I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to preserve
them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the
best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank you.

Fran

(Franfogel) asks:

>I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to
>preserve
>them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the

Conventional wisdom is to freeze the basil, dry the thyme. Depending on what
you plan to do with the basil you may want to blanch by putting it in a
colander and pouring boiling water over it then plunge into ice water. That's
if you want to use it whole later. If you plan on making pesto simply grind it
and add olive oil, then freeze. Don't put the pine nuts/cheese/complete boat
of oil in at the time of freezing, just use the base oil/basil mixture as the
start for fresh pesto.

>best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
>the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work?

Skip the dehydrator for the thyme - cut lengths and dry it on window screens,
then put it in a jar or tin.

Best,

Marc

(MrAoD) wrote in
:

> If you plan on making pesto simply grind it and add olive
> oil, then freeze. Don't put the pine nuts/cheese/complete boat
> of oil in at the time of freezing, just use the base oil/basil
> mixture as the start for fresh pesto.

I usually include the chopped garlic. Also, the best way to freeze
pesto is in plastic ice trays. Once hardened, you pop them out and
toss them all into a freezer bag and back in the deep cold.

--

German to Picasso in front of Guernica: Did you do this?
Picasso to German in front of Guernica: No, it was you.

"Franfogel" > wrote in message
...
> I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to
preserve
> them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is
the
> best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere
in
> the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank
you.
>
> Fran

Drying works well for thyme but not for basil. I do not know why, but dried
basil looses 95% of its flavor and ends up being just green flecks in your
food. Much better to make a paste, sort of like the forst steps of making
pesto. Basil leaves (washed and dried) and enough olive oil to make a paste
in the food processor. Freeze in small quantities. The flavor is preserved
much better this way in my experience.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Franfogel" > wrote in message
...
> I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to
preserve
> them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is
the
> best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere
in
> the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank
you.
>
> Fran

Drying works well for thyme but not for basil. I do not know why, but dried
basil looses 95% of its flavor and ends up being just green flecks in your
food. Much better to make a paste, sort of like the forst steps of making
pesto. Basil leaves (washed and dried) and enough olive oil to make a paste
in the food processor. Freeze in small quantities. The flavor is preserved
much better this way in my experience.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

On 12 Sep 2004 19:13:20 GMT, (Franfogel) wrote:

>I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to preserve
>them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the
>best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
>the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank you.
>
>Fran

Other people have offered you good and, to my mind, cogent advice on
this, but I'd like to offer one more alternative. I've had good luck
with freezing basil leaves rolled up into a cigar shape in a plastic
freezer bag. I rolled the leaves inside the bag and squeezed out the
air before sealing it. During the winter, I've pulled the cigar out
of the freezer and sliced off chunks of herb to use as needed.


modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

On 12 Sep 2004 19:13:20 GMT, (Franfogel) wrote:

>I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to preserve
>them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the
>best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
>the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank you.
>
>Fran

Other people have offered you good and, to my mind, cogent advice on
this, but I'd like to offer one more alternative. I've had good luck
with freezing basil leaves rolled up into a cigar shape in a plastic
freezer bag. I rolled the leaves inside the bag and squeezed out the
air before sealing it. During the winter, I've pulled the cigar out
of the freezer and sliced off chunks of herb to use as needed.


modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Franfogel wrote:
> I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to preserve
> them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the
> best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
> the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank you.


This question comes up fairly often so I've found my old answer and
reposted it. To my mind, drying herbs is a poor substitute for
freezing. I suppose it is better than nothing, but freezing really
captures the flavor where drying doesn't.
---------------------

My method (I'll use basil for the example):

Grow lots of it. Clean and destem the leaves.

Place half of them in a blender. Add enough vinegar to cover the
blades, enough
to make the blender run smoothly. Blend. Try not to get a smooth
puree. Think
chunky.

Pour into ice cube tray. Freeze. Remove to plastic bag and label.

Take the other half of the leaves. Put into blender as above, but this
time use
red wine as the liquid. Ice cube trays, freeze, label.

Every recipe will call for the flavor of basil plus either vinegar or
red wine.
Tomato sauce? Add a wine-basil cube as it finishes cooking. Let the
heat of
the sauce melt the cube. Salad dressing? Use a vinegar-basil cube.
Minestrone
gets a wine cube. Marinated mushrooms get a vinegar cubes.

I've used this method with many herbs. My results:

Works well with basil, dill, parsley and tarragon.

Cilantro ends up tasting like tea. I've never found anything that
preserves the
flavor of fresh cilantro.

Oregano, rosemary and sage get their flavor preserved, but the leaves
are too
leafy. It is like running into grass in the sauce. Maybe try pureeing
and then
running the liquid through a sieve? Experiment and report back.

Franfogel wrote:
> I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to preserve
> them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the
> best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
> the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank you.


This question comes up fairly often so I've found my old answer and
reposted it. To my mind, drying herbs is a poor substitute for
freezing. I suppose it is better than nothing, but freezing really
captures the flavor where drying doesn't.
---------------------

My method (I'll use basil for the example):

Grow lots of it. Clean and destem the leaves.

Place half of them in a blender. Add enough vinegar to cover the
blades, enough
to make the blender run smoothly. Blend. Try not to get a smooth
puree. Think
chunky.

Pour into ice cube tray. Freeze. Remove to plastic bag and label.

Take the other half of the leaves. Put into blender as above, but this
time use
red wine as the liquid. Ice cube trays, freeze, label.

Every recipe will call for the flavor of basil plus either vinegar or
red wine.
Tomato sauce? Add a wine-basil cube as it finishes cooking. Let the
heat of
the sauce melt the cube. Salad dressing? Use a vinegar-basil cube.
Minestrone
gets a wine cube. Marinated mushrooms get a vinegar cubes.

I've used this method with many herbs. My results:

Works well with basil, dill, parsley and tarragon.

Cilantro ends up tasting like tea. I've never found anything that
preserves the
flavor of fresh cilantro.

Oregano, rosemary and sage get their flavor preserved, but the leaves
are too
leafy. It is like running into grass in the sauce. Maybe try pureeing
and then
running the liquid through a sieve? Experiment and report back.

Franfogel wrote:
> I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to preserve
> them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the
> best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
> the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank you.


This question comes up fairly often so I've found my old answer and
reposted it. To my mind, drying herbs is a poor substitute for
freezing. I suppose it is better than nothing, but freezing really
captures the flavor where drying doesn't.
---------------------

My method (I'll use basil for the example):

Grow lots of it. Clean and destem the leaves.

Place half of them in a blender. Add enough vinegar to cover the
blades, enough
to make the blender run smoothly. Blend. Try not to get a smooth
puree. Think
chunky.

Pour into ice cube tray. Freeze. Remove to plastic bag and label.

Take the other half of the leaves. Put into blender as above, but this
time use
red wine as the liquid. Ice cube trays, freeze, label.

Every recipe will call for the flavor of basil plus either vinegar or
red wine.
Tomato sauce? Add a wine-basil cube as it finishes cooking. Let the
heat of
the sauce melt the cube. Salad dressing? Use a vinegar-basil cube.
Minestrone
gets a wine cube. Marinated mushrooms get a vinegar cubes.

I've used this method with many herbs. My results:

Works well with basil, dill, parsley and tarragon.

Cilantro ends up tasting like tea. I've never found anything that
preserves the
flavor of fresh cilantro.

Oregano, rosemary and sage get their flavor preserved, but the leaves
are too
leafy. It is like running into grass in the sauce. Maybe try pureeing
and then
running the liquid through a sieve? Experiment and report back.