Topic: Caution-Drying herbs

[Andy H]

A word of caution when drying herbs in a microwave! A website said 20secs another said 2 mins another 2.5mins! Thought I would go for 20 secs then repeat then repeat. Great no problem. parsley crisp! bunged in jar and picked more, thought I would go for the minute. No problem, then 20 secs...OH S*** FIRE in the MICROWAVE!!! May I suggest 20 secs on 800w with dry parsley then 10 second intervals to avoid panic and smelly room with all the fans going at moment!!! Have fun (I did)! :o

[feet of clay]

This tip came just in time.  I have basil threatening to overtake my greenhouse.  Everyone I have ever spoken to has been given a plant and I need to reduce it further and planned to spend a rainy afternoon with microwave!  Thanks!

[Andy H]

Have a fire extinguisher to hand! Do it in gradual steps between two pieces of tissue. It is the sap from the thicker end of the stalks that oozes onto tissue that ignites I think...

[Ozzy aka Pothead]

Nuked Herbs????????

all I can say is that things definately have more flavour when you just dry them out dead natural like... just sting em up in a nice cool well aired dark place and check every few days for sighns of mold etc....

have done the microwave thang when i was well desperate and was a pretty rough smoke.... so go for the natural way and maybe ask yourselves...... "whats the hurry?"


Oz


 :-* :-* :-*

[budgiebreeder]

Natural has to be best i agree Ozz so relax take the long way round

[allotment_chick]

Loads of basil, feet of clay?!?  I'd suggest you make pesto and freeze it in individual portions - use it for pasta or in soups for thezingfactor.

A taste explosion of this sort has got to be better than one in the microwave!  Let me know if you need a recipe...
AC

[feet of clay]

Your recipe would be appreciated for my daughter.  Pesto is one of the few things I don't like.

[allotment_chick]

I'll put it on the Recipes page.  I can understand how you fel about it with pasta - but it is gives a great kick to veggie soup (Rick Stein did a similar thing just the other night with summer veg and pistou (spelling?).  His didn't have pine nuts in it, but tomatoes - looked rather tasty, I must say!
AC

[Debs]

I have loads of parsley and am going to preserve them using the following method which was  described in a gardening magazine...

Pick whole heads, blanch them in boiling water (2/3 seconds only)then plunge in icy water. Freeze whole - they crumble easily for use.

Debs

[Glyn]

"Nuked Herbs"       Microwaving anything herbal has to be the worst one can do. It nukes everything out.
Yeah!  "what's the hurry?"

[Andy H]

Not according to a site on the web. It said a 60w micro squished all the nice things out but the 600w seemed to leave everything in like the slow method did, it was one of those strange pheunomenomenoms...
da da daa da da

[tim]

Only just seen this - and just-in-Canada-Glyn!! = Tim