All things dried and beautiful
Fall is the time to gather
and dry things, like herbs, seeds and flowers.
The warm, dry sunny days will soon be over. Chose a stretch of warm sunny weather, like
we are having this week to harvest things you want to dry. Most things should be harvested before frost,
although a few things can still be harvested after a frost or even a freeze. Besides food, you may want to dry some flowers
or collect interesting seed heads to use as decorations.
Drying is a very old method
of preserving food. Even meat and fleshy
fruits like pumpkins and apples were dried to preserve them. In earlier times
the sun and sometimes fire or smoke were used to dry foods and decorations. We now have some other methods of drying food
and decorations but the sun and a warm spot by the fire are still good choices
too.
Herb drying
Herbs can be dried in a
number of ways. You can hang small
bunches of herbs in a warm, dry, dark place.
You can place them in a paper bag and leave them in your car, sitting in
the sun. You can dry herbs in a
dehydrator if it has a low setting. You
can also dry some herbs on trays in the sun, although herbs retain their
flavors better if dried in the dark.
You can dry herbs in the
microwave if you use caution. Place
small amounts of a leafy herb on a paper plate, cover with a paper towel to
absorb moisture. Microwave in short time
spans, 30 seconds at a time, checking between each burst of microwaving. When they are dry and crispy they are done. Don’t microwave too long or you’ll start a
fire or scorch the herbs.
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| Chamomile |
Herbs can also be dried by
immersing them in salt or sugar. This
works best if leaves are removed from stems.
Put a layer of salt or sugar in a container then a layer of herbs, a
layer of salt or sugar and so on. Put
the herbs in a single layer without crowding them. Use salt to preserve herbs you use in meat
dishes, soups and stews. Use sugar to
preserve herbs that might be used in baking or desserts like lavender.
You can shift the dried
herbs out of the salt of sugar and store them separately. Save the salt or sugar because it will taste
and smell like the herbs dried in it and can be used in cooking. You can also crumble the herbs and leave them
in the salt or sugar and use that in cooking.
Seed drying
You may want to dry seeds to
save and plant next year or to use in cooking. It’s always best to let seeds
remain on the plant as long as possible.
If you must cut seed pods/heads before they are brown and ripe place
them in paper bags in small bunches and let them dry further in a warm, dry
location. Once seed pods open or seed heads are very dry you can remove the
individual seeds from them. The seeds
usually require a bit more drying before storage.
The best way to dry a small
amount of seeds is to spread them in a single layer in the sun or in a warm
dark location. If the seeds are fleshy
or still wet put them on a piece of screen instead of paper so they won’t stick
to the paper as they dry. Protect drying
seeds from birds and animals. You can
dry seeds in a dehydrator too. Don’t use
high heat on any seeds you are saving to plant or you will damage the plant
embryo. Certainly you won’t want to
microwave these.
Large seeds like beans, nuts
and acorns can be stored in baskets or other containers to dry. Containers that
allow airflow like wicker baskets or crates with gaps are best. It will take longer to dry these. Remove the hulls from walnuts and hickories
before storage. When dry nutmeats will
be firm and dry in texture, not milky or soft.
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| Purple hyacinth bean |
Drying fruits and vegetables
A modern dehydrator works
wonders on these. However the older
methods still work too. Wash and inspect
the fruits and vegetables first. Cut out bad areas, and discard produce that’s
mushy or moldy. Slice fruits and
vegetables thinly and remove seeds. Some
people peel things like carrots and apples before drying them, others do not. Always wash produce even if you peel it,
because bacteria will contaminate the product as you peel it if it’s dirty.
If you don’t use a
dehydrator the fruits and vegetables can be strung on string or wire and
allowed to dry in a warm, protected place.
Or they can be spread on a screen in the sun and covered with a layer of
cheesecloth to keep insects away. Juicy
fruits like grapes and raspberries need to be inspected frequently and any
moldy fruits removed. It sometimes helps
to turn these over part way through drying.
Drying without a dehydrator will take several days, depending on the
conditions and what is being dried.
If you have an oven that has
a low heat (below 200 degrees F.) or warming setting you can dry fruits and
vegetables in it. They should be sliced
thin and arranged in a single layer on trays.
Never leave the home or go to bed while they are drying in the
oven. It can take 12 hours or more to
dry things this way so plan accordingly.
When food is thoroughly
dried it should be stored in clean glass containers with tight lids. Canning jars work well. Food grade plastic containers can also be
used.
Drying flowers and decorative seedpods or seedheads
Flowers need more care to
dry than herbs if you want them to look good.
Some flowers like statice, baby’s breath and strawflowers will dry
naturally and keep their shape and color pretty well. These you can gather in loose bunches and
hang in a dry warm area to dry. Your car
trunk works well on these too. It
creates a nice hot dark area to dry flowers without bleaching the color out.
You can stand flower heads
or seed pods of things like Japanese lanterns, money plant, hydrangeas, grass
seedheads, cattails and so on in containers in a warm dark place like a closet
or attic until they dry. Don’t crowd them. Or hang them in loose bunches also.
Other flowers like roses and
daisies can be dried in something like silica gel or borax. This is a time consuming and delicate process
but it preserves the color and shape of the flowers. You can find the products in craft stores and
they will have directions on how to use them.
You can also press flowers
and dry them for use in crafts. If you
have a large heavy book like a family bible or old encyclopedias a few flowers
can be pressed and dried in the pages. Or you can build or buy a flower press. These flowers will be flattened and will
probably lose some of their natural color.
