of that.

When I freeze the basil, I use old ice cube trays. Once its frozen, I pop out the cubes and wrap them in wax paper, then stick them in the freezer. This helps me take out the right amount and not have a huge chunck of basil ice in a ziplock bag.

I grow alot of herbs, so I can make my own specialty blends. Its alot cheaper to do that then buy it in the store.

[tacatcon]

Wow thanks guys for all the great ideas! I knew I was asking the right people!!!