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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Drying Fresh Parsley for the Winter



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Parsley is perfect for Winter usage - it has such a wonderful clean & green taste!  I prefer fresh Parsley but dried parsley makes homemade chicken noodle soup perfect!
There are a couple different ways to dry herbs but today we will be talking about using a food dehydrator, which in my opinion is the easiest and most successful way.

The dehydrator manufacturer recommends taking the herb directly from the garden, shaking or brushing any dirt off & then dehydrating immediately. However, I find that there always seems to be some grit left after dehydrating. Therefore, I always rinse the herb off (in this case Parsley) and then pat it dry on a paper towel before using the dehydrator. There is nothing worse than biting down on a grain of soil.

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STEP 1: Harvest Parsley by cutting off as many large bunches of leaves as desired (cut the stalk close to the ground)
STEP 2: Snip the choice leaves off the stalk with your fingers (or kitchen scissors) and then wash the Parsley leaves.
STEP 3: Arrange the leaves on the dehydrator tray and then turn the dehydrator on - at the manufacturer's specified temperature and time. (It took my dehydrator 48 hours to dry 4 racks of parsley). 
STEP 4: Once the leaves are completely dry, then crumble the parsley by hand . Place the parsley flakes in an airtight container. ENJOY!

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NOTE: I always discard/compost any Parsley leaf that has holes or corners missing - these blemishes are from animals or bugs. Also, NEVER use a Parsley leaf that has bird poop residue.
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Linked to:
Humble Bumble

8 comments:

  1. I have lots of parsley and love it! Thank you for the tips on drying it. -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  2. Seeing that hydrator takes me back to when I visited a tea-planting cousin in Kenya and saw the tea leaves being dried after picking - the same thing but on a larger scale!

    Agree with all you say about cleaning first before action - you may want to update your blog, in the last para, when parsley suddenly morphs into basil! Sure it's an unintended typo - I'm always finding them when I blog!

    Nice to be back in touch again. Hope all is well!

    Isobel

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    1. hahahaha - that is so funny - I love how you described my typo "parsley morphs into basil" - it made me laugh. Thank you so much for seeing my mistake (I have corrected it now).
      We just had our Thanksgiving Holiday here so I am a little behind but I will be visiting your blog this week.
      Thanks again!

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  3. Beautiful. I am growing basil. It is my first plant that isn't dying. :) I make pesto as much as I can, but I am wondering if it can be dried too. Any tips?

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    1. Yes Basil is wonderful dried! Here is a post that I did on that last year:
      Drying Basil
      Thanks!

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  4. Thanks for sharing your tips at A Humble Bumble. Question... what are some ways parsley is used, besides in soups?

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    1. My favorite way to use parsley is fresh parsley in a salad called: Tabouleh Salad
      But I also like it dried in stews, sprinkled on sour cream on top of a baked potato, in savory breads or in biscuits - just a few ideas.
      Thanks!

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