Dehydrating Home grown Spices

It’s time to start dehydrating some of my herbs I have been growing in my garden this year. Today I will show you how I dehydrated my Basil and Parsley from my garden. My herbs are doing very well this year.

The first one I will show you is my Parsley.

1.       Wait till your Parsley is a good foot tall before cutting some down.

2.      

Cut off ends and anything that has any brown on. You want your Parsley to be a nice bright green color.

3.     

  Cut your Parsley into ¼ to ½ inch long little pieces.

4.     

  Place into a colander and rinse several times to get off any excess dirt of bugs.

5.      

Take your dehydrating tray and place the fruit roll-up tray on top. This will keep your small pieces of Parsley from falling through.

6.     

  Place another empty tray on top so the heat source does not touch your Parsley.

7.     

  Set your dehydrator temperature for herbs and spices. This is usually the lowest temperature setting.

This will take most of a day to dry properly. You want the Parsley to be crumbly and very dry.

8.      

When dry place in a zip lock bag or a sealed container.

The second Herb I will show you is my Basil.

1.       Cut your Basil with scissors from your garden.

2.       Some people have tried using a slotted spoon to remove the leaves, but I find this not to work so well. I just start picking the leaves off by plucking them.

3.     

  Place the Basil in a colander and wash several times to remove any dirt and any bugs.

4.     

  Place the Basil on your dehydrating tray with a fruit roll-up tray on top so the Basil does not fall through as it is dehydrating. Place another tray on top to protect your basil from the heat source.

5.      

Set your dehydrator to the herb and spice setting. This is usually the lowest temperature setting. This will take about a whole day to dehydrate your Basil.

6.     

  When dry, leave whole or crunch up into little pieces. Place in a sealed zip lock bag or a sealed container.

These spices will keep for several months as long as they are kept in a cool dry place.

I love having fresh herbs and spices from my garden. Herbs and spices from the store are very expensive. Try to grow your own herb garden soon and enjoy fresh spices instead of store bought. You can grow herbs and spices all year round if you have a nice warm and lighted area to grow them in some pots. Enjoy fresh herbs year-round from Suzie Homemaker.