Dry Herbs in the Microwave

Herbs have been used for thousands of years in cooking to flavor food, as perfumes to make us smell nice, as disinfectants, to protect us against germs, as medicines - to heal us when we are sick, as currency, instead of money. Today we still use herbs for the same purposes, but perhaps not as currency! Recipe books are full of suggestions about adding herbs when cooking, but sometimes your favorite recipe calls for dry herbs. You can go to the store and buy dried herbs, but there is a simpler way. Use your microwave!

Steps

  1. Pick out the herbs that you want. It's recommended that you choose the herbs before they flower. Select herbs that are fresh, still green and tender. Mid-morning is the best time of day to collect fresh herb leaves. If you harvest them too early in the morning the leaves may still have dew covering them. When harvested later in the day, the heat may be too intense and cause your herbs to wilt before you have a chance to bring them inside. Chives grow quickly in spring and summer. Cut as you need them for use, trimming right down to the base.When cutting parsley, always remove the whole leaf, together with the leaf stalk, nipping it back to where it joins the clump. Avoid the oldest leaves as these tend to be tough.Cutting rosemary for culinary use will prevent the plant from becoming woody. Use secateurs to trim {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} - {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} from each shoot, as required. Avoid cutting back into woody, leafless branches.When harvesting basil, nip out with scissors or between finger and thumb, the tips of the plants back to just above a pair of leaves. New growth will emerge at this point. Don't nip just below the leaf, leaving a short stem, as this will simply wither.[1]
  2. Remove any discolored herb or rotten leaves. Take the herb leaves off the stem.
  3. Rinse the herbs. Run cool water over the herbs in a colander. If you have a salad spinner, use that to dry the herbs, a few sprigs at a time.
    • If you do not have a spinner, dry the herbs between layers of paper towels, patting them down gently to remove as much water as possible.
  4. Lay the herbs on a paper towel. Lay the herbs on a paper towel. Cover the sheet, but make sure that there aren't too many herbs on it. Place another paper towel on top of the herbs.
  5. Place the paper towel in the microwave. Let them dry for about 2 minutes. Check them every 30 seconds to make sure that they don't get burned.
  6. Take the paper towel out of the microwave. Take the paper towel out of the microwave and let the herbs rest for a couple of minutes. This way the moisture from the microwave will evaporate into the air.
  7. Store your herbs. Take a dark container and place your herbs in it. Make sure that you keep the container out of heat and light. You can also use sealable airtight bags. Don't forget to label your herbs with the name of the herb and date when your dried it.
    • Dried herbs are best used within a year. As your herbs lose their color, they are also losing their flavor.[2]

Warnings

  • Make sure that you don't over dry your herbs. If you take the herbs out of the microwave they should feel crispy under your fingers.
  • Don't dry any strong scented herbs in your microwave, the scent/taste could transfer to other herbs so that they would lose their taste/scent.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/herbs-pick/
  2. ↑ http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/DryingHerbs.htm

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