Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Midwest Gardening: Drying Herbs---Sage Smells so Good!

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Part of Gardening of course is eating all the wonderful fresh vegetables and fruits you can produce in your garden or pots. Then there are the herbs which make everything taste better!

Two years ago, our over 10 year-old Sage plant croaked. It was huge one year and then dead the next, probably from our Midwest freeze/thaw cycles. So, I planted a new one---last year, and I had enough sage to do Thanksgiving and that was about it. 


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Here is the second year plant (center) in Spring of this year, and another variegated sage that I planted this year. The plant to the lower right is Marjoram which is still growing and is also hardy here in NE Illinois.
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Well this year---the Sage was huge and luscious with tons of leaves and tall hardy stems. I cut it all before our first frost and hung generous bunches up where the air circulation is good in our house: *the stairway to the basement---we run a fan down there all the time, and the dining center in the kitchen---the overhead fan is always on low.* It took three weeks for the sage to be totally dry. 

Here's a Fabulous Article by an expert on all the benefits of Sage---right HERE ! I just know I love using Sage in cooking, and who knew it was so good for you!


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Drying herbs is so easy---and you can dry and harvest just about any herb like this! Simply wash and clean, tie up in loose bunches (I reuse rubber bands from vegetable purchases) and hang them up.
This is the sage after drying for almost three weeks. Definitely dry enough to harvest.

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First I undid the rubber bands holding the sage, and placed a bunch on a large piece of parchment paper. Any leaves that are browned I pick off and throw away.

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It was easy to just roll up the paper on the diagonal and crunch all the leaves inside the paper---very little mess this way.

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Of course not all the leaves crunched off. But they were 'cracked' and easy to scrape off with my fingers. I leave the bits clinging to the stems. 

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Again, the generous size of the paper controls the mess. Fold the paper and just pour all that luscious goodness into an air-proof container. Today I used a freezer bag.

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Then, I took all the remaining stems and folded them ---into little clusters or sage rolls and tied these with cotton string. These will be for 'purifying' a room by burning, and I will send these sage rolls to a friend who enjoys this. I prefer roasting and cooking, I can easily throw a few leaves on a tray in the toaster for the scent.

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It is a nice gift from the garden....and smells so good---the stems hold so much scent and oil.

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This is what I got from one plant---that's a gallon bag, and six sage rolls. More than enough for a Year of Nummy goodness and health.

My kitchen smells so delicious now! I will transfer the dried Sage to a large gallon canning jar as soon as it come out of the dishwasher and is totally dry. 
Sage will keep in an airtight jar for well over a year...and is just as flavorful as the day you dried it! 

WHAT HAVE HERBS HAVE YOU PRESERVED THIS YEAR? 


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Thanks ALWAYS for visiting!

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.
Thank you for your cooperation,

 Sandi Magle

OldNewGreenRedo




8 comments:

  1. We are going to be having some unseasonably high temps near 70 this week!! I will be taking advantage of it and taking down Fall/Halloween decorations in the front and decorating for Christmas!! I did it too many years in 30 and below degrees and froze to death!! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your sweet comments!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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    1. I know, thinking if more leaves fall off---we can start on Christmas lights outside, we just won't turn them on! LOL. Hugs, and thanks for stopping by! Sandi

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  2. Yikes! One plant! And I thought MY sage plant was doing well. This is a terrific post, Sandi. I've long praised parchment for getting leaves off stems but the "roll" is a great idea. And yes, the aroma is to die for!

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    1. Hi, Jeanie. My grandmother did her herbs this way, inside a brown paper bag. But we get so few of those now, I thought Parchment was a pretty good solution. Sometimes the old ways are the best! Thanks for stopping by! Sandi

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  3. Hi Sandy, I bet your kitchen smells amazing! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

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  4. That's quite the bounty from one plant. I do love the smell of sage!

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    1. It really was, I will give the kids each a jar----and hope it produces next year as well, Thanks for stopping by,Amy, HUGS!

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  5. I'm having to use a different browser, but thanks for visiting , and yes, that's a ton of sage I will share with my family.

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Thank you for any and all comments. I will be happy to answer any questions or comments in replies or email! HUGS!