Today, I am processing more Holy Basil (tulsi) from my CSA farmer at Endless Bounty. The first thing to notice is the rich, sweet aroma of the fresh herb. It is instantly relaxing due to the high percentage of naturally occuring essential oil in the plant matter.
My plan for this batch is to use some of it fresh for more iced tea, and to dehydrate the rest. Some of the dehydrated herb will be tinctured later as Holy Basil is an adaptogen and useful in the home wellness chest.
The first step for all of these uses is to thoroughly wash the plant matter. I wash it three times in my large salad spinner, then spin out out until it is fairly dry.
(After wash, before spun)
Next, I load the plants into my dehydrator, reserving a portion for fresh use.
Lastly, the dried herb is stored in a glass canning jar and labeled with the common name, botanical name, source, and date to be stored in my herb pantry. The yeild from this batch was a little less than a pint of dried herb.
No comments:
Post a Comment