Food dehydrator

[WelshBloke]

I'll concede, some herbs are not good dried...but your initial statement was basically "all dried herbs are horrific".
That's like saying all pizza is horrible, because you don't like cheap factory mozzarella.

All soft herbs. Woody herbs dry ok, but soft herbs like basil or parsley are a waste of time dried. You're better off freezing them if you're going to cook with them.

 

[EliteRetard]

All soft herbs. Woody herbs dry ok, but soft herbs like basil or parsley are a waste of time dried. You're better off freezing them if you're going to cook with them.

Freeze dried is still dried. I think dried parsley/cilantro/thyme etc. have uses.

 

[WelshBloke]

Freeze dried is still dried.

Not freeze dried, just frozen.

 

[EliteRetard]

Not freeze dried, just frozen.

I respect your opinion. No onion/garlic salt w/ parsley for you.

 

[WelshBloke]

I respect your opinion. No onion/garlic salt w/ parsley for you.

I'm fine with not having any of those TBH.

 

[EliteRetard]

I'm fine with not having any of those TBH.

Makes cheap potatoes so much better.

 

[Mike64]

Dried soft herbs make baby Jesus cry. Please don't do it!

That's certainly true for some of them - coriander, air-dried (versus freeze-dried) basil or chives, dill, and tarragon, among others - but others, like oregano and marjoram actually benefit from it imnsho, while others, like sage, thyme, the savories, rosemary (to a lesser extent), and the mints, among others, are good, or at worst, "completely satisfactory" (and even parsley is OK), though they do all taste slightly different than fresh...

As to home-drying them, though, I'm not sure it's worth it for most of them. Most of what you can buy, even the cheaper "supermarket" or "ethnic" brands which imx are usually as good as the much more expensive "big-name" brands, come from areas/regions better suited to them than the average home garden, and since all dried herbs die relatively quick deaths on a shelf at room temperature (especially if exposed to light), I'm really not sure it's worth the bother of growing extra and the time it takes to dry and process them... Growing-your-own is much cheaper than buying fresh herbs, at least those other than commodity stuff one uses in very large amounts like coriander and parsley, but for dried? I wouldn't bother except for unusual ones you can't find in stores, or to save whatever's still in the ground as frost approaches...

 

[NetWareHead]

I'm really not sure it's worth the bother of growing extra and the time it takes to dry and process them... Growing-your-own is much cheaper than buying fresh herbs, at least non-commodity stuff one uses in very large amounts like coriander and parsley, but for dried? I wouldn't bother except for unusual ones you can't find in stores, or to save whatever's still in the ground as frost approaches...

There is an energy cost that needs to be factored in when it comes to drying in an oven or dehydrator. If I plan it correctly, I attempt to dry the old fashioned way by cutting the plant, lashing together with twine and hanging all of the cuttings upside down outdoors. I usually pick all of my oregano this way and in about a week to 10 days it is dry, crusty and ready to be separated/cleaned. Same with catnip. Or if I procrastinate, the night before a frost, Im running out to the garden, cutting and evaluating what I should save. Usually results in my dining room table mounded with all kinds of vegetation and my oven and dehydrator are running for 3 days to dry everything.

I also grow my garden organically and use natural fertilizers such as compost. So thats something I consider when paying for spices at the store. Or if I buy a bunch of fish, I gut them, save the skin, heads etc and grind it all in the blender. Mix with some water and leave it in the basement for a week or so. When it stinks, its time to bring it outdoors. Water the plants with it and wait for some big growth. Yes you could get organically grown rosemary spice in the store but Im not paying $7 for a small bottle that will last 5 recipes. Even an organic rosemary seedling will cost maybe $4-5 and its hardy enough to grow on its own. Occasional water and some fertilizer and you have a large bush and tons of rosemary to harvest by the time frost comes around. Good investment for $5 vs store prices.

Most spices will keep fine when stored properly. We have sealed containers of dried little hot peppers in our basement that we grew last season. When we run out of hot red pepper flakes, we take a handful, crush some and cook with it. This summer, we didnt bother to plant more hot peppers as we are still working on our harvest from a year ago. As long as dried, kept in the cool, dark place and in a sealed container, it will keep for years. They are still plenty hot and taste good. Or we gift it to friends/family who cook and would appreciate a bundle of herbs from our garden. Or we give it away to clients who would similarly appreciate.