Herbs in salt...?

[eyeofthestorm]

I never heard of this before. But, we got two bags of basil tonight, and we use huge amounts of basil, and I can't get my dehydrator going until morning (actually, I am refusing to turn it on inside this time of year, and the cord won't reach the outdoor plug that's available, yada yada yada...)

Anyway, I found this link:

lifeonthebalcony.com/three-ways-to-preserve-basil/

I don't have enough salt on hand for all the basil, but I have three pints done now. I'm curious to see how well it works.

[Granny Smith]

I can see how this would work, but I'm having trouble understanding why you would go to the extra trouble and expense when simply drying herbs would cost less, take less storage space, and last longer. You don't have to run the dehydrator to dry herbs, just hang them to dry or lay them on a table, screen, or tray.

[eyeofthestorm]

Normally, that's what I would do. I'm just worried I won't have time to finish them in the electric dehydrator before we leave town again, and last time I left them on the non-electric one, the leaves got sort of papery...they wouldn't crumble at all. I wasn't sure if they lost enough moisture to prevent mold or other spoilage (they're in the cabinet under scrutiny).

It *did* take a lot of salt compared with the amount of leaves. And I don't have room in my fridge to store lots of pint jars just because (once winter comes, it won't matter, but that's still a couple months off). I thought I'd try it - since the salt remains usable, I figured I had nothing to lose.

[Granny Smith]

Sandra, if you get a chance to experiment with them, try holding them together, then slip them, leaves-first, into a paper bag. Tie the bag closed around the stems, leaving a tail on the string so you can hang them up, bag and all. I have small nails in the molding near the ceiling that I hang them on (because heat rises). I can't say for sure, but I think the paper absorbs some of the moisture, helping them dry more thoroughly, so they'll crumble like they should.

I dry flowers that way, too, especially marigolds and bachelors buttons. Hanging keeps them fluffy.