Drying of herbs and spices
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Below, the general preparation is mentioned on how herbs and spices are dried. The drying of herbs/spices is practiced in both herbalism as cooking.
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[edit] Harvesting
At the peak time, when the compounds are in their highest concentration, the plant material is collected. This moment in time is different for each plant. Picking is done at days without rain or dew (to prevent the formation of mold. [1]Plants are preferably chosen which have had a good spot for growing, suitable for their requirements (this usually means a well-lit area).
Leaves and roots should be collected before noon, flowers should be collected in the morning.
[edit] Peel removal of roots
When certain roots (as garlic or ginger) are to be processed into pastes or powders, it may be necessairy to soak the root in water for a night. This so that the peel of the root may release. After this process, the root may be chopped up and purated inmediatly into a paste (no drying is necessairy then). To make powder however, drying is still required before the root is ground.
[edit] Drying
- For the above ground (or 'green') plant parts: on a hot, dark, dry and windy place. Avoid changing temperatures. Herbs can be placed on a grill or hung up [2]
- Roots and bark (or 'brown') plant parts: on well-lit places. Again they may be can be placed on a grill or hung up [3]
[edit] Storage
- In a dark pot: Make sure that the above (herbs) or below-ground (roots; both whole or grounded) plant parts are completely dry to prevent any infection from mold. -or-
- In paper bags: This is even better as the plant-parts are less prone to mold-formation
In both cases, a label is added with the plant name (usually the latin name is used), and the plant parts
