Drying Herbs & Spices

Years ago I purchased a home dehydrator. It is extremely convenient for drying herbs and spices plus you can make dried fruit, vegetables and even dehydrate soups (That is a tough one). With the tray inserts you can also make your own fruit leathers.

Food dehydrators are not that expensive. I got mine at the Minnesota State Fair more than 10 years ago and it is still going stong.

There are many on the market. They all work basically the same, moving warmed air over the herbs or whatever it is you are dehydrating.

You don't need one of these machines to make your own dried herbs. My favorite TV chef is Alton Brown and he takes a guy's approach to many kitchen issues including drying everything from herbs to pasta. Most often this involves a trip to the hardware store. Further down the page is a link to his video on how to make your own herb drier. It involves a fan, furnace filters and bungy cords.

It is also possible to use your oven and even your microwave. There are links and videos below to guide you.

For herbs with small leaves, I put the whole stem into the drying machine. But to save time with the larger leaved herbs like basil, I will pick the leaves off the stems first. Arrange the herbs so that they have room around them for the air to move, do not over lap.

Set the dehydrator temperature to about 110 degrees, and your herbs will be dried over night.

When I have more dried herbs than I can get into the cupboard, I store them in mason jars and keep them in a dark area so the light does not break them down. I also own a Foodsaver, so I vacuum seal the mason jars for extra freshness. A Sharpee marker writes well on glass for identifying herbs at a later date.

Personally prepared powdered garlic is so much more flavorful than what you get in the store.

The process is simple. Peel, chop, dry and re-chop. You really need a food processor for the last chopping because you are making a powder. But I've heard that you can get the same results with one of those small coffee grinders that have a small spinning blade. I haven't tried that. A blender might also work for the final chopping.

I start with about a dozen heads of garlic. Pull apart the cloves from the head. To quickly and easily peel them, cut off the very bottom. Using one of your wide knives, place the knife blade on the clove and hit it with the palm of yourt hand. The clove gets smashed and the skin easily pulls away.

Add the "naked" cloves to the processor and pulse until the garlic is is small pieces. Spread out in your dehydrator (The Alton Brown method will not work here because the cloves are moist). Set the temperature a little higher than for herbs, about 120 degrees and dry overnight. Perhaps longer depending on the amount of juice in your garlic and the humidity in the air.

The next step is put the dried garlic back into the food processor and let it run for a couple of minutes. Not all the garlic will be a powder at this point. Empty the contents through a strainer into a bowl and re-process the garlic still in the strainer. A couple of processings usually takes care if it all.

Store your garlic powder how ever you like in a well sealed container and out of the light.

If you make ginger cookies, you will notice a much improved flavor when using your own ginger powder.

The process is similar to that for making powdered garlic.

I usually purchase a nearly complete root, perhaps 1/2 pound. Cut the ginger into workable pieces and then trim of the skin. Neatness does not count. Chop the skinless ginger into small pieces and add to the food processor to reduce to small pieces. Ginger is stringy, but add it all to your dehydrator and dry as with the garlic. The aroma will be wonderful.

Once dried, add the dried ginger, strongs and all, into the processor and let it run for a few minutes. Pass the processed ginger through a sieve into a bowl and return the ginger and strings back to the processor for another go 'round.

Store your powdered ginger in a well sealed container of your choice and away from the light.