Drying and Storing Herbs

Now is the time to dry your fresh herbs for storage. Don't wait until late summer or fall when you are busy canning! Now is the time!

The plants should then be gathered as follows:
*barks in the spring,
*leaves before the plant flowers,
*flowers on the first day of opening, and
*roots are best in the autumn (when lifting a root an effort must be made to get out the entire root, so a long spade or fork is needed)

The best time to cut herbs for drying is just before they flower. This is when the leaves have the most oil. Different varieties of herbs flower at different times of the season, so look for buds or newly opened flowers as your clue for harvesting. But, if your herbs have already flowered, they can still be harvested and dried. It is better to harvest herbs mid-morning when the leaves are dry but before the hot midday sun, but early evening is also good!

For some herbs you can cut and hang. For other herbs you must dry them quickly due to moisture content, or they will mold, ruining the entire bunch.

For herbs such as lavendar, cone flowers, goldenrod, oregano, and sage:

To harvest, cut the whole stems within a few inches of the base of the plant, gather into groups of 5-6 stems, tie and hang in a warm, airy location. When dry, strip off the leaves, store in a covered container such as a jelly size mason jar.

You can then tie them in loose bundles, and hang in a warm, airy place until dry. Make sure they aren't crowded so that air can circulate around them.

If you are harvesting echinacea (cone flowers) for medicinal purposes see this page, as you will also need to harvest the roots.

For high-moisture herbs such as lemon balm, basil, tarragon, mints, dandelion, nettles, and red raspberry leaves:

Remove individual leaves, or dry on stems. Lay in a single layer in a food dehydrator and dehydrate until very dry. Remove leaves from stems (if you haven't already) and place into air tight containers (mason jars, vacuum sealed bags, etc)

You can also dry these types of herbs in an oven. Heat over to 200 deg. Turn off. Place your herbs in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in warm oven. When dry, place into air tight containers (mason jars, vacuum sealed bags, etc).

You can also lay herbs on mesh screens in front of a dehumidifier over night, and store when dry.

All herbs need to be stored away from direct sunlight or heat as these rob the herbs of their potency. Enjoy your herbs!

Coming soon: herb butter, and vinegars and oils infused with herbs..

Crock Pot Yogurt
for easy and delicious homemade yogurt..
from Nourishing Days

Recipe notes: This recipe uses a 2 quart crock. In using a 4 or 4 1/2 quart crock I found the yogurt to have a bit of a “springy” texture. I was able to alleviate this by heating the milk an additional 15 minutes for a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Turn your crock pot to low and pour in 1/2 gallon of milk.

Heat on low for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Once 2 hours and 30 minutes have elapsed turn your crock pot off and unplug it. Let the milk cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours.

After 3 hours remove 1-2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. To that add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix very well.

Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the milk and whisk thoroughly.

Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crock pot in a thick bath towel or two.

Let it culture overnight, 8-12 hours.

In the morning stir yogurt (if desired) and store in glass quart jars or a container of your choice.
For optimum texture, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using.

We then sweeten with pure maple syrup and vanilla extract, or blend with fruit and agave nectar or honey.

Making Butter

Yesterday I made butter for the first time. It was quick, easy, and tastes unbelievable!

I think the key is starting with good quality, fresh, RAW milk. Here in Northwest Indiana I have access to raw milk for $2 a gallon. Compare that to the dead stuff you buy at the store for $3.70+ a gallon.

Still questioning the safety of raw milk? Read this article, and this one. Read this article for the benefits of raw milk. Wondering what's wrong with pasteurized and homogenized milk from the store? Just click the links..

Back to making butter...

I started with 4 gallons of raw milk. When raw milk is refrigerated for 12+ hours, the cream rises to the top. Using a ladle, I skimmed the cream off the top of the chilled milk.

Making butter is simple and easy. You can churn the butter from cream in a blender, food processor, or mixer (I used my Kitchen Aid), therefore my instructions will be for the mixer..

Directions:

Start by pouring cream into the bowl of a standing mixer. I started with 2 quarts of cream. Start the mixer with the whisk attachment on low speed (to avoid splatter) and progress to medium speed as the liquid begins to thicken. Increase the speed to medium-high or high (if the cream allows that without splattering). Continue mixing at this speed until the buttermilk (looks watery) separates from the butter (light yellow, or white clumps).

The butter should then be washed to remove as much of the butter milk as possible. Remove the butter from the butter milk, and place it in a bowl with cold water. Using your hands, form the butter into a ball, squeezing gently to remove buttermilk. You may salt your butter at this stage (to taste). Dip frequently into the cold water to keep it cold. Continue until butter milk is all squeezed out. Not washing the butter will result in butter that my go rancid because of the butter milk.

The butter can be then be wrapped and frozen or refrigerated for storage.