Basically to press dry
flowers you place flowers between two sheets of white tissue paper and then
weigh them down. This can be in the
pages of a book or under a stack of books or in a flower press. Small flowers with single layers of petals
work best. Don’t use newspaper or
colored paper to wrap the flowers in as it may leave ink colors on the
flowers. It will take a month or more to
dry the flowers.
Other things to dry for potpourri
Potpourri is a mixture of
dry things which smell nice and have visual appeal. If you like to make
potpourri you may want to dry things like orange and lemon rinds, small
pinecones, bay leaves, rose petals, rose hips, sweet grass, lavender buds,
small pieces of aromatic barks and other things you collect that might add
scent or visual appeal to a potpourri mixture.
Most of these things can simple be left in a warm dry place to dry. To keep colors nice, dry potpourri
ingredients out of strong light.
Most potpourri making
instructions call for using a fixative – generally orris root, which can be
found in craft stores or on line. But
you don’t absolutely need a fixative if you keep each potpourri mixture for
only a short time- say a month or two and replenish it. Store your dry ingredients in tightly closed
containers until you use them. Tossing
your decorative ingredients with a couple teaspoons of cinnamon can work as a
fixative if you like the cinnamon smell.
You can also use spice mixes like apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
as a fixative and for their scent.
To make potpourri smell nice
use essential oils sprinkled on things like small pinecones, pieces of bark or
other porous items that you include in your mixture. Even a few wood shavings sprinkled with
essential oils can be mixed into potpourri.
The essential oils will give you a wider range of scents and the scent
will last longer than some natural ingredients.
Kitchen ingredients like vanilla or lemon extract can also be used to
soak or dip potpourri items into.
Using dried beans
There are many beautiful
colored dry beans or peas on the market or maybe you grew some unique beans
this year. These dry beans can be
layered in pretty glass jars for attractive decorative accents. If the
container was clean and it’s kept dry and covered the beans could be cooked
later. Or dried beans can be placed in
shallow containers to hold the stems of dry flowers.
Dried beans have also been
turned into jewelry and used to make colorful artistic collages. Children often enjoy playing with a jar of
colorful dried beans- gluing them on paper to make pictures or on jars or boxes
for gifts. Just make sure they don’t stick them up their nose!
Uses for dried sweet woodruff
Sweet woodruff is a plant that
grows well in shady areas as a groundcover.
The flowers are used to flavor wine in the spring. But sweet woodruff can also be used to help
keep moths off stored clothes and linens while leaving them with a pleasant
scent. Simply dry the foliage of sweet
woodruff for a few days and then place in in your drawers and closets among the
clothes.
If someone in your family
has smelly shoes or boots dry lots of sweet woodruff foliage and pack the
smelly shoes or boots with it for a few days.
You can powder the dried sweet woodruff foliage in a food processor and
use it as a foot or shoe powder also.
Uses for dried hops
Hop cones or flower heads
are most commonly used for beer making.
Some people don’t make beer even though they have a hop plant or two or they
have more hop cones then they need for beer.
There are other uses for those hop cones though.
Hops (Humulus lupulus),are
closely related to marihuana and they also produce aromatic oils in their buds
and to some extent their foliage. While
hops won’t get you high the hop cones will make you sleepy if you sniff them
because the aromatic oils contain a mild sedative. Hop pillows are made for those who have
trouble sleeping and they are also said to produce pleasant dreams.
To make a hop sleep aid you
can simply enclose hop cones in a small cheesecloth or thin cotton bag and
sleep with the bag close to your nose.
Or you can make a more elaborate pillow using hop cones and other herbs
like lavender packed with cotton, goose down, spun fibers or shredded foam to
make a pillow you actually sleep on. Be
aware that these pillows will lose their potency over time and can’t be
washed. That’s why the packets seem more
practical. Make several, store the
unused ones in a closed jar and replace the packet on the bed every few weeks.
Dried hops also have
medicinal uses. Made into a tea with
other herbs or sugar to disguise the bitter taste hop tea can be used for
indigestion. Hop tea has antiseptic properties and can also be used for bladder
infections and as a skin wash for wounds.
The tea is also used as a sedative and to calm the nerves. Sometimes hop cones are steeped in warm wine
or sherry for the calming and sedative effects also.
Dried cleavers seeds
Clevers (Galium aparine)-
are a common weed found nearly everywhere.
They are also called bedstraw, or goose grass. The plants are sprawling,
floppy things. The stems of cleavers are
have tiny prickles and are square. The leaves are small and narrow and occur in
whorls around the stem.
Clever flowers are
inconspicuous greenish things. The tiny
round two compartment seeds that form have little bristles that cling to fur or
clothes much like a bur. If you like
natural foraging or want to be prepared for all emergency situations that come
up you might want to collect the tiny seeds of clevers when you find them.
Clevers is usually found in moist, partially shaded areas.
Clever seeds can be used as
a coffee substitute. The small seeds are
washed and rubbed to remove the sticky green pod and then the black hard seeds
are spread on a cookie sheet and toasted at 350 degrees F for about 30
minutes. The roasted seeds can then be
ground and brewed like coffee.
You can use any left over,
cooled cleavers coffee or brew up an especially strong batch as a
deodorant. Simply soak a cotton ball in
it and rub under your arms. You can also
use it to wash smelly feet. Clevers
coffee or tea is also said to be good for skin problems like rashes and minor
wounds and softens the hands if soaked in it.
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