The other day, I saw this video, about alternative ways to dry extra herbs you might have from your growing season - it intrigued me. I am always looking for fast and easy ways to do things, and thought I'd give this a try. I set out this morning to try the microwave technique. Here is how it started:
It started out with a bunch of sage.
I cut off the stems from the herb.
I separated them by size so they would process evenly.
I started with the smaller leaves first.
Covered and put in the microwave (excuse the mess in there).
Processed it at 20 second intervals, like the video says. This batch took 60 seconds.
They came out pretty good after 60 seconds. Nice and crisp and the leaves stayed whole.
Ok, next size up.
After 20 seconds, you see it starting to shrivel.
After 40 seconds, it shriveled more. Needs one more go around . . .
Then this happened - it burst into flames!!
Blurry pic from opening the microwave and taking a fast pic.
"Oh, $@#&!!". I panicked a bit as it continued to burn. I closed the door, blocking the air flow and just let it burn.
I opened the door to snap this, closed it quick and went to open all windows
and turn on all fans.
Done burning. It sure made a mess.
Two sage leaves burnt to a crisp - everything else was gone.
Charred remains.
Microwave turntable waiting to get washed.
So, that was my adventure this morning in the kitchen. I will post on Martha Stewart's site that it did not work, I'll show the burning pic so there's proof that my venture went up in flames. I guess I am going back to my old way of drying herbs - by tying it and hanging it upside down in a cool place for two weeks.
9/7 UPDATE: Because I cut off the stems, I had nothing to tie and hang them with, so I put them on a screen and elevated it off the floor so the air can circulate around the sage. I will leave them undisturbed for 2 weeks and they should be dried and ready for storage to use in the future.
As for the smell - microwave burnt smells are hard to get rid of. What I did and always do when things get stinky is, I put some water in a mug and add some lemon essential oils (about 10 drops) and heated it up for about 2 minutes. That took away most of the smell, the rest will dissipate with use.
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2 comments:
Oh my goodness Faith! flames in the microwave - ouch!!! I've never heard of that way to dry herbs - I think you could be right to stick to air drying!!
I followed a video tutorial from the Martha Stewart site exactly - I had 1 successful try. The 2nd try went up in flames. Not doing that again. I did air dry the rest, they are ready to be put in a container.
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