Dry them
TO DRY INDIVIDUAL
LEAVES...
1 Pick your herbs into individual
leaves. Put some paper-towel sheets
on trays and lay out the leaves,
spreading them apart so the air can
circulate. The paper helps to draw
moisture away from the leaves.
2 Find a place out of draughts to
dry the leaves, preferably inside.
Near a window is a good position
to give them sufficient sunlight for
drying – direct sunlight dries them
quicker, but they fade a little.
3 Leave them to dry for 1-2 days.
Check on them, as they may dry
sooner depending on your home:
They like dry heat, no humidity.
You will know when they are dry
as they will feel like tissue paper
and wrinkle up a little.
4 Once the leaves have dried, play
around with mixtures to make the
perfect Italian-style herb addition
to your meals. I love using rosemary,
thyme and oregano together in equal
parts. Store them in jars or airtight
containers – they will last for ages
and the flavour is stronger than using
fresh herbs. Dried herbs also make
great bouquet garni sachets.TO DRY IN BUNCHES...
Bunches of drying woody herbs
look pretty tied to a shelf or hanging
above your oven. Simply gather
your herbs, tie a bunch together
and hang them upside down out of
direct sunlight. If you want to speed
up the process, you may be able to
dry them outside in warm (not
humid) air, and then bring them
inside when dried. If you live
somewhere with a humid climate,
though, hang them inside in a dry
place. Leave them hanging and snip
off leaves as and when needed.Harder herbs like
sage, rosemary
and oregano are^
great dried.This is an
edited extract
from The Art
of the Natural
Home by
Rebecca
Sullivan (Kyle
Books, $39.99).womensfitness.com.au womensfitnessaustralia @womensfitnessmag @womensfitnessau 99EatFIT
PHOTOGRAPHY
NASSIMA ROTHACKER