The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [31]
There are a couple things to keep in mind when drying herbs. If herbs are dried too quickly by using too much heat, they roast and lose their potency. When herbs are dried too slowly, they can mold and/or self-destruct by enzymatic actions, which also seriously impoverishes their quality.
Overheating is the reason you often see commercial grade Red Clover blossoms looking pale or brown in natural food store jars, and Lavender blossoms, normally brilliant blue-violet on the stalk, looking languid and gray within this same community of jars. Dried properly, Red Clover blossoms are vibrant, pinkish red; Lavender blossoms are a deep velvety lavender.
Once succulent herbs are fully dried there is no longer enough water available in the vegetable tissues to support microorganism lifestyles; therefore the potency of one’s precious harvest is greatly prolonged and herbalists are very happy.
Careless mishandling, in addition to improper heating, is another reason you find numerous specimens of brownish green and hay-colored dried leaves and stems in stores instead of the diversity of vivid green colors you see in wild and domestic herb gardens. As I mentioned above, a collection of properly handled and correctly dried herbs will elicit the same diversity and sensual inspiration as the garden’s collection of juicy green hues. Excessive age (even though almost any herb will “lose it” over time in storage) is usually the reason commercial grade Calendula blossoms often resemble leftover pieces of used Kleenex tissue you pull from the pocket of an overcoat not worn since the previous winter. Freshly dehydrated Calendula blossoms dried properly display the same bright yellows and intense oranges that they radiate while standing fresh in the garden. I could go on and on describing more examples of the inferior quality of commercial-grade bulk herbs found on many (though not all) store shelves, but I’ll spare you the tedium; I get miffed thinking about it anyway. Ailing folks buy these exhausted plant materials, and of course, eventually conclude that herbs don’t work. What can you expect? It’s like giving wilted flowers to a friend to say you’re sorry. Got to do better than that. The abundance of these examples prompts me to say, “Once you properly harvest and dry your own herbs and experience their rich color, aroma, taste, and vitality, you will seldom be satisfied with any dried herbs you find in a store.” How many restaurants have you found that truly serve scrumptious “home-cooked meals?” It doesn’t happen.
So, I have a few suggestions that will help you successfully preserve your freshly harvested medicinal herbs and savory spices:
• Herbs dry excellently in warm, shaded, well-ventilated areas. Circulating dry air is essential. Never dry them in sunlight. With tender, sensitive plants that you have harvested, the searing intensity of direct sunlight takes degenerating liberties often too hideous to describe. Suffice it to say, direct sunlight rapidly depreciates good herb.
• Prior to drying them, handle fresh green plants with a gentle touch and process them as soon as possible. Many freshly picked green-plant parts (Plantain leaves being a prime example) need to be handled like fragile glass, for any bruising of these leaves will make the plant turn brownish green upon drying due to the stimulation (by bruising) and quickening (by heating) of enzyme activity.
• Protect your drying herbs at night from the evening’s moist air. The water in this air can rehydrate the drying herb and ignite enzymatic action and can soon transform your harvest into that brownish green vegetable carrion color I spoke of earlier. The positive side of this experience is that these herbs are still suitable for composting. And compost